Cruise Ship Vacation Safety Tips You Can Use

We have been providing cruise vacation travelers safety tips for over a decade now. Lists of safety tips to keep us safe on and off the cruise ship have come and gone, been read or not, by thousands of you over the years. We would like to think that some of those safety tips might have kept some of you safe, jogging thoughts of safety tips amid thoughts of a fabulous cruise vacation.

Things were rocking along rather nicely for most of that time. We would update tips from time to time but the common-sense nature of what was recommended did not really change all that much. The grounding of Costa Concordiacruise ship last January changed all that, even though we know/hope that nothing like the Costa Concordia grounding may happen ever again. Still, safety is for the most part something we can take care of ourselves, for ourselves. So now it comes time to update the list of cruise ship safety tips again.

Will we recommend survival gear be on your packing list in case the ship runs aground? No.
Will we want you to be able to fight off other passengers to get on a cruise ship lifeboat first? No.
How about your teens? Will we want them to be with you at all times, for their safety on the cruise ship? No.

These would be overkill recommendations designed to scare you. If that was necessary, you would not be reading this because we would not be in the cruise vacation business anymore. Instead, we return to the basics, updated mainly in the evolving areas of technology and cruise line safety regulations. A cruise vacation is still a fabulous value, offers us the ability to see a number of different destinations in a safe, controlled environment and can leave us refreshed, relaxed and even renewed.

Check these cruise ship vacation safety tips:

Attend the Safety Drill- this is mandatory. It was mandatory before but a $20 bill could get you out of it. Now, cruise lines will disembark you right off the cruise ship with no refund and you will have to get home on your own.
Be mindful of jewelry- Leave it home or lock it up in your cabin safe but by no means go ashore wearing gold or diamonds. Just like one might be careful in a new city or town on land, we need to be careful ashore at any port in the world.
Use the buddy system is still a great idea for everyone, especially teens and children. The important part of the buddy system that is often missed is to have one person responsible for another and know where they should be all the time.
Be mindful of cash- Like jewelry, we don’t want others to know how much cash we might have on us. I don’t know that a money belt is necessary but it sure could not hurt to have one if for some reason you feel a need to carry a lot of cash. Best bet: use a ship ATM, buy cash from the ship’s casino cashier charged to your shipboard charge account but don’t have a lot of cash anyway.
Be alert or designate someone to be alert- This is for anywhere. Be aware of your surroundings, where exits are, where help could be found and be realistic about it: If you know you will have your head buried deeply in a book, so be it. Just have someone else be alert.
Use Ship Excursions- If for no other reason, the ship knows where you are. If late returning, they will know that too and come looking for you and the rest of your tour group. On a ship-sponsored shore excursion, the ship will not leave you behind.
Trust your instincts- We will be in many unfamiliar situations as we travel. The alternative is to stay home, lock the door, and never go anywhere. Even then, a giant boulder from Mars could come crashing through the roof. We could get run over by a bus walking across the street.

Be alert, use common-sense safety tips and trust that not everyone in the world is out to get you. Otherwise we close the door to some exciting cruise vacation travel opportunities that can make for some fabulous memories.

In the photo above, we are in Messina, Italy on a sailing of the Carnival Breeze just last month along with a whole lot of people. Below, doing what we like to do best in any port we found a sidewalk cafe for lunch and something to drink. By ourselves or maybe just a few other people. We might pass by a dozen possible places to stop but pick one that looks safe and will be enjoyable. Here is one we found in Taormina, Italy that created some great memories of a nice day off the ship.