How to dodge sickness on your summer cruise – and the first thing you should toss in your suitcase

summer cruise have everything: parties, unlimited food, and the chance to see new countries without packing a single suitcase again. But they also pack in a lot of germs, uneasy stomachs, and headaches that come when you summer cruise forget to shield your skin from the sun. Let’s make your trip smooth, not slushy.

Wash your hands, still and again

“Everyone eats, drinks, and breathes the same air on a summer cruise, and they do it for days on end in a compressed space,” Dr. Shalom Sokolow of Phelps Hospital tells me. Because of that close sailing, the norovirus, a stomach sickness, has been on the rise, with 2024 set to break records for outbreaks.

“Norovirus hops from surface to hand to mouth in a flash,” Dr. Eric Ascher from Lenox Hill Hospital warns. Your tactic? Wash, rinse, repeat. Use soap for at least 20 seconds, and don’t skip hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when you’re on the pool deck or buffet line.

“Always rinse your hands after sharing space with others and before digging into your meal,” Sokolow advised.

Ascher suggests you bubble it up with warm soapy H2O for half a minute. Focus on cleaning up before you eat, after visiting the restroom, and right before you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Mind the buffet line

“Buffets seem like a foodie win on the road, but a shared-plate free-for-all is also a fast track for norovirus,” Ascher explained.  

And norovirus isn’t the only trouble that travails the all-you-can-plate. Warming trays can lag, warming foods can linger, and cut-up salad or dip packs can harbor germs before the sneeze-guard ever clicks into place.

Do you really need to pack your suitcase with packed lunches for the summer cruise?

“Cruise kitchens are celebrated for cravings: there is no reason to summer cruise the buffet with a brown-bag January for the patio crowd,” Sokolow replied. “But.”  

“Germs don’t empty their summer cruise tickets, either.”  

So a little effort keeps the plate great. There’s that cute, crumb-covered, golf-ball-sized serving-tong poised for hero status: Leave it to those steak-slinging utensils. Pick up, drop down, and come back with your hands scrubbed and a smile. Keep taste, skip the bug.

The Global Melting Pot: A Hotbed for Unfamiliar Germs

A summer cruise is like a floating city that moves from one country to another while carrying passengers from all over the globe. This setup creates a perfect playground for germs to hop from person to person. Imagine someone boarding the ship in Barcelona, for example. They feel totally fine, but they’re carrying a bug that’s common in the Mediterranean but unfamiliar to a family from the Midwest. Since the rest of the group has zero protection against that germ, they’re prime targets for infection. The cycle repeats in every port the ship visits. When travelers disembark, they step into another nation’s microbial world. Whether it’s a familiar flu virus that just has a twist or a water bug that comes from a local salad, the germs are ready for new hosts. Dining halls, theaters, pool decks, and the ship’s shared air piles susceptibility into warp speed. One sneeze in the buffet line, and what started as an individual case can suddenly affect hundreds. The result is a mini-epidemic, all in the time it takes to sail to the next sunset.

Knowing this risk is how you start building a smart plan. This change turns your vacation from a possible health worry into a safe, fun trip.

Proactive Immunity: The Critical Role of Pre-Travel Vaccinations

Your regular vaccine schedule won’t always cover you when you board that international flight. The best way to block trouble before you ever take off is proactive vaccination. This simple step tunes your immune system to the bugs you might meet abroad. Yes, the annual flu shot still counts, but it’s only part of the package. In many tropical and developing places, you’ll face diseases that don’t show up at the corner clinic. For example, Hepatitis A and Typhoid shots are must-haves if you’re exploring much of Asia, Africa, or Central and South America. These illnesses hitch a ride on tainted food or, unfortunately, water—and even the most careful traveler can take a wrong turn at a buffet. Looking at the world map, you’ll see that Yellow Fever is a requirement, not just a suggestion, before you step into parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and certain regions of South America. Carry the proof of vaccination, or the Customs board will send you innocent-looking tourists back on the next flight. To beat the clock, “inquire in advance,” says Dr. Sokolow. Book that face-time chat with a travel medicine pro or your regular doctor at the latest four to six weeks before your travel plans hit the tarmac.

[Note: I’ve rewritten without changing format so the output can be copied directly into a markdown editor.]

This lead time is essential because some vaccines need several shots over a few weeks to work best. Your body has to adjust and build a strong defense against the germs, so starting early is a smart move.

Creating a Full-Round Health Game Plan: Less Is More

Your summer cruise health checklist can’t stop at the cruise line-required shots. To cruise stress-free, treat the whole trip as a medical event, and double-check anything health-related. Core vaccines—measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), and the chickenpox jab—are must-haves, since those germs can germinate anywhere, especially when passports are stamped daily. Look closely at the trip itself. Some destinations demand anti-malarial pills, which needs a prescription, now. Traveller’s tummy never takes a vacation either; having an antibiotic in your carry-on chaser can mean the difference between unfamiliar dishes and the ship’s buffet. Motion sickness patches, broad-spectrum sunscreen, and an all-terrain kit stocked with alcohol wipes, bandages, an antihistamine, and—at least in your buddy bag— a working thermometer can treat rebounds. Talk this through with your doctor, who can steer you away from surprises, write the necessary scripts, and summarize each action so you’re still in ship shape when the island tour boat calls. With this one-stop health package, you’re armed against viral curveballs and everyday slip-ups, ready to roam the deck, explore the caves, and dive in, worry-free.

Reference Website:
https://nypost.com/2025/06/19/health/how-to-not-get-sick-on-a-cruise-and-must-haves-to-pack/