Taking vacations on cruise ships is something that many people look forward to throughout the year, save money for and make extensive plans to enjoy. Many special occasions are also enjoyed on cruise ships such as weddings, honeymoons, anniversaries, and special birthdays. This type of vacation is also one of the top luxury vacations that people dream about when planning for the trip of a lifetime.

With the anticipation and planning that goes into your special vacation cruise, you don’t want it to be ruined by getting sick while on board. Cruise ship illnesses are common simply because there are a lot of people living in a limited amount of space. This provides a good breeding ground for all sorts of contagious illnesses and a heightened risk of contracting some sort of illness. While planning your special vacation, be sure to plan for a healthy cruise by following these common sense tips.

Keep Your Hands Clean!

While this may seem very easy to do, it’s something that many people don’t really think about when on a cruise liner, but it’s something that is basic to keeping healthy while traveling. Remember to always wash your hands before you eat, after you go the bathroom and after you have been in a public place. Bacteria and viruses can be found on doorknobs, handrails, public seating, spoon handles on buffet tables and any number of other public use equipment.

Be sure to never touch your mouth, eyes or nose with your hands after being in public places until after you have thoroughly washed your hands. Many viruses are contracted by simply touching your eye with a contaminated finger. The recommended way to wash is to use soap and warm water to scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Of course a hand sanitizer with at least a 60% alcohol base is useful when you can’t wash, but washing with soap and water is the best way to stay clean.

Don’t Cruise if You’re Sick

If you find that you aren’t feeling well, you should postpone your cruise until a late date. Many illnesses are spread by those who are already sick before boarding and then spread their illnesses among other passengers. Be a good vacationer and think about others as well as your own health by not traveling while ill.

Stay Away from Other Who are Ill

There’s always someone who gets sick on a cruise, so be aware of your surroundings. If you see someone vomiting or someone who faints, be sure to notify one of the ship’s personnel immediately and then leave the premises as soon as you have provided help for the person. Air born particles can be breathed into the lungs and you can easily contract the same illness.

Be Good to Yourself

Many people don’t really take care of themselves when traveling and this can cause them to become run down from lack of sleep, lack of eating well and not drinking lots of safe water. Be sure to get plenty of rest, eat well and drink lots of filtered water in order to enjoy a safe, healthy vacation on any of the luxury cruise ships.

P.S. Orr has been writing articles for 6 years on a variety of topics of int

You can get Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruises as either an Eastern or a Western Mediterranean cruise. Here is some information about their ports of departure, the exciting areas they sail to and a bit about the actual cruise ships.

The Mediterranean is served by seven RCI different top class boats. Some of them have been modernised recently, some are almost brand new. Let us introduce them to you:-

1. Independence Of The Seas. When all the cabins are being used 3634 travellers can sail on this, the largest of the fleet. This flagship liner was only put into service in 2008. It has 14 decks which are stashed full of first class facilities. It is UK based and you will have to embark in Southampton on the South coast of England. So you could fit in a quick tour of London and then continue on to get on board the cruise. Although not strictly in the Med, you could also go around the Canary Islands on this ship. We are mainly interested in the 18 day Western Mediterranean cruise though.
2. Adventure Of The Seas. This luxury liner has lots of space for each passenger since it had some modernisation carried out in 2004. Malaga or Barcelona in Spain are its departure ports. The 3114 passengers will enjoy a cruise of between 4 and 7 nights. These are the shorter cruises. This does give you a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of the Mediterranean beaches and soak up some sun either after of before your voyage. A 2 week holiday could be enjoyed that way.
3. Brilliance Of The Seas. The fantastic old Spanish city of Barcelona is the set off city for this luxury 2501 capacity liner. You will be at sea for twelve days. They are mostly Eastern Mediterranean cruises. The ancient city of Athens in Greece as well as some of the islands around there are included in this tour. You will also see the Egyptian city of Alexandria and Venice in Italy.
4. Navigator Of The Seas. You can play basketball or go ice skating on this big cruise liner. There are fifteen decks to fit it all onto. The 3114 voyagers will be very well looked after as there is a good ratio of crew to passengers. You will need to get to Civitavecchia to get on board this cruise. That is the port for Rome, Italy so you can have a look around the Vatican City and other sights there. You can be cruising in either the Western Med or Eastern from here.
5. Voyager Of The Seas. Another of the Royal Caribbean International lines (RCI) 3114 capacity boats. The Italian city of Venice or Barcelona in Spain are the departure ports. The old city of Venice has been an important trading post for a very long time. It just seems to climb up out of the water. There is nowhere else like it anywhere in the world. Have a wander around it and take in the smells before you get on board for your 12 day voyage.
6. Vision Of The Seas. This liner has a capacity of 765 passengers which makes it one of the smaller ones of RCI. They still manage to fit in lots of things like an ice skating rink. Based in the North of Europe, it is only in the Med infrequently. The Holy Land is its normal destination when it leaves from Venice or the Turkish city of Istanbul.
7. Splendour Of The Seas. This is the smallest of the seven ships and can cater for 720 voyagers. This Eastern Mediterranean cruise will leave from either Venice or Civitavecchia in Italy and will be for 12 nights.

You will be able to find lots of economical cruise deals from Royal Caribbean Mediterranean whatever name of ship you opt for.

With the way that the economy is today I have had to become the money advice expert for our family and would like to share some ideas that I have found.

Grand Circle Cruises have been operating for more than 45 years in one form or another. When the company started it focused primarily on discounted European packages, but today they offer a multitude of programs in many countries including some destinations in Russia and Asia. Grand circle cruises have grown from a small operation leasing and renting ships to a powerful company owning their own fleet.

Grand Circle built their first ship, the River Symphony in 1998. This proved to be an amazing success and soon they planned adding another ship. As people starting taking note of the great experiences that these river cruises offered the company’s growth started to sky rocket. Soon the company was pleased to find that almost all their cruises were made up of repeat business customers. This is an amazing feat if you take into account just how many cruise companies are out there. Many people attribute this rise popularity to Allan and Harriet Lewis who took over the company in 1985. Once they acquired the company they set about improving and expanding their operations. They decided to set up office abroad, thus ensuring that the guides on the cruises are people with local knowledge; who understand the culture and lifestyle of the country.

This proved to be a great success and soon Grand Circle Cruises started averaging a thirty percent growth rate year on year. With such an increase in demand it’s no wonder that the company needed its own fleet. Most of this is thanks to the detail and effort the company put into planning and hosting their cruises. Each cruise includes great site seeing trips and visits to cultural spots on their route. It is this attention to detail and the need to enrich peoples’ lives that have the cruises such a roaring success. Add to that the brilliant features and luxuries on their cruise ships and you have got a recipe for success. Thanks to the success of their cruises, Grand Circle have been able to start a give back program. This basically entails preserving and improving the cultural destinations that they visit. This in itself is an example of the great attitude that this company has exhumes. They aren’t in it just for a quick buck; they actually care about and want to help develop the sites that visit. To date Grand Circle have given thirty five million dollars to preserve these cultural sites.

If you are planning to take a cruise you should at least consider the packages offered by Grand Circle Cruises. This one company that really puts the consumer first and has at its heart the core values most of us would be proud of. These cruises offer great value for money, an exciting blend of adventure and culture, fantastic living quarters and above all else quality service at every turn.