How to Stay Healthy on a Cruise
The Lucy Team
We're the team behind Ask Lucy — travellers, food lovers, and language enthusiasts building an AI companion that helps you explore the world with confidence.
Preventing Illness Onboard
Wash your hands frequently. This is the single most effective prevention. Use soap and water, not just hand sanitizer. Wash before eating, after touching railings, and after using elevators.
Use hand sanitizer at every entrance. Ships place dispensers at dining room and buffet entrances. Use them every time.
Avoid touching your face. After touching shared surfaces like elevator buttons and stair railings.
Stay hydrated. The combination of sun, wind, alcohol, and air conditioning dehydrates you faster than you think.
Handling Seasickness
Modern cruise ships have stabilizers that minimize rocking, but some people still feel motion. Choose a mid-ship cabin on a lower deck for the least movement. Ginger tablets, acupressure wristbands, and over-the-counter motion sickness medication all help. The ship's medical center can provide stronger remedies.
Medical Facilities Onboard
Every cruise ship has a medical center staffed by doctors and nurses. Treatment is available 24/7 but is not free — costs are comparable to private medical care. This is why travel insurance with medical coverage is essential.
At port, Lucy helps you communicate medical needs in the local language, find pharmacies, and read medicine labels.