Explorer 4-Night BC USPH inspection causes issues. Normal?

[Donny-Joe]

This was on the 4-night "Best of BC" cruise on May 16-20. At the outset, I want to say we had a very nice time; I'm not complaining about the overall cruise. We were just surprised that the embarkation lunch service was really problematic. Lines were huge at Windjammers as multiple stations were closed and the remaining stations had very limited food, the suite guest lunch was cancelled (I guess; it certainly didn't happen, but no one could say why), and the staff seemed super stressed out for the rest of the day.

 

Our stateroom attendant and several servers told us the USPH inspection was causing delays as people scrambled to get everything dealt with, and they didn't open up kitchen facilities until the inspector had been through. There definitely was a USPH inspection going on - I saw the inspector in the Windjammer going through the reach-ins and making notes with the F&B manager and several other officers and maintenance people following behind.

 

I've certainly heard that the inspection can be really stressful for the crew, but I didn't expect it to cause so much hassle for the guests. People were waiting a long time just to get into the buffet, and then waiting a long time for food once they reached a food station, and lots of passengers were getting testy. We were fine; we weren't super hungry anyway so we had cake for lunch (no line at the dessert station!). There was a massive line at the Promenade Cafe as well.

 

Lots of other stuff got delayed that day. We were supposed to have a fruit plate in our cabin at embarkation, but it didn't arrive till the next day. Another couple told us the same thing happened to them. We didn't get a cruise compass that night. The MDR opened about 15 minutes late IIRC. By the next day everything was back to normal.

 

So is this unusual? We've never been on a ship during an inspection before so I don't know if it's par for the course or not. Could it be that this inspection just ran long and usually the kitchen is done before lunch? It just seems like USPH inspections happen fairly regularly, so the ship should have a plan in place for how to manage the inspection while still serving lunch and so forth.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Donny-Joe

[reallyitsmema]

We have also been on ships during inspections, they can cause lots of slowdowns but, personally, I would rather know the ship was clean and was following procedure. A few years ago when we boarded Freedom, there was an inspection going on and nothing opened until it was complete. Lines outside the WJ were nuts, couldn't even get off the elevator. Once things opened around noontime, things got better. We also had an inspection on the Jewel while in Bar Harbor. That one wasn't as obvious other than they wouldn't open any bar and there was a guy in the WJ who really needed a bloody mary and wasn't happy.:eek::p

[Donny-Joe]

We have also been on ships during inspections, they can cause lots of slowdowns but, personally, I would rather know the ship was clean and was following procedure.

 

Without a doubt I want the ships to be inspected. I just would think the company could figure out a way to complete the inspection and still keep up with normal service. Perhaps their fear is that running normal service while the inspector is there makes it more likely that someone will make a mistake that counts against the score.

 

A few years ago when we boarded Freedom, there was an inspection going on and nothing opened until it was complete. Lines outside the WJ were nuts, couldn't even get off the elevator. Once things opened around noontime, things got better. We also had an inspection on the Jewel while in Bar Harbor. That one wasn't as obvious other than they wouldn't open any bar and there was a guy in the WJ who really needed a bloody mary and wasn't happy.:eek::p

 

OK, so it sounds like what we experienced was pretty normal. And again, totally first world problems. No one starved, nothing seriously important (to us) was forgotten. It was just a bit surprising.

[chengkp75]

Funny thing about all the posts so far, is that a major part of the USPH inspection is to witness a full meal service, so that the inspectors can see if the operational protocols are "second nature" and not just trotted out for them. The stress of a full service will force the staff to revert to their "normal" behavior, whether good or bad.

 

Closing venues normally doesn't please the inspectors, and they will want to see that equipment is working regardless of whether the venue is open or not.

 

A well trained crew can accomplish a USPH inspection with only the upper supervisors (chef tournants, exec. chef, exec. housekeeper, F&B director, Provisions Master, and Engineering, Deck, and Medical officers being required to operate outside their normal routine, escorting the inspectors.

 

One of the things the inspectors look for, is whether their inspection is impacting guest services, which is an indicator that required protocols may not be being followed on a daily basis.

