Ask Away: Keeping well on a cruise

Some sensible precautions can help you enjoy your cruise. Picture / Getty Images

Eli Orzessek finds the answers to your travel questions.

My husband and I are planning our first cruise trip. I've read a lot of coverage in the media about outbreaks of bugs on board. Is there anything we can do to avoid this? And what happens if we did fall sick at sea?
Elyse C

The number one tip to avoid falling sick at sea is pretty simple: wash your hands. Over and over again. While I usually feel sorry for germophobes, this is one of the times I'd take a tip out of their book. Viruses and other infectious conditions can spread very quickly in a closed environment like a cruise ship — which is while you'll see hand sanitiser units everywhere. Make frequent use of them.

Stay well-hydrated — it'll also help build up your immune system. If you dine self-service, stay away from food that looks like it's been sitting out for a while.

Basic over-the-counter medication is for sale on board, but it's generally more expensive than on shore — so stock up before you leave. Obviously you should bring your own prescription medication. You should also see your doctor before you leave and make sure you've got the right vaccinations for port visits. Cruise ships have well-trained doctors but it will cost you. Arrange travel insurance before you go. If things are more serious, a passenger can be put off the ship at the next port of call for proper treatment — a situation where travel insurance would definitely come in handy.

If you start to feel unwell, be sure to tell staff straight away — they need to do everything they can to prevent the spread of illness and will appreciate your honesty.

And though cruise ships have a reputation as hotbeds for stomach bugs, it turns out your odds of getting sick are actually quite slim. Talking to the Los Angeles Times, the chief of the Centre for Disease Control's Vessel Sanitation Programme (which inspects cruise ships in sailing in US waters) said that less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the more than 73 million passengers who sailed between 2008-2014 suffered acute gastrointestinal illness.

Readers respond:

Judith Derbyshire wrote in about stopovers in Honolulu, where she found the airport exhausting enough to begin with ...

"Although Hawaiian Airlines was very good, it's a long walk from Gate 50 something, to collect your luggage. Even on a stopover you have to get your luggage. No signs to say where to get the luggage and after asking someone, we found it was in another building down the road. Huge queues. We are in our 70s and at Customs we found we have no fingerprints left! The Customs lady complete with gun was not impressed! We had just nearly four hours stopover and had to run to get our next flight. They were boarding, but a bit late thank goodness otherwise we would have missed it.

"I think that the advice she had to just stay put, might be the best idea. She'll be as exhausted as we were."

Send your queries by email to askaway@nzherald.co.nz. Eli cannot answer all questions and can't correspond with readers.

Staying healthy at sea

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When you're blessed with good weather, good company and good health, cruise holidays can be an unforgettable experience for all the right reasons. Here are a few quick tips to help you to enjoy a safe and sickness-free adventure at sea.

Five quick tips to stay safe on board

1. Stay hydrated: if you're spending time soaking up the sun on the upper deck (perhaps with a cocktail in hand), it's important to keep the non-alcoholic fluids at healthy levels.

2. Stick to hot food: raw, undercooked or lukewarm food is a recipe for tummy trouble, so stick to freshly-served hot meals at the buffet.

3. Follow the drill: once you're onboard, pay attention to the safety information given by the ships staff on where to find your life jacket, what you should do if the alarm sounds, etc.

4. Prepare for the worst: if you've never sailed before, you may have concerns about seasickness. Pack ginger sweets to help combat nausea.

5. Use your safe: or better yet keep any valuables at home. There are a lot of people on board cruises and you can't rely on them all being honest.

For more great travel tips and advice, visit Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

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