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Dear family travelers:
The Costa Concordia disaster has given us all pause. Anyone who has seen pictures of the crippled ship and heard reports of the chaotic evacuations and tragic deaths is wondering if it is safe to cruise-especially with kids.
It is important to remember that the cruise industry has maintained an excellent safety record and that what happened aboard the Concordia seems to have been an aberration in accepted practice and conduct.
That said, Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Costa Cruises and nine leading cruise lines around the world, has announced a comprehensive audit and review of all safety and emergency response procedures across all of the company's cruise lines.
It's wise for all of us to review the ship's safety practices and records before we book and once on board with children. Royal Caribbean, for example, issues colored wristbands to children upon embarkation to easily identify which muster stations they should be assembling at while on the ship. Employees are trained to assist and direct children to those stations should they be participating in activities without their parents.
Here are some things you should do before and when you board:
- Ask when the required muster safety drills will be held. (Typically, they are right after embarkation.)
- Watch the safety video with the kids in your cabin.
- Take the safety drill seriously. Make sure the kids do too. Make sure they can find their muster station again.
- Play the "what if" game with the kids. What if there is an emergency and you are not together? Where should they go? Where should they meet you? (In an emergency, you don't want children or teens trying to find you; they should get their life jackets and report to their muster station.)
- Plan what you will do if you are separated. Make sure younger children know your full names and mobile phone numbers. (They can easily forget in a stressful situation.) Who would they call in an emergency if you weren't available?
But preparing for an emergency is just part of the equation to stay safe-and healthy-on board a cruise ship as we move into the busiest family cruising season. Some ships will carry upwards of a thousand youngsters on a single sailing this spring and summer. New ships are so big they are virtual floating towns!
Here are 10 more strategies to keep your kids safe and healthy on board :
- WASH YOUR HANDS--again and again. It is the best protection against illness.. You will see hand sanitizer everywhere on cruise ships. Make sure you and the kids use it!
- NO UNDERAGE DRINKING. The drinking age aboard most major ships is 21 and teens' shipboard charge cards are tagged so they can't purchase liquor. However, there's nothing to stop them from asking a 21-year-old to buy them drinks. Make sure teens appreciate why you don't want them to do so. At the very least, your family could be booted off the ship for violating the rules.
- NO LIQUOR IN PORT. Remind them that even if they can purchase liquor legally in port, they won't be able to bring it back on board. It will be confiscated until the end of the cruise.
- KEEP TABS on the kids during the day and evening. Those as young as eight may sign themselves out of organized activities with parents' permission. Whether they're eight or 18, you need to know where they are and where they're going next.
- ESTABLISH a curfew and if they have their own cabin make sure they are in bed at the designated time.
 - DESIGNATE meeting times during the day and evening-2 p.m. at the pool, for example.
- REVIEW what to do in an emergency periodically during the cruise.
- UNIFORMS ROCK. Tell the kids to seek out someone in a ship's uniform should they need help, if they are lost, for example.
- CHECK OUT local excursion providers in advance, if you prefer to tour independently. Cruise companies carefully vet their tour providers and coordinate tour times with the ship's sailing. If you book independently-and there are pluses, from price to a more intimate experience--get a guarantee that you will be returned on time. CruiseCompete.com offers such guarantees on their excursions.
- TOUR TOGETHER s a family off the ship. Don't let teens go off on their own. But just in case you get separated, make sure the kids know the name of the ship, the phone number for the ship, and can reach you via cell phone.
   
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