What Happens if You Get Injured on a Cruise?

Unsurprisingly, the most common injuries onboard a cruise ship are slips, trips and falls. Combine potentially slick pool decks, ocean spray and unfamiliar surroundings, it’s no wonder that approximately 45%¹ of all injuries onboard cruise ships fall into this category. You can do a lot towards preventing a slip, trip or fall by holding on to railings where available, wearing non-slip shoes throughout the ship and drinking in moderation.

What to Do: First and foremost, head to the ship’s medical center to get any care needed. Whether you need compression bandages, ice packs or even a wheelchair, the medical center will get what you need. Be sure and report the incident to the medical staff and include details about how and where your injury occurred. This will help staff know if something on the cruise ship needs to be fixed or caution signs put out.

The risk of food poisoning on a cruise ship tends to be higher. It takes a large cooking staff to prep, prepare and cook the quantities of food available on cruise ships. On larger cruises, there could be upwards of 300 staff members involved in cooking. While all cooking staff are trained on safe food management and handling, that many food handlers can, unfortunately, lead to instances of food poisoning. Food poisoning onboard can be caused by things like contaminated food or water or improper food handling.

What to Do: Recognize the symptoms of food poisoning such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and notify cruise staff as soon as you can. Reporting the incident quickly can help the cruise ship staff to mitigate the safety issue and prevent others from getting food poisoning as well. If your symptoms are severe, visit the ship’s medical center for medical attention. Drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.

One of the best parts of cruising is the ability to visit multiple locations in one trip. On port days, cruise coordinators will offer the opportunity to sign up for shore excursions, which can range from hiking, culinary tours and exploring museums to zip lining, snorkeling and jet skiing. Because of the wide range of excursions, accidents from minor scratches to broken bones or even back or head injuries can occur. Whatever excursion you plan to do, make sure you follow all safety guidelines throughout the activity. Ask questions if any safety information is unclear and listen to your gut when it comes to participating in something.

What to Do: For less severe injuries, report your injury to the staff running the excursion. Most likely they have processes in place for addressing medical care – whether that’s medical staff they have or transporting you to a local clinic. Be sure and inform your cruise ship shore excursion staff so they can help to make sure you get back to the cruise ship on time. Be sure and report the incident with your cruise ship even if you reported it with the tour company.

For more severe injuries, the most important thing to do first is seek medical attention. Tour guide staff should call an ambulance and have you transported to a medical facility to be cared for. In these situations, when it’s hard to know your next step, Travel Guard can help. We have a specially trained emergency medical team who can help coordinate getting you to appropriate medical care, notifying necessary people, monitoring care, and even making travel arrangements back home or to catch up with your cruise ship. Travel Guard also has medical personnel on staff (nurses, EMTs and doctors) who monitor cases and speak directly with local medical staff to ensure our customers are receiving appropriate medical care.

Heat injuries occur when your body can’t regulate its temperature and can include things like sunburn, dehydration, heat rash and heat exhaustion. When you’re on a cruise ship, the warm and sunny decks can become dangerous without the right protection. When your body loses too much water through sweating, you can become dehydrated or even experience heat exhaustion, so it’s important to stay hydrated when you’re enjoying the hot weather. Protect your skin from sunburn with high SPF sunscreen and reapply as recommended. Not only does sunburn damage your skin, but the pain can make the rest of your vacation hard to enjoy.

What to Do: If you experience a heat injury it’s important to drink plenty of water or electrolyte drinks to replenish the fluids your body has lost. Even with a sunburn, drinking water is important since sunburns draw fluid to the skin’s surface which can cause dehydration. Take time out of the sun to let your body temperature regulate and cool down. If your symptoms are severe or don’t start to improve, go to the medical center onboard your cruise ship.

It’s hard to avoid swimming and water activities when you’re onboard a cruise ship - and who would want to! With large pools onboard and beautiful beaches in port, a lot of time is spent in and around water. Because of this, water safety injuries like earaches, scrapes and bruises or respiratory issues can happen onboard a cruise ship. Lower your risk of injury by supervising children when they are in the water, learn basic water safety skills, avoid overconsuming alcohol and, as always, follow any posted safety guidelines.

What to Do: For minor water safety injuries like scrapes and bruises, you can visit the cruise ship’s medical center for over-the-counter supplies like bandages and antibiotic ointment. Medical staff onboard can also prescribe things like antibiotic ear drops or pain relief medicine if necessary. For severe injuries that occur in and around water, first safely remove yourself or the injured individual from the water. Once safely out of the water alert cruise ship staff of the medical situation so they can call medical staff to the area. Try not to move, especially if you’re unsure of your injury. In the event of a near-drowning, begin CPR until medical staff arrive.

First and foremost, get the medical treatment you need for your injury. Medical centers on board cruise ships are usually located on lower deck away from crowded areas.

Report your injury to cruise ship officials who will create an official incident report, which can be important for any medical or travel insurance claims you may file in the future.

The idea of taking it easy might be a challenge onboard a cruise ship that has so many fun and exciting activities, but it’s important to follow the direction of the medical staff so your injury heals quickly and correctly.