W. Richard Bukata, MD

Just my two cents. Have never been on a cruise. My wife thinks it's a bunch of old people eating too much and being entertained by a guy from the Catskills. Although my brother just completed an Alaskan cruise last week—his first. And the good news, he and his wife are still speaking.

Regarding health issues—your friend's wife's death sure was astonishing with regard to rapidity. Don't know that anything would have made a difference. There are going to be rare events like this, and there is no doubt that you do expose yourself to some medical isolation when going on a cruise.

I have to think that the ship physicians have to meet some minimum standards (although I don't know this).  A fellow I know in Florida, who's an emergency physician and apparently has the job of supplying the doctors for one of the large cruise lines, thinks it would be relatively easy to find certified emergency physicians.

And all of us on the dole, otherwise known as Medicare, should be immunized against flu, meningococcal infection, and herpes zoster. I would think the safest cruise would be one to Alaska, because you are close to shore lots of the time—which is not necessarily the case in cruises to the tropics.

Would give me grave concern if I had to be taken off a ship and sent to a hospital in some third world country (otherwise known as most of the tropics). I guess if you have some pre-existing significant medical problems, you could opt for the travel insurance that covers this sort of thing.

But the bottom line: Yes, you are assuming some health risks when you go on a cruise, but you could be assuming some similar risks if you go on a vacation to Mexico or most anywhere else outside the United States except, perhaps, major metropolitan areas. Yes, we spend twice as much per capita than anyone else on the planet for health care, but most of the time, if you really need it, we have great access to emergency care on dry land in the US. 

Just my two cents. Have never been on a cruise. My wife thinks it's a bunch of old people eating too much and being entertained by a guy from the Catskills. Although my brother just completed an Alaskan cruise last week—his first. And the good news, he and his wife are still speaking.

Regarding health issues—your friend's wife's death sure was astonishing with regard to rapidity. Don't know that anything would have made a difference. There are going to be rare events like this, and there is no doubt that you do expose yourself to some medical isolation when going on a cruise.

I have to think that the ship physicians have to meet some minimum standards (although I don't know this).  A fellow I know in Florida, who's an emergency physician and apparently has the job of supplying the doctors for one of the large cruise lines, thinks it would be relatively easy to find certified emergency physicians.

And all of us on the dole, otherwise known as Medicare, should be immunized against flu, meningococcal infection, and herpes zoster. I would think the safest cruise would be one to Alaska, because you are close to shore lots of the time—which is not necessarily the case in cruises to the tropics.

Would give me grave concern if I had to be taken off a ship and sent to a hospital in some third world country (otherwise known as most of the tropics). I guess if you have some pre-existing significant medical problems, you could opt for the travel insurance that covers this sort of thing.

But the bottom line: Yes, you are assuming some health risks when you go on a cruise, but you could be assuming some similar risks if you go on a vacation to Mexico or most anywhere else outside the United States except, perhaps, major metropolitan areas. Yes, we spend twice as much per capita than anyone else on the planet for health care, but most of the time, if you really need it, we have great access to emergency care on dry land in the US. 

Just my two cents. Have never been on a cruise. My wife thinks it's a bunch of old people eating too much and being entertained by a guy from the Catskills. Although my brother just completed an Alaskan cruise last week—his first. And the good news, he and his wife are still speaking.

Regarding health issues—your friend's wife's death sure was astonishing with regard to rapidity. Don't know that anything would have made a difference. There are going to be rare events like this, and there is no doubt that you do expose yourself to some medical isolation when going on a cruise.

I have to think that the ship physicians have to meet some minimum standards (although I don't know this).  A fellow I know in Florida, who's an emergency physician and apparently has the job of supplying the doctors for one of the large cruise lines, thinks it would be relatively easy to find certified emergency physicians.

And all of us on the dole, otherwise known as Medicare, should be immunized against flu, meningococcal infection, and herpes zoster. I would think the safest cruise would be one to Alaska, because you are close to shore lots of the time—which is not necessarily the case in cruises to the tropics.

Would give me grave concern if I had to be taken off a ship and sent to a hospital in some third world country (otherwise known as most of the tropics). I guess if you have some pre-existing significant medical problems, you could opt for the travel insurance that covers this sort of thing.

But the bottom line: Yes, you are assuming some health risks when you go on a cruise, but you could be assuming some similar risks if you go on a vacation to Mexico or most anywhere else outside the United States except, perhaps, major metropolitan areas. Yes, we spend twice as much per capita than anyone else on the planet for health care, but most of the time, if you really need it, we have great access to emergency care on dry land in the US.