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How likely is an accident at sea? What if there’s a fire? Can you fall overboard? How good are are medical facilities aboard?

You can’t always stop passengers having too much to drink and falling over balconies. But, as far as maritime accidents are concerned, cruising can claim the travel industry’s best safety record, with fewer than 20 passenger fatalities during the past 20 years. Eleven of those happened when the Royal Pacific sank off Malaysia in 1992 after colliding with a Taiwanese trawler.

International regulations require all crew to undergo basic safety training before they are allowed to work aboard any cruise ship. On-the-job training is no longer enough. And safety regulations are getting more stringent all the time, governed by an international convention called SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), introduced in 1914 in the aftermath of Titanic’ s sinking in 1912. 

Can you accidentally fall overboard?
No. All cruise ships have sufficient railings to protect you and your children. You simply can’t go overboard unless you really, really want to.

Safety measures
All cruise ships built since July 1, 1986, must have either totally enclosed or partially enclosed lifeboats with diesel engines that will operate even if the lifeboat is inverted.

Since October 1997, cruise ships have had:
* All stairways fully enclosed in self-­contained fire zones.
* Smoke detectors and smoke alarms fitted in all passenger cabins and all public spaces.
* Low-level lighting showing routes of escape (such as in corridors and stairways).
* All fire doors throughout the ship controllable from the ship’s navigation bridge.
* All fire doors that are held open by hinges capable of release from a remote location.
* Emergency alarms audible in all cabins.

Since 2002, ocean-going cruise ships on international voyages have had to carry voyage data recorders (VDRs), similar to black boxes carried by aircraft).

In October 2010, new SOLAS regulations will prohibit the use of combustible materials in all new cruise ship construction. Some older vessels will either have to be withdrawn or be expensively upgraded.

Crew members attend frequent emergency drills, the lifeboat equipment is regularly tested, and the fire-detecting devices, and alarm and fire-fighting systems are checked. Any passenger spotting fire or smoke is encouraged to use the nearest fire alarm box, alert a member of staff, or contact the bridge.

Lifeboat drill
Few recent incidents have required the evacuation of passengers, although two cruise ships were lost following collisions (Jupiter in 1988, and Royal Pacific in 1992), one after striking an iceberg near Antarctica (Explorer in 2007) and one after foundering on a reef off the Greek island of Santorini (Sea Diamond in 2007).

A passenger lifeboat drill, announced publicly by the captain, must be held within 24 hours of leaving the embarkation port. Attendance is compulsory. Learn your boat station or assembly point and how to get to it in an emergency. If other passengers are lighthearted about the drill, don’t be distracted. Note your exit and escape pathways and learn how to put on your lifejacket correctly. The drill takes no more than 20 minutes and is a good investment in playing safe – the Royal Pacific took less than 20 minutes to sink after its collision.

Medical services
Except for ships registered in the UK or Norway, there are no mandatory international maritime requirements for cruise lines to carry a licensed physician or to have hospital facilities aboard. However, in general, all ships carrying over 50 passengers do have medical facilities and at least one doctor.

The standard of medical practice and of the doctors themselves may vary from line to line. Most shipboard doctors are generalists; there are no cardiologists or neuro­surgeons. Doctors are typically employed as outside contractors and will charge for use of their services, including seasickness shots.

Regrettably, many cruise lines make medical services a low priority. Most shipboard physicians are not certified in trauma treatment or medical evacuation procedures, for example. However, some medical organizations, such as the American College of Emergency Physicians, have a special division for cruise medicine. Most ships catering to North American passengers carry doctors licensed in the United States, Canada, or Britain, but doctors aboard many other ships come from a variety of countries and disciplines.

Cunard Line’s QM2, with 4,344 passengers and crew, has a fully equipped hospital with one surgeon, one doctor, a staff of six nurses, and two medical orderlies; contrast this with Carnival Sensation, which carries up to 3,514 passengers and crew, with just one doctor and two nurses.
Any ship operating long-distance cruises, with several days at sea should have better medical facilities than one engaged in a standard 7-day Caribbean cruise, with a port of call almost every day.

Ideally, a ship’s medical staff should be certified in advanced cardiac life support. The equipment should include an examination room, isolation ward/bed, X-ray machine (to verify fractures), cardiac monitor (EKG) and defibrillator, oxygen-saturation monitor, external pacemaker, oxygen, suction and ventilators, hematology analyzer, culture incubator, and a mobile trolley intensive care unit.

