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Cruise-Travel-Vacations: Don't Let the Food Spoil Your Cruise!

There are steps you can take to help prevent food-borne disease. Sometimes I think we leave common sense at home when we travel, but it is easy to take some steps to lower your risk of getting sick.

First, all meat should be properly cooked. This will kill many types of bacteria. The same applies to seafood. Next, food on buffets that sits out for long periods is particularly susceptible.

Eggs can also be a problem. Very few eggs carry salmonella, but if the ship's chef mixes one bad egg with hundreds of good ones and then serves them only partially cooked. . . well, you can guess what can happen.

Finally, eating "local" food is really tempting, but remember that foreign restaurants' kitchens are not necessarily subject to food inspections. Raw fruits and vegetables washed with tap water that is unfit for drinking cause many cases of travelers' diarrhea.

In summary, you can't control the cleanliness of the ship's kitchen, but you can check out their score from the VSP. You can control your intake and limit your risk by watching what you eat and drink ashore, and by not eating uncooked meats, eggs, and seafood on the ship. Don't let your fears of food-borne illness scare you from having a great cruise vacation. Just remember that common sense goes a long way to helping you make the right food choices when away from home.