Croatia Cruise FAQ – General Info for all cruises
Wondering what to pack for your Croatia Cruise? Read on for advice on what to bring and how things work on all our small ship Croatia island hopping cruises.
Croatians are friendly people and most will be willing to help you out if you have a question. Google Translate is readily available on your phone, so please do make an effort to translate your question into Croatian so that you can be more readily understood and they can help you out if at all possible.
For more details on the Entry to Croatia Requirements, please check here: https://discovercroatia.com.au/entry-to-croatia-requirements/
Here we have some FAQ and tips for all our Croatia Small Ship Cruises:
For everybody’s convenience, the official language on board our cruises is English, and occasionally there will be another language if a large group of native speakers of another language is on board. If the official language is other than English for a particular departure, you will be notified prior to booking.
Click here for details on how to find your ship in a Croatian cruise port: Croatia Cruise Port Locations
For general Croatia info click here: https://discovercroatia.com.au/before-you-go/
Just a quick reminder that cruises aren’t automatically covered under all travel insurance, so please check with your travel insurer if you need special cruise insurance before you book.
1. What currency do they use onboard? (Euros)
From January 2023, the EURO is the official currency of Croatia.
You can withdraw cash in the local EURO currency from ATMs with your debit, credit or travel money card. Euros cash may also be obtained on arrival at banks or exchange offices. Credit cards are widely accepted in restaurants and hotels, though some smaller stores in small towns may only take cash, so it’s best to always travel with a few Euros for emergencies.
We recommend you have at least 50-100 Euros cash per person with you when you board the ship. Cash payments will need to be made for any optional excursions booked while onboard. Beach towel hire (if not included) or any other cruise extras you purchase while on the cruise will be added to your bar tab which you pay at the end. Some cruise ships may take credit card payments onboard, you will need to check with the Bar Manager when you board (not all ships have this facility yet though).
ATMs are readily available in the cruise stops on the Croatian islands. Wise.com has some info here: wise.com/atms-in-croatia
Port Taxes: Any Port Taxes (if not already included with your cruise) are just added to your bar tab to be paid at the end of the cruise, you don’t need to pay the moment you board.
How to pay your bar tab: You do not have to pay your bar tab until the final evening of the cruise, so you will have time to prepare during the week. Some ships have credit card facilities, but some still take cash only. If you need to pay cash, you will have plenty of time to find an ATM on land on the final day or evening. All ATMs dispense Euros.
Tipping Guidelines: Tipping is completely voluntary and totally anonymous. You only tip once, at the end at the end of the cruise. Tipping is not compulsory, and this is only a guideline for you if you are happy with your cruise and want to tip.
How much you tip is completely up to you. Towards the end of the cruise, 2 plain white envelopes will be placed in your cabin, one is for the Crew & Captain (to be shared between them) and one is for the Cruise Director. You can then deposit your sealed, plain white, anonymous tip envelopes in a box in the restaurant area at any time. Most passengers prefer to tip anonymously using the envelopes provided and it is perfectly acceptable to do so. Or to not tip at all if you feel that it wasn’t warranted. With the envelope system, nobody will know, so it is totally your choice. Tips and gratuities are not obligatory like on larger cruise ships.
Suggested tips total per passenger (100-200 EUR per passenger). Feel free to upgrade at your own discretion and you feel the crew has made it an enjoyable trip for you. (Nobody will know if you tip or don’t tip, you just put it in an envelope and can usually put it in a box on the bar anytime on the final evening, or on your way off the ship). This is a basic guideline only, covering all categories of ships from traditional basic wooden ships to luxury balcony ships. If you are on a more expensive cruise you might choose to tip at the higher end.
Envelope 1: Cruise Ship Crew (tipped as a group): EUR 80-150 per passenger per week. They distribute this themselves amongst all Crew including cabin staff, bar staff, kitchen staff and deckhands.
Envelope 2: Cruise Manager (tipped as an individual): EUR 20-50 per passenger per week, for your Cruise Manager.
2. Does the cruise provide snorkelling equipment, inflatable sea-toys, kayaks, paddle-boards, etc?
While you might see the same cruises listed elsewhere as ‘snorkelling friendly’, most cruise ships do not actually provide that snorkelling gear as a guaranteed part of their ‘inclusions’.
If you want to be guaranteed to have some snorkels, fins, inflatables, or other gear available, please take them with you, or buy at the shops at the port. You can usually purchase them at the kiosks or small shops around the harbours, so once you’ve boarded, check with the crew what’s available onboard and then go for a walk to grab anything that you’d like to use for the week. Don’t forget to buy some water-shoes for the rocky beaches, though if you are only swimming off the back of the boat in deeper water you shouldn’t need them.
