Religious Services

Most ships provide nondenominational religious services on Sundays and religious holidays, and a number offer daily Catholic masses and Friday-evening Jewish services. The kind of service held depends upon the clergy the cruise line invites on board. Religious services are usually held in the library, the theater, or one of the private lounges, although a few ships have actual chapels.

Communications

Most ships provide nondenominational religious services on Sundays and religious holidays, and a number offer daily Catholic masses and Friday-evening Jewish services. The kind of service held depends upon the clergy the cruise line invites on board. Religious services are usually held in the library, the theater, or one of the private lounges, although a few ships have actual chapels.

Healt Care

Quality medical care at sea is another important safety issue. All big ships are equipped with medical infirmaries to handle minor emergencies. However, these should not be confused with hospitals. Unlike with fire safety, there are no international standards governing medical facilities or personnel aboard cruise ships although the American Medical Association has recommended that such standards be adopted.

If you have a preexisting medical condition, discuss your upcoming cruise with your doctor. Pack extra supplies of any medicines you might need. Once aboard, see the ship's doctor and alert him or her to your condition, and discuss treatments or emergency procedures before the situation arises.

Passengers with potentially life-threatening conditions should seriously consider signing up with a medical evacuation service, and all passengers should review their health insurance to make sure they are covered while on a cruise.

If you become seriously ill or injured and happen to be near a modern major city, you may be taken to a medical facility shoreside. But if you're farther afield, you may have to be airlifted off the ship by helicopter and flown either to the nearest American territory or to an airport where you can be taken by charter jet to the United States. Mandatory safety standards of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) require that all members have suitable, unobstructed helicopter pick-up areas for evacuating patients to shore hospitals.

Many standard health insurance policies, as well as Medicare, do not cover these or other medical expenses incurred outside the United States. You can, however, buy supplemental health insurance to cover you while traveling.

Common Ailments

The most common minor medical problems confronting cruise passengers are seasickness and gastrointestinal distress. Modern cruise ships, unlike their earlier transatlantic predecessors, are relatively motion-free vessels with computer-controlled stabilizers, and they usually sail in comparatively calm waters. If, however, you do feel queasy, you can always get seasickness pills aboard ship. (Many ships give them out for free at the front desk.)

Outbreaks of food poisoning happen from time to time aboard cruise ships. These episodes are random; they happen on ships old and new, big and small, budget and luxury. The Centers for Disease Control monitor cruise-ship hygiene and sanitation procedures, conducting voluntary inspections twice a year of all ships that sail regularly from U.S. ports (this program does not include ships that never visit the United States). For a free listing of the latest ship scores, contact the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP; 4770 Buford Highway NE, Mail Stop F-16, Atlanta, GA 30341, tel. 770/488-7333, NCEH Health Line/fax-back service 888/232-6789). On the Web site, you can search through all the scores and read the inspection reports.

A high score on the CDC report doesn't mean you won't get sick. Outbreaks have taken place on ships that consistently score very highly; conversely, some ships score very poorly yet passengers never get sick. So use these scores as a guideline and factor them in with other considerations when choosing your ship.