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.