The Queen has been given a rather bad rap on the knuckles by the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. In a surprise inspection they gave her a score of 84 out of 100.

The Queen referred to here is, of course, Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2, which failed a hygiene inspection by the American Centre in New York on the 10th June.

What particularly upset Cunard was the use of the word “filthy” that apparently appears a couple of times in the report. The inspectors found dirty water in a swimming pool, human hair in an ice-making machine and cockroaches and fruit flies in a food storage area. Draught beer lines in the Golden Lion Pub and the casino bar were reportedly “heavily soiled”. They heavily criticised the storage of wine and food on open decks. They also did not approve of the fact that chemicals were often stored near utensils, paper cups and napkins. In total they found 60 violations.

In favour of the cruise ship, with a passenger capacity of 3,000, it has to be said that this was the first time she has failed such an inspection. In fact, she received a 100% score on three previous occasions. During the last seven years and 15 inspections she consistently received high scores.

The problem was apparently confined to a particular area of the ship and the staff members responsible for this section have been disciplined and retrained.

After the steps announced by Cunard to correct the situation, cruise lovers can be sure she will once again be one of the cleanest ships sailing the seven seas.