They might have a few snorkel sets onboard, but you cannot pre-book them and there are generally not enough for everyone to use at once. The equipment that you might see being used in photos is usually personal gear that clients have brought along themselves, or gear that previous clients might have left behind. The only cruises that have bicycles on board are our dedicated active ‘cycling cruises’. Most towns have small shops where you can hire bicycles on the day, but you would need to arrange that on your own. The regular sightseeing small ship cruises do not keep bicycles onboard.
Do they have regular swim stops (even if they’re not specifically listed)?
Yes, all cruises have swim stops during the day. Usually you depart the port in the morning around breakfast time and enjoy your breakfast as you head to your next point of interest. Often there will be a swim stop just before lunch, and lunch will be taken on-board at the same time. After lunch you usually head to the next overnight destination and you might stop somewhere for a swim along the way. Usually the swim stops are in open water, and there is always a crew member in attendance as a lifeguard while passengers are in the water.
Can we jump off the top deck of the ship?
Generally, no, it’s not allowed any longer on almost all ships due to insurance issues. Deluxe cruises in particular are very strict about this policy. Please respect the Captain’s decision.
Will I get seasick?
The domestic coastal waters of Croatia are fairly calm, but can get rough in bad weather. We suggest you take some seasickness remedies with you just in case. Once you’re out to sea there’s nowhere to stop and grab some, so it’s best to be prepared. If you do become ill, please speak to the Cruise Manager immediately so they can try to help you out.
Does the ship sail at night time?
No, the ship does not sail at night time. The ships dock every afternoon in a new port, and then stay there overnight. Once the ship is docked you can come and go to the ship as you please all evening.
The engines do not run at night time while the ship is docked, so there is no engine noise while you are sleeping. The air-conditioning still runs during the evening as the ship is powered from the dock.
The ships leave port early the following morning, at a time allocated on the day by the local port authority, so we cannot give you an exact time. Usually they depart between 6am and 8am. The buffet breakfast is usually served from 7am to 9am onboard in the dining area, while you are moving to towards your first stop of the day.
3. Food & Drink
On the ship: What is there?
Dishes served are a combination of Mediterranean and international cuisine, adapted to the taste of our guests. Our Head Chef also aims to present traditional Croatian dishes to your pleasure. A selection of complimentary fresh fruit is available all day long on Deluxe cruises.
Breakfast buffet style is usually served from 7am to 9am, with cereal, toast, tea, coffee. Breakfast is usually the same every day, as per most buffet breakfasts. On the Deluxe ships, this is served alongside alternating warm dishes, such as omelettes, scrambled eggs, sausages and similar.
Lunches are served on a three course basis, which often include soup, pasta, meat, fish or seafood and a salad of some kind. Any included dinners (please see the full daily itinerary to check) will be similar to lunches.
Please note that different cruise categories include different levels of catering services, so inclusions can vary from those listed here. Please check your specific cruise info carefully. If you have any particular kind of food that you really don’t like to eat, then please let us know. Some cruises serve a lot of fish meals and some tend to serve more meat meals. If you have a preference then do let us know beforehand in case you prefer one to the other. The more information you give us the easier it is for the chefs to keep you happy.
The chefs do their best, but each week they have 40 new customers from all over the world who all have different preferences and opinions on what is good, bad, boring or great all whilst working in a galley kitchen and still trying to cater for people who are coeliac, diabetic, vegan, vegetarian and it requires a bit of give and take from all passengers. The chefs do their best with demands put upon them (often last minute when people forget to mention until the day of the cruise some new dietary requirement that’s urgent) by 40 different people. Please take this into account. There is plenty of time when you are off the ship to indulge your ‘a la carte’ desires at restaurants that can cater to your every demand. If you prefer ‘a la carte’ service at every meal we suggest other styles of travel instead.
Dietary preferences / food allergies – please let us know at least 30 days in advance!
Guests are required to inform us of any dietary preferences, such as diabetic, coeliac, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, etc as soon as possible. Our galley team will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate coeliac or other serious food allergies, and do our best with other requests.
Guests are reminded that if you have food requirements such as gluten-free, vegan etc, please inform your Cruise Director and Chef the moment you join the cruise and check that your information has been passed on correctly. Please help ensure your request doesn’t get missed in these busy environments. Thank you.
