Decomposing bird and maggots uncovered in cruise ship investigation

A recent report has unveiled the grossest and dirtiest cruise ships whereby decomposing birds and maggot infestations have been found leading to failed inspections

A dead bird and wriggling maggots were discovered on a grill aboard a cruise ship.

Newly published reports from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shines a light on the world’s largest cruise ships and the standards kept onboard.

The good news is that all but one vessel hit the ‘satisfactory’ mark of 85 or higher. The Hapag-Lloyd cruise ship, Hanseatic Inspiration, was the one to fall below the mark, scoring a lowly 62 out of 100 for its inspection at the end of September.

The CDC, which inspects cruise ships, uncovered several violations, including a dead bird with maggots on one of the decks’ outdoor grills. “The area under the outdoor grill was excessively soiled with water, debris, feathers, a dead bird, and maggots. The area was used the day prior to the inspection,” Item 33 on the inspection report states.

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“Pest management and monitoring was extremely insufficient and allowed excessive pest entry into food areas. Several live and dead insects, a dead bird, and live maggots were found in various food areas onboard the vessel. However, the pest management logs indicated there were no known pest issues on board the vessel.”

Inspectors shed light on a number of other issues, including “no record of disinfection for the swimming pool’s hair and lint strainer between September 8 and September 21”, “supervisors were inadequately monitoring critical and high-risk food processes” and “potwash operations were chaotic, disorganized, and not in compliance”.

“Live flies” were also spotted in areas including the lido potwash clean storage rack and the pool bar cold sink, while dead insects were found in several food related areas. There were no anti-rat guards on the mooring lines when the inspectors approached the ship at 8.30 am the ship having docked the day prior to inspection. The guards are designed to stop rats climbing along the mooring lines and onto the ship.

A spokesperson from Hapag-Lloyd said: “The health of both guests and crew has always been our top priority at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. For years, we have consistently met strict hygiene standards well above the minimum requirements.

“The incident in the previous month in no way reflects the operational excellence that our ships stand for. We immediately addressed the deficiencies, thoroughly investigated the causes, and submitted a corrective report to the authorities. A working group of internal and external experts is overseeing and supporting the implementation of measures to ensure our high standards are maintained permanently.”

Five cruise ships narrowly passed — Caribbean Princess, Carnival Breeze, Evrima, Kydon and MSC Magnifica — scoring 86 out of 100.

There have also been several disease outbreaks on cruise ships through 2024 including salmonella onboard Radiance of the Seas in late September, with 8.29 per cent of passengers reported being ill during the voyage. P&O Cruises; ship Arcadia also had an outbreak of norovirus from September 3 to October 3, with 5.57 per cent of passengers reported being ill during their time onboard.

Six other cruise ships also suffered with norovirus outbreaks in 2024, so far, including Celebrity Summit, Sapphire Princess, Radiance of the Seas, Koningsdam, Queen Victoria and Celebrity Constellation. One ship, Silver Nova, also experienced an E.coli outbreak where 28 of 633 passengers onboard reported being unwell.

The CDC is a national public health agency of the US and works to protect the country from health, safety and security threats from both foreign locations and in the US.