The Popular Cruise Dessert You Should Avoid Ordering

While setting out to sea on a cruise is a great way to experience something new, cruises come with a few potential drawbacks too. From rocky seas making passengers sick to the crowds, one of the biggest downsides of all for cruisers is that there's only a set amount of dishes you can order. There are often only a few restaurants on a cruise ship, so your options for every meal is limited. While some of these dishes we'd be glad to be stuck with, others we wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. One such popular cruise dessert you should avoid getting is soft-serve ice cream.

While lovers of this silky and luxurious treat might balk at the idea of abstaining from a cup, we have a good reason to avoid it. Since most soft-serve desserts come out of self-served machines, you'll be swapping germs with plenty of other passengers, including kids, as you pull down on this machine's levers. People want to relax on vacation, so being diligent about washing their hands might not be the first thing on their minds. As you swap hands to use the machine and eat your sweet treat, you might be getting these germs all over your ice cream cup. (Or worse: the cone.) To avoid getting sick while on the open sea, we suggest you avoid the soft-serve machine, or at least load up on hand sanitizer before and after you touch it.

This is just one of the many foods you should avoid getting on a cruise. Even if the crew is the one doing the pulling, approach soft serve with caution at all times. Whether the machine is located on a cruise ship or not, soft serve is a nightmare for food safety. 

Because these machines are so difficult to clean, bacteria can easily sneak their way inside, so soft serve is never 100% safe. In fact, soft-serve machines are the frequent causes of food poisoning, often found harboring dangerous bacteria like listeria and staphylococcus inside their tiny gears and trays. For this reason, employees should clean the soft serve machine at least every 24 hours, but they are oftentimes never broken down even close to this much. 

Additionally, the soft serve mix itself is unpasteurized and must stay below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to properly mix and remain safe. If the temperature goes above this, it will be unsafe to eat. Those unfamiliar with food safety procedures might not pay attention to this number, leaving purveyors of soft serve in a vulnerable spot yet again. For this reason, doctors actually encourage pregnant women to avoid eating soft serve just to be safe. We'd encourage every person to make sure you're getting this treat from a reputable source. For example, try turning a single banana into soft serve at home instead so you know exactly how it's made.