The Costa Mediterranea garnered a perfect score of 100 during an inspection conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 9. The same Costa ship had also obtained a perfect score on Dec. 13 last year. The Costa vessel is the only cruise ship inspected by the CDC this year to have achieved a perfect score twice in one year. The CDC inspections are part of the Vessel Sanitation Program, which was introduced in the early 1970s and involves all ships that stop in a U.S. port. Officials from the U.S. Public Health Service perform the inspections, which are unannounced, twice a year. The score, on a scale from 1 to 100, is determined on the basis of a checklist with some 48 areas of assessment, which include hygiene and food sanitation (including storage and preparation), water, shipboard personnel and overall cleanliness of the ship.
