Cruise Pregnancy Guidelines

Imagine the scenario; You’ve booked your cruise and ever since you found out you’re pregnant, you may be wondering if it’s safe for you to travel. Alternatively, you may be expecting a baby and looking for a cruise to relax before all the hard work begins. Either way, there are some important factors to consider before making a decision.

Cruises can be a perfect vacation option for moms-to-be, as everything you need is in one place and easily accessible. Whether you want to explore the different ports, swim or take advantage of the spa, you can make your cruise as relaxing or as active as you like, and with a wide variety of food available 24 hours a day, cravings should not be a concern. . either.

However, especially if you are in the later stages of pregnancy, you should be aware that some of the cruise lines may not allow you to travel, and more, although there will be medical staff on board, they may not have the facilities to address your specific needs or any complications that may occur during your pregnancy.

Each of the cruise lines has its own guidelines for pregnant passengers. These range from 24 weeks to a more relaxed 28 weeks, with some only requiring pregnant guests to have a medical certificate stating they are fit to travel.

Listed below are the current guidelines for each cruise line;

The following cruise lines insist that passengers must not be in their 24th week of pregnancy at the time of disembarkation:

Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, Ocean Village Holidays, Orient Lines, P&O, Regent Seven Seas and Silversea.

Both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises will not accept passengers on board who entered their 27th week of pregnancy before or during the cruise.

Fred Olsen and MSC will not allow any passenger who is more than 28 weeks pregnant at the end of the cruise to sail.

Island Cruises recommends that pregnant passengers check with their doctors to find out if it is safe to travel. If passengers are more than 28 weeks pregnant at the time of the return flight, medical certificates are required. If passengers are more than 34 weeks pregnant at the time of their return flight, they will not be able to travel.

Finally, Thomson recommends that pregnant passengers who are less than 12 weeks pregnant seek medical attention before traveling and request a medical certificate to confirm that passengers who are more than 28 weeks pregnant are fit to travel.

The above information should be used as a guide and it is recommended that you contact the cruise lines prior to booking in the event of any changes to their policies. Most cruise lines will require a medical certificate to confirm that you are fit to travel, even if you are within the reference dates.

Those are the cruise guidelines, but what about flights? If you’re considering flying on a cruise, you’ll also need to check the airlines’ policy.

As a general rule, pregnant women can fly up to and including 36 weeks, as long as the pregnancy was uneventful. International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines state that pregnant women can fly in weeks 36 to 38 if the flight time does not exceed four hours.

However, many airlines will not carry pregnant women after 36 weeks, so it is important to check with each airline before you travel.

So now that you know whether or not you can sail, all you need to worry about is how to deal with the combination of morning sickness and motion sickness!