Holland America Line's MS Eurodam Achieves Perfect Score On US Public Health Inspection, The First Ship In Line's History To Achieve Eight Consecutive Perfect Scores.

On a recent surprise United States Public Health inspection conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ms Eurodam became the first ship in Holland America Line's history to achieve eight consecutive perfect scores of 100. The ship was inspected Feb. 1, 2015, at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the start of a seven-day Caribbean cruise.

Prior to this inspection, Eurodam received a score of 100 in October 2014 during a call at Boston, Mass., on a Canada/New England cruise. In the past year, ms Noordam, ms Zuiderdam, ms Statendam and ms Westerdam also earned perfect scores of 100.

"Achieving eight consecutive perfect scores during U.S.P.H inspections is an amazing accomplishment, and it shows how diligently everyone works to continuously exceed our goals," said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. "Congratulations to the Eurodam team for consistently demonstrating how a commitment to excellence and hard work delivers results."

CDC inspections are part of the Vessel Sanitation Program, which was introduced in the early 1970s and is required for all passenger ships that call at a U.S. port. The inspections are unannounced and are carried out by officials from the United States Public Health Service twice a year for every cruise ship. The score, on a scale from one to 100, is assigned on the basis of a checklist involving dozens of areas of assessment, encompassing hygiene and sanitation of food (from storage to preparation), overall galley cleanliness, water, shipboard personnel and the ship as a whole. The ships received perfect scores in all of those areas.