[land lover]

They did not close the venues or serve a full meal, they ran out of food when people were in line....so was there a problem with the food????? Only hot dogs and hamburgers at the WJ and a few salads hearsay from at least 20 people ..at promenade 12noon I was at the front of the line when we had to wait for sandwiches for 10 minutes and then there were only turkey. Both venues Lines...Lines ..and more lines

 

2pm boarding day at Schooners no FOOFOO drinks as fruit delivery was being delayed due to the inspection, this info from the bar tenders

 

First morning spoke to at least 10 people who never got their morning coffee or breakfast from room service....What???

 

I could go on and on.............

 

I had 2 small problems on the ship that became major because of incompetence......I had 1 Officer visit me in my Cabin.

 

 

There were far more problems than from the inspections...long lines embarkation, questionable food or lack of, poor service, rudeness by staff...etc.......

 

If you were not on this cruise you would have no idea what was experienced.

 

OP by no means r u complaining....this cruise was simply OFF.....

 

It embarrassed the Loyal to Royal cruisers and it was the poor performance on many levels that was the talk of the ship at most gatherings.

Edited May 21, 2016 by land lover

[Donny-Joe]

Closing venues normally doesn't please the inspectors, and they will want to see that equipment is working regardless of whether the venue is open or not.

 

Interesting. So maybe this wasn't normal for the industry as a whole. I can't imagine any cruise company wanting to have a lunch service this poorly managed, but I could just barely believe they'd be willing to live with it twice a year in order to get the best possible USPH score.

 

A well trained crew can accomplish a USPH inspection with only the upper supervisors (chef tournants, exec. chef, exec. housekeeper, F&B director, Provisions Master, and Engineering, Deck, and Medical officers being required to operate outside their normal routine, escorting the inspectors.

 

Good to know.

 

One of the things the inspectors look for, is whether their inspection is impacting guest services, which is an indicator that required protocols may not be being followed on a daily basis.

 

Well, if he was looking for impact on guest services, I'm pretty sure he saw it. You'd have to be blind not to. But do they actually knock off points for "impacting guest services?" I've never seen that on a report (yes, I browse the USPH reports in my spare time :)). Or do they just grill people more and inspect deeper when they suspect they're getting a show?

 

They did not close the venues or serve a full meal, they ran out of food when people were in line....so was there a problem with the food????? Only hot dogs and hamburgers at the WJ and a few salads hearsay from at least 20 people ..at promenade 12noon I was at the front of the line when we had to wait for sandwiches for 10 minutes and then there were only turkey. Both venues Lines...Lines ..and more lines

 

Yes, it was only hamburgers and hot dogs (plus condiments) and french fries. And some cold desserts. And for long periods of time they would run out of hamburger patties and hot dogs. The salad bar wasn't open, and I walked past a man asking a server when it would open. The server was basically saying he didn't know.

 

At one point a F&B supervisor in an officer's uniform, looking as haggard and stressed as I've ever seen a crew member, stopped by our table (while my wife was off trying to get a hamburger) and asked if everything was OK. (He emphasized the word "you," as in, "is everything OK with you?" I have a feeling he had been getting an earful from some of the grumpier passengers.) I told him we were fine and asked what was going on. He said it was the USPH inspection. Shortly afterwards my wife came back and said she'd waited in one of the lines for 10 minutes or so and failed to move forward at all, so she gave up. A few minutes later the inspector showed up and checked out the closed serving line next to us. After he left, they opened up the line, though for a long time the only actual food on that line was french fries and cold sliced tomatoes and onions.

 

It embarrassed the Loyal to Royal cruisers and it was the poor performance on many levels that was the talk of the ship at most gatherings.

 

We had two different long-time Royal cruisers that we met on the cruise tell us that if this had been their first RCI cruise it would have been their last. But each of them had had some really serious problems in addition to the craziness at embarkation. Another very nice couple we met had experienced some issues but like us basically felt like stuff happens and weren't going to let it affect their enjoyment. But they did feel like this was the worst they'd experienced on Royal.