Existing health problems requiring treatment on board must be reported when you book. Aboard some ships, you may be charged for filling a prescription as well as for the cost of prescribed drugs. There may also be a charge if you have to cancel a shore excursion and need a doctor’s letter to prove that you are ill.

Shipboard injury
Slipping, tripping, and falling are the major sources of shipboard injury.
There are things you can do to minimize the chance of injury.
* Aboard many pre-1980 ships, raised thresholds separate a cabin’s bathroom from its sleeping area. Don’t hang anything from the fire sprinkler heads on the cabin ceilings.
* On older ships, note how the door lock works. Some require a key on the inside in order to unlock the door. Leave the key in the lock, so that in the event of a real emergency, you don’t have to hunt for the key.
* Aboard older ships, take care not to trip over raised thresholds in doorways leading to the open deck.
* Walk with caution when the outer decks are wet after being washed, or if they are wet after rain. This applies especially to solid steel decks – falling onto them is really painful.
* Do not throw a lighted cigarette or cigar butt, or knock out your pipe, over the ship’s side. They can easily be sucked into an opening in the ship’s side or onto an aft open deck area, and cause a fire.

Surviving a shipboard fire
Shipboard fires can generate an incredible amount of heat, smoke, and often panic. In the unlikely event that you are in one, try to remain calm and think logically and clearly.

When you board the ship and get to your cabin, check the way to the nearest emergency exits fore and aft. Count the number of cabin doorways and other distinguishing features to the exits in case you have to escape without the benefit of lighting, or in case the passageway is filled with smoke. All ships use “low location” lighting systems.

Exit signs are normally located just above your head – this is virtually useless, as smoke and flames rise. Note the nearest fire alarm location and know how to use it in case of dense smoke. In future, it is likely that directional sound evacuation beacons will be mandated; these will direct passengers to exits, escape-ways and other safe areas and may be better than the present inadequate visual aids.

If you are in your cabin and there is fire in the passageway outside, put on your lifejacket. If the cabin’s door handle is hot, soak a towel in water and use it to turn the handle. If a fire is raging in the passageway, cover yourself in wet towels and go through the flames.

Check the passageway. If there are no flames, or if everything looks clear, walk to the nearest emergency exit or stairway. If there is smoke in the passageway, crawl to the nearest exit. If the exit is blocked, go to an alternate one. It may take considerable effort to open a heavy fire door to the exit. Don’t use the elevators: they may stop at a deck that’s on fire, or they may stop working.

If there’s a fire in your cabin or on the balcony, report it immediately by telephone. Then get out of your cabin, close the door behind you, sound the alarm, and alert your neighbours. 

IS SECURITY GOOD ENOUGH?

Cruise lines are subject to stringent international safety and security regulations. Passengers and crew can embark or disembark only by passing through a security checkpoint. Cruise ships maintain zero tolerance for onboard crime or offences against the person. Trained security professionals are employed aboard all cruise ships. In the case of the USA, where more than 60 percent of cruise passengers reside, you will be far more secure aboard a cruise ship than almost anywhere on land.

It is recommended that you keep your cabin locked at all times when you are not there. All new ships have encoded plastic key cards that operate a lock electronically; older ships have metal keys. Cruise lines do not accept responsibility for any money or valuables left in cabins and suggest that you store them in a safety deposit box at the purser’s office, or, if one is provided, in your in-cabin personal safe.

You will be issued a personal boarding pass when you embark. This typically includes your photo, lifeboat station, restaurant seating, and other pertinent information, and serves as identification to be shown at the gangway each time you board. You may also be asked for a government-issued photo ID, such as a passport.

PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN

The UN Security Council has renewed its authorization for countries to use military force against the pirates operating off Somalia who have been sabotaging one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. There were around 95 pirate attacks in Somali waters in 2008, with over 40 ships hijacked, including a Saudi tanker holding oil worth $100 million.

The pirates rarely harm people – their aim is to take hostages and demand a ransom from a ship’s owners. Cruise ships are not immune from attack, particularly smaller ones. But MSC?Melody, carrying 1,500 passengers, was attacked in 2009; its crew repelled the pirates by firing in the air and spraying water on them.

In 2008, the US Navy created a special unit, called Combined Task Force 151, to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

In February 2009 the Maritime Security Patrol Area, introduced by coalition navies in 2008 as a safe passage corridor, was replaced by two separate 5-mile wide eastbound and westbound, separated by a 2-mile buffer.

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2010