Passenger Care

To meet our commitment to providing passengers a safe and healthy cruise, we adopted the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) guidelines for appropriate emergency care and health care maintenance. Our Medical Facilities Working Group, which is made up of licensed and experienced shipboard physicians, fleetwide medical directors and consultants, meets regularly with ACEP to consider any necessary revisions to existing guidelines.

According to the ACEP guidelines, medical facilities aboard ocean-going cruise ships are staffed by trained and licensed medical professionals with at least three years of clinical experience, including minor surgery and emergency care. All doctors and nurses are fluent in English. Infirmaries are equipped to provide emergency care and treat a wide range of medical maladies, from minor sunburns to fractures and heart attacks. As medical technology advances, so too do our capabilities. For example, many ships are now incorporating telemedicine - where on-board doctors use technology to communicate with specific specialists on land to offer the best medical care available to passengers. If passengers require more comprehensive or specialized care, they are referred to a shoreside facility.

Because cruise vacations usually take passengers far away from their homes, in the unlikely event a tragedy occurs, CLIA-member cruise lines are encouraged to have Guest Care Teams whose primary mission is to handle such incidents and determine the level of care and assistance that may be needed. These staff members volunteer to assist passengers in a crisis setting and are trained to tend to their situational needs.

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