Veendam failed latest cdc inspection

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't care if any kind of upcoming inspection is known or unknown. Brown water dripping on clean dishes which are then contaminated yet put up on the shelves without being rewashed? This is acceptable because they didn't know there would be an inspection and got caught? It's never acceptable! It's disgusting so no excuses.

 

I totally agree with you.

My stomach just rolls over just picturing this going on on any ship.

[innlady1]

Violation: Several managers were observed in the area but they did not shut down the outboard flight-type conveyor warewash machine for repair before the inspector arrived. Every 1 to 5 seconds, the magnetic sensor on the clean end of the in-use outboard flight-type conveyor warewash machine was stopping the machine from running. There was a leak in a water line inside the deckhead directly above the machine and water was dripping into the machine and contaminating the clean dishes after they were sanitized. There was also brown liquid leaking from the deckhead onto the left corner of the clean landing of the machine. Workers were observed taking the contaminated dishes and putting them into clean storage racks. Recommendation: Because of the risks for foodborne illness inherent to the food operation, ensure the supervisor or person in charge of food operations on the vessel demonstrates to VSP - during inspections and on request - knowledge of foodborne disease prevention, application of the Hazard Analysis Critical Point principles, and the food-safety guidelines in this manual. Ensure that the person in charge demonstrates this knowledge: (1) By compliance with these guidelines."

 

That is inexcusable. Just plain gross. I don't know what management is thinking. :(

[keeponcruising]

l told my sister about the AC/Plumbing issues when they were first brought up on CC. I won't tell her about the CDC report. I am not going to ruin her cruise.

 

Ellen

[innlady1]

l told my sister about the AC/Plumbing issues when they were first brought up on CC. I won't tell her about the CDC report. I am not going to ruin her cruise.

 

Ellen

 

That's wise. And, hopefully she will have a great cruise.

[mamaofami]

Peaches, with all due respect, I have to disagree with you. The following is an excerpt from the CDC report. While it might not affect people's perceived enjoyment, it certainly is an example of sanitary issues cited many times on Veendam.

 

 

I think where I am not being clear (my fault) is that I was reading the keeponcruising post and concern for her sister's cruise as concern for her perceived enjoyment and replying to her in that light. That was my meaning of 'directly affecting the pax'. I was not saying that there aren't serious issues in the inspection report. I think clearly in my previous posts I have been very concerned about the CDC report and was not trying here to make light of it. There are no excuses for what HAL has allowed management of the Veendam to become. It is very serious. However, some or all of these violations could have been there when you recently cruised the Veendam; you were not aware of them and they did not directly impact your perceived enjoyment of your cruise; your Veendam issues were not those addressed in in the CDC report and current pax have no idea what CDC issues have been corrected or not.

 

Peaches, this is true. I did not know if these violations were present during my cruise and luckily for me, I didn't get sick if they were present. But, now that we know they exist, we know.

[sail7seas]

deleted.

 

I reread the thread and saw something I previously missed.

Sorry

[Cindy]

Items such as warnings about undercooked meat on menus are easy fixes and in my opinion don't really reflect poorly on the ship management. However, there are a several things in that report that are very troubling and inexcusable. Violations such as the sanitized dishes being contaminated and put away are disgusting and must be attended to immediately.

I would be shocked if HAL isn't getting a barrage of calls about this report from concerned passengers.

[goodearth]

It would be nice if the CDC put up notices on a ship if they had a failing score......especially when they let it continue with cruises. They put notices up when they close a place down about infractions........it would definitely get more attention from HQ if there were CDC notices at eating venues, the daily bulletin, heck, the more places the better. HAL is filling vacancies with people that don't know about this........ I'm betting that very few (if any) people on the ship know about the failed CDC inspection. Now that's a solution that puts the issue squarely where it needs to be!

[dr.dawg]

why is it i get the distinct impression that HAL is, or is being allowed to, go 'down the drain', so to speak? i am a four-star, and have cruised HAL for years, but i have no future cruises planned because of the reduction in standards across the fleet. why do some of you, who i do respect, keep cheerleading for HAL? if the 'product' is disintegrating, and maybe it is, why hold on to it? age? tradition? what? a lot of great former cruise lines are no longer! ask why.

 

so attack me, as so many of you have done in the past. i just want to express an opinion and get the enlightened opinions of others -- but reasonable folks, not blind cheerleaders who have nothing objective to offer.

[cruisin'girl]

It would be nice if the CDC put up notices on a ship if they had a failing score......especially when they let it continue with cruises. They put notices up when they close a place down about infractions........it would definitely get more attention from HQ if there were CDC notices at eating venues, the daily bulletin, heck, the more places the better. HAL is filling vacancies with people that don't know about this........ I'm betting that very few (if any) people on the ship know about the failed CDC inspection. Now that's a solution that puts the issue squarely where it needs to be!

Best idea on this thread. Why should a cruiseline restaurant be any different than a land restaurant?

[sammiedawg]

why is it i get the distinct impression that HAL is, or is being allowed to, go 'down the drain', so to speak? i am a four-star, and have cruised HAL for years, but i have no future cruises planned because of the reduction in standards across the fleet. why do some of you, who i do respect, keep cheerleading for HAL? if the 'product' is disintegrating, and maybe it is, why hold on to it? age? tradition? what? a lot of great former cruise lines are no longer! ask why.

 

so attack me, as so many of you have done in the past. i just want to express an opinion and get the enlightened opinions of others -- but reasonable folks, not blind cheerleaders who have nothing objective to offer.

 

It has crossed my mind Carnival Corp wants to focus on their other lines which have younger demographics. They may have long range plans to downsize Holland. At some point most lines sell off or redeploy older ships.

