People love lists, but the titles given to them can sometimes be very misleading.
“The 10 Ugliest A-List Movie Stars” has a very different group of people than the “10 Ugliest Actors Working in Hollywood.”
Both lists, by the way, are pretty bad, but they show that context matters. In mid-October, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released its annual list of the 10 dirtiest cruise ships.
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That makes for some great headlines, but there's a real lack of context. That's something popular YouTube personality Tony Barnette tried to add on his popular show La Lido Loca.
“Look, let's face it. There are a lot of things that happen on cruise ships that attract the attention of the public, the cruising public and the non-cruising public. And one of those things that really gets a lot of attention, especially from the media, “Do people get sick on cruise ships?” he shared,
This has been a topic of media interest since long before the Covid pandemic.
“A few years ago it used to be a different illness, but now it's really gastrointestinal illnesses, norovirus or other stomach viruses that cause problems for cruise passengers. And we know that the root of many of those stomach viruses is cleanliness, passenger hygiene and cruise ship cleanliness, so it's no surprise that the Centers for Disease Control is happy to publish a list of the 10 dirtiest cruise ships,” he shared.
The problem is that “The Dirtiest 10” doesn't tell the whole story.
What exactly is a dirty cruise?
When restaurants fail an inspection, it tends to show up in the local newspaper. That makes sense because the public has a right to know when a local restaurant fails a health and safety inspection.
However, if all restaurants passed, would it be fair for a newspaper or website to make a list of “The 10 Local Restaurants with the Lowest Health and Safety Scores?” That's essentially what the CDC has done.
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“This is the Crystal Serenity. It scored an 89 in its last CDC inspection. And well, the CDC passing score is an 85. This inspection was done in February. So is it fair to call the Crystal Serenity a Dirty product? A cruise ship? It passed inspection, but it ranks here at number 10 on the list of the 10 dirtiest cruise ships,” Barnette shared.
In fact, nine of the 10 ships on the CDC's “dirty ships” list earned passing grades. So while several Carnival ships, one MSC Cruises ship, and one Royal Caribbean ship made the list, they all scored 86 or higher.
The only failed boat, Hanseatic Inspiration, a Hapag-Lloyd cruiser, was clearly at the bottom with a 62.
Each list has a last place finisher.
In many ways, the CDC's list is relative. It's kind of a negative view of the situation of “These are the slowest Olympic sprinters.”
Barnette made it clear that it's reasonable to grade a boat that gets a 62. That's a decidedly failing grade.
As for the rest of the list, you ask a very fair question.
“Is it fair to call these cruise ships dirty?”
He also shared how you can check the score of your next ship.
“If you go to the CDC website to check the Vessel Services Sanitation Program, you can search for your cruise,” he added.
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Barnette also noted that a large number of ships earned a perfect score from the CDC.
“We have the Carnival Spirit, the Celebrity Ascent, the Celebrity Equinox, the Disney Fantasy, the Holland America Zyderdam, the MSC Cruises Explorer 1, the MSC Cruises Meraviglia. We also have the MSC Seashore, the NCL Bliss, the NCL Breakaway and the NCL Escape, NCL Gem, NCL Jewel, NCL Sky We have the Regatta from Oceana, the Brilliance of the Seas from Royal Caribbean, the Radiance of the Seas from Royal Caribbean, the Odyssey from Seabourn Cruise Lines, the Viking Polaris from Viking Expeditions and the. “Viking from Viking Ocean Cruises. Those are the cruise ships that have scored 100 on their CDC inspection this year,” he shared.
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