 

Ultimately if this is the worst cruise we ever experience I will consider us exceptionally lucky, because most of the cruise went fine.

[chengkp75]

 

Well, if he was looking for impact on guest services, I'm pretty sure he saw it. You'd have to be blind not to. But do they actually knock off points for "impacting guest services?" I've never seen that on a report (yes, I browse the USPH reports in my spare time :)). Or do they just grill people more and inspect deeper when they suspect they're getting a show?

 

Ultimately if this is the worst cruise we ever experience I will consider us exceptionally lucky, because most of the cruise went fine.

 

Yeah, if they feel they're getting snowed or focusing on the inspection, they will just start to dig deeper. There are observations made by the inspectors that don't make the report, and not all observations rate point deductions.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

 

If you were not on this cruise you would have no idea what was experienced.

 

OP by no means r u complaining....this cruise was simply OFF.....

 

It embarrassed the Loyal to Royal cruisers and it was the poor performance on many levels that was the talk of the ship at most gatherings.

 

No, we wouldn't know what you experienced, but for a counter point, there is a review thread started for this same cruise and the poster had a "really nice cruise" with "great staff".

[RickinStl]

What is the USPH?

[reallyitsmema]

Without a doubt I want the ships to be inspected. I just would think the company could figure out a way to complete the inspection and still keep up with normal service. Perhaps their fear is that running normal service while the inspector is there makes it more likely that someone will make a mistake that counts against the score.

 

 

 

OK, so it sounds like what we experienced was pretty normal. And again, totally first world problems. No one starved, nothing seriously important (to us) was forgotten. It was just a bit surprising.

 

When we boarded Freedom, all venues were closed. You could not get a drink, you could not get a cookie at Cafe Promenade and WJ was completely closed. None of the cases had been loaded with any food at all. We saw the uniformed inspectors and also a few ships officers on the Royal Promenade in the Cupcake Cupboard finishing up some paperwork and lots of crew around telling people venues would be open soon. Once opened, WJ had all stations open but since it opened so late, things would empty instantly, there were no seats anywhere and some people were very grumpy. We had tried to get off an elevator and couldn't so we went exploring and came down to the WJ and it was a zoo. There were lots of threads about it at the time since a few were posting live.

 

As far as the Jewel in Bar Harbor, had it not been for the man who needed his bloody mary, I think we never would have noticed that an inspection was in progress other than all the Officers running around the WJ that morning. Breakfast went as normal, just no bar service, which for us at 9am was just fine.;) We did hear an announcement later, thanking everyone for their patience and notifying the crew that they got a 100, which led to some cheering.

 

I think the difference in the two experiences was that one was on turnover day and one was a port day. Dealing with 10k passengers disembarking and embarking during a detailed inspection can't be fun.

[Hoopster95]

No, we wouldn't know what you experienced, but for a counter point, there is a review thread started for this same cruise and the poster had a "really nice cruise" with "great staff".

 

That's me :)

I had no problem at 12:45pm'ish seeing the wrap around line on the pool deck of at least 200 people and fully well Knowing what was going on even though I had been on the ship a total of 2 minutes.... Reading about prev TA inspection and oversea issues, I expected possible slow Embarkation and other issues, it was also mentioned in our roll call too. I made my way down to Sorrento's where my partner and I lined up with about 20 in front of us, and had a couple of weak tuna sandwiches and a couple of cookies within 5 minutes. Shortly after 2pm we went up to the WJ for a real lunch and walked right in... There was only about 1/3 the normal selections avail on a typical embarkation day but there was by that time more than just burgers and fries.

[land lover]

Xxx

Edited May 21, 2016 by land lover

[land lover]

No, we wouldn't know what you experienced, but for a counter point, there is a review thread started for this same cruise and the poster had a "really nice cruise" with "great staff".

