Image credit: Tomás Castelazo, June 2044

A cruise at sea has been said to be the ultimate prescription for relaxation and to revive flagging spirits. One is waited on hand and foot and entertained lavishly.  So it is easy to let down one’s guard.  The risks are low, but there are still some hazards.

The risks

The main risks on board are:

• Theft
• Assault
• Rape
• Norovirus epidemics
• Falling off the ship
• Running aground

Off these, only falling off the ship and running aground are unique to a ship or boat.  These all occur, though a sea cruise is a pretty safe environment and you are more likely to experience crime on land than at sea.

Theft

There is a perception that cruising is for the well-healed.  While not everyone on board is rich, the rich are likely to be aboard.  As far as valuables are concerned, if you do not have it with you, they cannot take it.  Travel with a minimum of valuables.

Use the ship’s safe for valuables worth over $10,000 as those goods are a particular target of thieves.  The cabin safe is probably okay for lesser valuables, particularly for temporary storage, but be aware that they usually have a master code, or may be cracked by bumping.

Do not leave valuables in plain sight.  And do not be flash with your jewellery.  That includes not leaving it on the night-table.

Most modern ships are floating palaces and are brightly lighted.  But there may be areas of the ship that are poorly lit and with little or no traffic.  Avoid such areas, or spend the minimum amount of time there.  Be aware of your circumstances and be alert to being followed.

Use a door alarm when you are in the cabin.  Actually, you should apply all of the usual precautions that you would when staying a a hotel.  (See our article  Be safe and secure at your Hotel)

Assault

People have been injured in fights on board.  Lazy days and ready access to copious amounts of alcohol do not bring out the best in everyone.  Walk away from aggressive situations and inform the ship’s staff.  If there is exceptionally bad service do not try to remedy it by getting aggressive.  Seek peace.

Docks are not the safest area and may be a place for robbery or assault.  Avoid wandering around into unauthorised or lonely areas.

Rape

The same advice for avoiding rape on land applies at sea.

Watch your drinks, do not be alone with a stranger, never go to crew quarters, do not entertain crew in your cabin.  Do not explore the ship by yourself.

While shipboard romances are legion, you need to exercise caution in who you pair up with, and under what circumstances.  Get to know someone well (which is hard on a ship because they are out of their usual milieu, and so are you) before you spend time with them alone.

Keep careful control of your children and apply all the precautions that you would normally apply on land.

Norovirus epidemics

Illness on a ship has the same causes and can be prevented by the same precautions as illness on land.  Follow this advice from our article on Avoiding illness while travelling – General precautions

“Good personal hygiene, particularly about one’s hands is critically important in preventing infection whilst travelling.  Wash your hands before and after using the toilet, after handling money, and before meals.  Also wash your hands before touching your face or putting your fingers in your mouth.”

Carry alcohol-based handwash and disinfect your hands after having used the toilet, after you have shaken hands with anyone, and before eating.

Treat everywhere outside your cabin as contaminated.  Disinfect all the surfaces you touch inside the cabin with disinfectant wipes.  Do this even though your cabin has been serviced.  There are two reasons for this.  1) the staff member that cleaned your room might be ill, and 2) they have just cleaned your neighbour’s cabin, and your neighbour may be infected.

It is wise to carry diarrhoea medicine with you in your first-aid kit.  Stay hydrated if you do become infected (and there is useful advice at the above link, particularly with regard to oral rehydration therapy [ORT]).

Falling off the ship

Ships are fast, the deck is high off the water and the sea is inky black at night.  If you fall off, you are unlikely to be spotted.  Even if you are spotted there is a good chance that you will not be recovered.

The answer is “don’t fall off the ship”.  While this may seem obvious, many people are the architects of their own demise by trying to climb from one balcony to another, balancing on the handrail, emulating the famous scene from Titanic. or other such antics that are unsafe.  The sea is an unforgiving mistress.

Running aground

Even some very famous ships have run aground, largely through inattentive watch being kept, or navigational errors.  As a passenger you obviously can’t do anything to prevent it.  You need to be able to respond safely.

Pay attention when the compulsory safety instruction drill is held.  Know your escape route – you may need to find your way to safety in a dark passage listing at an angle.  Even if you have an outside cabin with a balcony, the passage you have use to escape may be narrow and dark.

Know where to access and how to use safety equipment.

If the ship is listing after running aground, proceed to the side of the vessel that is closest to the water.  That is the side that they will launch the lifeboats from.  Unless the listing angle is very small, lifeboats cannot be launched from the side sitting highest out of the water because the boats would be launched on to the side of the ship.

If you are unfortunate enough to run aground do not panic.  Stay on the vessel until there is a safe way off it.  People who go it alone and dive into the sea are much more likely to be injured or killed.  Even a damaged ship is a safer place than an unprotected person being thrown about by waves among rocks.

Embarkation

Depending on the efficiency of both the cruise company and the port authorities, this can take anywhere from an hour to three hours.  If you are going out of the sovereign territory of the country you are departing from, you will need your passport.  Where your final destination is a different county, you will need to provide proof of return at the passport control departure point.

Baggage

Unless you have a spacious stateroom, we recommend taking one compact suitcase.  Space is usually at a premium in cabins and you would want it to take up as little room as possible.  At embarkation, your luggage will be checked in and you will see it again once on board.  It will be outside your door, usually within an hour of being on board.

On board account activation

Once on board, before you can buy anything (even a drink of water on some ships), you will need to have activated your account.  On most cruises, you will be given a key card to your room that is also linked to your account.  You will use this card for all transaction on board.  They will require a minimum deposit to activate and should you run out, it can be topped up with cash or linked to your credit card.  Our suggestion is cash, as a credit card authorisation will be taken and then the actual amount taken at the end of the cruise.  The initial authority, though, will take several weeks too reflect back on your account, depending which bank you’re with.

Emergency drill

This is performed on all ships and in most cases on the first or second day of the cruise.  There will be a lifejacket in your cabin which will indicate which muster station you need to report too.  A sign of good staff knowledge of emergencies, is that any staff member should be able to help direct you.  It will be announced that it is just a drill and not a genuine emergency.  It is compulsory for all passengers to attend.  After all, should the unthinkable come to pass, better to be prepared.

During this drill, you may also be shown what to do in a case of ‘man overboard!’.  Our best advice on this – don’t be the man or woman overboard!

On board entertainment

Many cruises offer a specific program that you can follow to the letter if you wish to be occupied most of the day and night.  Depending of the nature of the cruise, the entertainment may be repeated on a weekly cycle.  If you are on a short cruise – no problem.

Such down-to-earth activities such as walking the promenade decks can be quite lovely at sunset or when coming into port and will provide an outlet for the energy gained from the high intakes of delicious food, common to cruises.

On board a cruise recently, we entertained ourselves by obtaining a game of Scrabble from the reception at a deposit of US15 which was refunded on return of the game.

Disembarkation

This usually takes a lot quicker than embarkation!  You will be given a coloured label for your baggage and be directed to a certain area of the ship in groups, before disembarking.  Your baggage will need to be ready outside your door, with labels attached, the night before disembarkation.