A Carnival Cruise Line's ship was cited by inspectors from Centers for Disease Control & Prevention for more than 2 dozen violations involving unsanitary conditions.
Such a failing grade is rare for a major line. Conditions onboard Carnival Triumph, cited by CDC, include flies in food preparation areas; cheese, yogurt, milk and eggs not kept at proper temperatures; clogged machinery such as dishwashers "extremely soiled with debris."
The report on Carnival Triumph inspection, conducted in November 2017, was released this week. CDC inspectors perform annual unannounced inspections as part of the Vessel Sanitation Program, that is designed to help prevent and control gastro illnesses like norovirus.
The 2,754-passenger ship received a score of 78 out of 100. Such grades below 86 are considered failing.
Carnival Cruise Line announced it was "immediately" correcting the issues and was communicating with CDC. A re-inspection had been requested, a spokeswoman said in a statement.
Carnival Triumph has never failed such inspections, according to CDC records dating back to 1999. However, the cruise ship became infamous when it was dubbed the "poop cruise" in 2013 after an engine room fire caused propulsion failure and left passengers with no air conditioning and few working bathrooms.