Diseases

Recent outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness among passengers forced Disney, Holland America, and Carnival to cut a string of cruises short. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the Norwalk virus—not terrorism—is to blame. But the swift spread of the virus suggests cruise ships are easy targets for biological attacks and other terrorist threats. Here, Traveler Consumer News Editor Norie Quintos discusses travelers' safety at sea.

Are cruise ships particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks?

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There is no evidence to date that these outbreaks of illness are related to terrorism in any way. In fact, the Norwalk virus is extremely common on land and the CDC is reporting a greater than average incidence of this type of virus everywhere. And it's not unusual to have such outbreaks on cruise ships,

because of the large numbers of people within relatively confined quarters. In June 1998, for example, at least 270 became ill with the Norwalk virus over the course of three Regal Princess cruises to Alaska.

That said, cruise ships are vulnerable to terrorism. While U.S. officials say they are not aware of specific plans to target cruise ships, it is assumed that al Qaeda may do so at any time. Al Qaeda is believed to have masterminded attacks on ships before, including the bombing of the USS Cole in October 2000. Recently there was a vague government warning about the threat of "swimmers" attaching incendiary devices to ship hulls. And there have also been warnings that ships could be vulnerable to aerial attacks from small planes.

How real are these threats?

Before September 11, many experts would have said that these types of attacks were unlikely, or even unfathomable. But today everyone, including the cruise industry, is taking every...