[dr.dawg]

thanks sammie; for the reasoned response to my post. none of which will sit well with the cheerleaders. getting old is a 'b==ch, ' isn't it?

[Cruzin Terri]

why is it i get the distinct impression that HAL is, or is being allowed to, go 'down the drain', so to speak? i am a four-star, and have cruised HAL for years, but i have no future cruises planned because of the reduction in standards across the fleet. why do some of you, who i do respect, keep cheerleading for HAL? if the 'product' is disintegrating, and maybe it is, why hold on to it? age? tradition? what? a lot of great former cruise lines are no longer! ask why.

 

so attack me, as so many of you have done in the past. i just want to express an opinion and get the enlightened opinions of others -- but reasonable folks, not blind cheerleaders who have nothing objective to offer.

 

No attack from me. You took the words out of my mouth. I too am a four star Mariner. We have one more cruise booked. It may be the last on HAL.

Terri

[MaggieMM]

IF...failing inspection provided grounds for passengers to cancel with full refunds, no ship staff would allow themselves to be caught with their proverbial "pants down".

 

It's almost criminal! A paying passenger has no alternative but to board a filthy vessel or forfeit their entire fare!

[searanch queen]

Maybe they should put less time in worrying about germs on the handrails and elevator buttons and focus on the bigger problems such as stated in the CDC report. If this was known about a land based hotel, I for one would never stay there. HAL needs to wake up and maybe even make some sort of announcement on how they will do better or the way I see it, the writing is on the wall, so to speak!

[DizzyDallasDi]

We have a great influx of Jamaicans working here on Nantucket so our grocery stores cater to them as well...DH just told me the other day they have a 50 lb. bag of rice! I know they eat rice with almost every meal.

 

Interesting...but what does this have to do with the Veendam? :confused:

[sail7seas]

It has crossed my mind Carnival Corp wants to focus on their other lines which have younger demographics. They may have long range plans to downsize Holland. At some point most lines sell off or redeploy older ships.

 

 

Are you sure downsizing is such a bad thing were it so? You present it as a total negative concept when it could well be a positive if done well.

 

I'd have to think about it a bit but HAL not being a 15 ship fleet may not be a bad idea. IMO .... but I haven't thought it through yet. ;)

 

[Willem Ruys]

No attack from me. You took the words out of my mouth. I too am a four star Mariner. We have one more cruise booked. It may be the last on HAL.

Terri

 

 

and a collectors cruise in mid May WILL be our last with HAL unless things change considerably

[puebloguy]

:(I hate to bring bad news for Holland America since we have been cruising with them for a least the last 8yrs. The Veendam was definitely not up the the standards we are used to on Holland America. Our room ran a consant 65 degrees even after complaining twice. In fact many areas of the ship we kept at an unusual cold temp. The food service has really deteriorated in regards to Quality and presentation. Seems like they have cheapened the Lido dining to the level of Carnival. Could not get reservation for 7day cruise at the italian restaurant to save my soul. Really a very disappointing expierence all the way around. Spoke with many other Holland America cruisers that felt the same.

Guess we will look elsewhere next time we decide to take a trip. Even room stewards were very slack in cleaning. Found the ship was way understaffed also.

[sppunk]

and a collectors cruise in mid May WILL be our last with HAL unless things change considerably

 

May I ask if you've considered an alternative yet? We just booked an Azamara cruise and have a Eurodam 2013 cruise scheduled. Like you it might be our last.

[Jade13]

and a collectors cruise in mid May WILL be our last with HAL unless things change considerably

 

I understand that you were on our Veendam repositioning cruise in April, and I am sorry that we did not get a chance to meet. They actually forgot to invite us to the mariners brunch (although we likely would not have had invitations at the same time).

 

We will be on Celebrity Silhouette TA in December, and early next year we are taking a land trip to Africa (independently in Kenya, and with Abercrombie & Kent on Safari in Tanzania), but we will have a lot to think about after the Celebrity cruise. Every time we cannot decide on a cruise or itinerary, we end up doing some other vacation off of our wish list.

 

We heard from crew onboard Veendam who were unhappy that many jobs were being cut. This was in the dining room, and I am now wondering if some allowed the ship to fail this inspection.

[Cruzin Terri]

and a collectors cruise in mid May WILL be our last with HAL unless things change considerably

 

WOW! Coming from you, that says a lot! Have you thought about another cruise line? We are seriously considering Oceania.

 

We will forfeit future cruise credits, but it is becoming clear to me tha HAL does not put the safety and health of their passengers first. If so, the corrective report would have been submitted already and according to the CDC website, it has not. Are they hoping to get out of Dodge (sail to South America) without doing so?

Terri

[Jade13]

May I ask if you've considered an alternative yet? We just booked an Azamara cruise and have a Eurodam 2013 cruise scheduled. Like you it might be our last.

 

Azamara is GREAT. Go to the Azamara board and try to find one negative thing anyone has said about the shipboard experience. Everyone that posts comes back and says they cannot wait to go back.

 

But, they only have two ships about the size of Prinsendam. They spend most of the time in Europe because that is what sells.

 

I have thought for a long time that HAL has too many ships, and that may be the reason they are not consistently good across the board.

[Jade13]

WOW! Coming from you, that says a lot! Have you thought about another cruise line? We are seriously considering Oceania.

 

Terri

 

tbrein, I really think you would like Azamara.

[candbgirl]

You say '".... here they shut you down" .........

 

I'm curious. Where is here?

Thanks.

 

 

 

I don't know where that poster is from but they shut restaurants down in Chicago for health code violations. And they don't reopen until they pass the inspection.