 

That's me :)

I had no problem at 12:45pm'ish seeing the wrap around line on the pool deck of at least 200 people and fully well Knowing what was going on even though I had been on the ship a total of 2 minutes.... Reading about prev TA inspection and oversea issues, I expected possible slow Embarkation and other issues, it was also mentioned in our roll call too. I made my way down to Sorrento's where my partner and I lined up with about 20 in front of us, and had a couple of weak tuna sandwiches and a couple of cookies within 5 minutes. Shortly after 2pm we went up to the WJ for a real lunch and walked right in... There was only about 1/3 the normal selections avail on a typical embarkation day but there was by that time more than just burgers and fries.

 

 

With 3600 let's hope the majority had the above. However, I spoke to many pax who volunteered their opinions..I did not solicit them...they asked me how many times I have cruised with RCI and what I thought?

I tried to silence their concern with this isn't typical...

 

 

Check out our roll call you'll see a more opinions.....

 

It certainly maters when a person boarded the ship if you noticed I put times for my experiences...a person boarding at 3:00 certainly would not experience what those of us did at 11-1pm.....Someone with Traditional dining would have a total different opinion from those at My Time.

 

 

Claudio...the inspection was mentioned in our roll call ? How did I miss that????? Only unless u mean after our cruise...Glad u had knowledge about issues after TAs, to bad RCI didn't enlighten their guests before the cruise with a simple email....

Edited May 21, 2016 by land lover

[chengkp75]

What is the USPH?

 

The US Public Health Service, a division of the CDC, that is mandated with preventing the introduction of contagious disease into the US. As part of this, they inspect every ship that arrives in the US from a foreign port, and to keep from having to interview thousands of passengers every week from cruise ships, they have developed the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), where the cruise lines agree to follow the construction and operation requirements set out in the VSP, and the USPH agrees to randomly inspect the ships twice a year.

[chengkp75]

Was this the first US port after a season away from the US? (sorry, don't follow the itineraries real close) If so, this can explain the stress level of the crew, but some cruise lines maintain USPH standards even when not calling at US ports, for just this reason, so that when the ship returns to the US, the protocols are "muscle memory", and no remedial cleanup or training is necessary. We used to have a weekly inspection onboard, where every supervisor who has some aspect of USPH requirement as part of their duties, comes and inspects the whole ship with USPH "eyes". We would set it up so that a space like the galley would be inspected by the Executive Chef as his domain, and one officer from another department to act as "fresh eyes" to see things that Chef may overlook on a daily basis.

[land lover]

Was this the first US port after a season away from the US? (sorry, don't follow the itineraries real close) If so, this can explain the stress level of the crew, but some cruise lines maintain USPH standards even when not calling at US ports, for just this reason, so that when the ship returns to the US, the protocols are "muscle memory", and no remedial cleanup or training is necessary. We used to have a weekly inspection onboard, where every supervisor who has some aspect of USPH requirement as part of their duties, comes and inspects the whole ship with USPH "eyes". We would set it up so that a space like the galley would be inspected by the Executive Chef as his domain, and one officer from another department to act as "fresh eyes" to see things that Chef may overlook on a daily basis.

 

Bingo..No A Hawaiian port was first however it was in Australia/NZ for the season if I am not mistaken, 4 day stuck in before starting Alaska.

 

Interesting comment from Bar tender said they did not do their usual pick up of Fruit in Hawaii... Pax said last five days of TA there was limited fruit and even booze choices were really ...again all hearsay....

Edited May 21, 2016 by land lover

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

That's me :)

 

Ha, I know. I figured I wouldn't mention any names. :p

[jagsfan]

I read every post and then a long explanatory one. I scrolled back up and sure enough, it was chengkp. We Are lucky to have someone who has the knowledge to shine a light on so much that is a mystery to the rest of us. Always enlightening, always interesting.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[LMaxwell]

Would opening the MDR have alleviated some of the lines once things were up to speed?

[riclop]

It's always a surprise inspection.

[Donny-Joe]

Was this the first US port after a season away from the US? (sorry, don't follow the itineraries real close) If so, this can explain the stress level of the crew

 

Well, they were coming from a long stretch in Australia. Our MDR server said they expected to get an inspection when they got back to the US, so they were ready at their first Hawaii call, and there was no inspection. So then they figured it would be their second Hawaii call, but no inspection. They finally got to Seattle -- inspection. And of course Seattle is a turnaround, and they probably onboarded a massive amount of food and so forth, after being at sea so long.

