With security concerns on the rise, meeting planners are asking “Are cruise ships safe?” The answer is YES – in fact, cruise ships are safer than hotels. With more than 12 million people cruising every year, the cruise industry goes to great lengths to ensure the safety of its passengers; and according to the U.S. Coast Guard, cruising is one of the safest modes of transportation. You’ll be relieved to know that cruise lines, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs & Border Protection, have set up many stringent security measures since 9/11 to keep cruise passengers safe. Here are just a few:

• Screening of all passenger baggage and carry-on luggage
• Screening of passenger lists and identification
• Restricted access to sensitive ship areas, such as the bridge and engine room
• Stepped-up onboard security measures including surveillance cameras – security personnel and crew can monitor virtually every area of the ship
• Maintaining a 100-yard security zone around cruise ships
• Cruise ships get an armed U.S. Coast Guard escort in and out of ports
• Requiring all commercial vessels to give 96 hours before entering U.S. ports (previously, ships had to give 24 hours’ notice.)

Controlled Access: A cruise ship is a controlled environment, comparable to a secure building with a 24-hour security guard. When a ship is in port, there are only one or two ways passengers and crew can enter the vessel, and these entry points are manned by highly trained security personnel. Passengers and crew may embark or disembark the ship only after passing through security. In addition, all packages and belongings go through an X-ray machine while passengers and crew pass through metal detectors. If a port is determined to be unsafe, the ship’s itinerary is altered to ensure the safety of all onboard.

Safety Onboard: When planners consider safety issues, they want to ensure that their hotel or meeting venue has hard-wired smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler systems, as well as Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and staff trained in CPR. If you’re planning a meeting at sea, rest assured all ships are required to have a medical center with 24-hour access to medical staff as well as a defibrillator. Click to read more about cruise ship medical facilities.

So now you have two less things to worry about during your cruise event. You can read a report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) for even more information about safety and security aboard cruise ships.

Filed under: Cruise News, Meeting & Incentive News, Miscellaneous