Rising number of U.S. cruise ships cited for sanitation violations

More cruise ships are being hit by federal inspectors with unsatisfactory ratings for sanitation, and for the first time in recent memory, the majority of the cited vessels are operated by major U.S. cruise lines.

Already in the first quarter of this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program has cited six ships for sanitation violations. In contrast, only four were cited in all of 2012.

The most common problem cited in the inspections was a failure on the part of crew members to report that they were suffering a gastrointestinal illness in a timely manner, thus potentially exposing fellow crew members and, in some cases, passengers to contagious illnesses.

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