 

The Explorer's last inspection was February of 2015, so they were certainly due for another.

[lucymorgan]

Interesting thread!

 

It made me a bit concerned that there might be different standards for US cruises and non-US cruises. So I did a tiny amount of research and found out that we have inspections here in Australia too although the focus is more about biosecurity

 

In case anyone is interested, here are some links https://www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Public_Health/CruiseShipProgram/surv.asp

 

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/avm/vessels/commercial-vessels/cruise-vessels#cruise-vessel-passenger-announcement

 

http://australia.etbtravelnews.com/148733/what-does-it-mean-when-a-cruise-ship-undergoes-a-health-inspection-4/

Edited May 22, 2016 by lucymorgan

[chengkp75]

Okay, had a night to sleep on it, and I can explain some of the problems better.

 

If the ship's crew were expecting a USPH inspection in Hawaii, that was a serious miscalculation on their part, as the feds don't have the budget to fly the teams out there :D, particularly when the ship is coming soon to the mainland, and there was probably a USCG inspection in Hawaii, and they won't do both on the same day. And yes, the USPH will try to keep you guessing as to when they will show up.

 

The problem with fruit and food service came to me this morning. It has to do with a Department of Agriculture regulation regarding ship's garbage coming from foreign sources. If a ship lands garbage in the US, and any of that garbage has touched food (packaging, paper goods, etc) from foreign sources, the garbage is treated as biohazard waste, and costs an arm and a leg to dispose of. Further, this classification as "foreign garbage" lasts for one year after the last foreign port where food was sourced. To avoid this, you can clean the ship out of fresh food, have the ship inspected by the Dept of Ag., and load US sourced food. This is why they didn't pick up fruit in Hawaii (and likely didn't land garbage), and why they were slow in getting food service up. Another reason is Alaska, and their fairly strict laws on bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables from outside the US. So, the ship had a double whammy of getting rid of all the existing fresh food, and inspecting and loading the new stock, while undergoing a USPH inspection as well.

 

There are different standards for cruises in different places. It is up to the country being called upon to inspect cruise ships for sanitation. The USPH VSP is probably the strictest regime, but the EU has their own code, called ShipSan, and other countries that do not adopt their own regime follow the WHO regulations. All are basically the same, and cover far more areas of shipboard operation than just food safety.

[Serious Cruisers]

We were also on this cruise, we were invited to a top tier event where we met the Captain and his staff.

 

Many of the staff (waiters, stateroom attendants, servers) were NEW! First day on ANY cruise ship, some first time out of there countries!

[land lover]

We were also on this cruise, we were invited to a top tier event where we met the Captain and his staff.

 

Many of the staff (waiters, stateroom attendants, servers) were NEW! First day on ANY cruise ship, some first time out of there countries!

 

I figured my attendant was new, otherwise why would his supervisor make a visit to my cabin a 1/2 hour after I spoke to the Guest Relations Manager at the TT party.

 

Anyway, the GR manager asked me how my cruise was and I mentioned how I had gone to GR(her dept.) at 2am that morn to rearrange a cancelled disembarkation tour and how the printer did not work, so after 15 minutes was told my ticket would be sent to my room in a few hours, well morn came no ticket and now I had to go to the excursion desk, at 6am and the rep. said well i see it was sent to your room..NOT! so this lead to the comment about my room attendant not being the greatest and he not introducing himself the first day...etc

 

And you know why I really wanted my room attendant so I could give him the snacks(bagged popcorn I used to protect my wine) and a little cash.

I've done this for years, each day the RA find a treat from us/me( I traveled solo this cruise) when they come to make up the room. So the funny thing was when the supervisor came in he said well Budi told me you gave him a gift and I said did he really think I gave it to him because of good service?

Really??????

 

This story is waaaaaaaaaaay to long but I could write 3 additional situations that happened on this 4 day cruise that wasted mine and the staff's time because of disorganization and incompetence.

 

Just sayin'

Edited May 22, 2016 by land lover