The Cruise Manager and Crew are specifically prohibited from offering or administering any medication to passengers, as they are not medically qualified. They do not carry any medication onboard. We therefore recommend that you travel with your own medication for emergencies, such as any severe allergy medication, headache remedies, seasickness remedies, or any prescription medication you might require, including any ‘just in case’ anti-virals or antibiotics.
Drinks (to be paid by bar tab at the end of the cruise, or you can pay as you go)
All ships operate a bar in the restaurant dining area with regular opening hours, usually 7am – 11pm. There you can find a wide selection of soft drinks, juice, warm drinks (tea, coffee, hot chocolate), bottled water, spirits, cocktails, local quality wines, and local draft beers to sip while enjoying the view. Most cruises now have unlimited drinking water dispensers in the bar area where you can refill your water bottles or grab a drink. If there is a specific brand you would like onboard for your cruise, please let us know at least 30 days in advance. Most well known imported brands of spirits and liqueurs are already onboard, as well as local Croatian varieties.
Can we bring drinks onboard? You cannot bring your own alcohol onboard, you must buy alcohol that you want to consume onboard from the ship’s bar. This way they can keep an eye on consumption and keep everyone safe. Thank you.
What is half-board? What meals are included on my cruise?
Half-board (HB): (B, L) (Breakfast and lunch on all cruises) This means that 2 meals a day are usually provided, mostly it will be breakfast and lunch on cruises. Each cruise will have meals listed on the daily itinerary, so that you will know exactly which meals are included. Some lunches or dinners are swapped occasionally, so that you may enjoy a wonderful gourmet experience with your fellow travellers, such as a Welcome Dinner, or Captain’s Dinner (D) on a cruise.
Dinner: For the remainder of your meals you will be able to dine anywhere you choose on shore and you will be responsible for the cost of those meals. Your Cruise Director will be happy to recommend a good value and trusted eatery nearby at every location, or you can explore on your own.
Full-board (FB) is occasionally offered on cruises as an optional extra, but we do not recommend you take the full-board option unless you are really sure about it. A lot of the joy of the cruise and tour experiences is to dine in local restaurants, ‘konobas’ (traditional taverns) and bars, so that you can meet the people who live and work there. Why come all the way to Croatia only to eat on-board for every meal? There are so many fabulous (and even some famous!) eateries. Get out there and taste them!
Off the ship: What is there and how much will it cost?
There are plenty of restaurants, konobas (Croatian pubs), cafes and bars in every port. Your Cruise Director and crew are happy to make recommendations, but you are also free to wander around and find somewhere by yourself. Many restaurants have their menus on stands outside, so you can look at a few and decide before committing to anything. Many restaurants have outside dining areas. Smoking is still permitted in many outside dining areas in Croatia, so please be aware and ask your concierge to seat you somewhere smoke-free if this is a problem.
Croatian cuisine is known as “the cuisine of regions” so wherever you go ask for the local delicacies.
Fresh seafood is a particular specialty all along the Croatian coastline. Fish, squid, shrimp, mussels, oysters are all readily available. Like in many European countries pizza, pasta and meat dishes are common in restaurants everywhere. Try cevapi for the Croatian variation of the humble sausage. Desserts are also something to try… check for the local version of ‘creme caramel’.
Croatian beers (pivo) are of a high quality. Try Zagreb’s Ožujsko, Laško or Karlovačko (our personal favourite, but harder to find than the others).
For the wine lovers, virtually every region produces its own exquisite varieties of wine. Croatian food and produce is what we would consider as organic food, being mainly home grown and farm fresh.
Tap water is also clean and drinkable, though some cruise ships will recommend you drink bottled water. Please check your cruise info for specific details for your ship, or check with the Cruise Director.
The average cost of a meal out is around €15-25, whilst beer is around €5-10. If you budget for the equivalent of Australian prices, then you should be well covered.
Timeout has a great list of Croatian restaurants to start you off: https://timeout.com/croatia/restaurants
Vegan / Vegetarian / Gluten-free / Allergies etc: We have a separate page here with more information on food in Croatia, with a list of restaurants and shops for those with food intolerances or who are vegan/vegetarian. https://discovercroatia.com.au/food-intolerances-in-croatia/
4. What happens with my luggage?
Both Dubrovnik and Split harbours have ‘left luggage’ kiosks where you can pay to store your bags if your ship is not in port. These are privately run kiosks and you can select one at random. They are usually open by 8am if not before. Prices are usually displayed at the kiosk. Both Dubrovnik and Split cruise harbours are located next to the main bus stations. Split Harbour is also next to the train station. There is no train station in Dubrovnik at all.
Arrival: If you arrive to the cruise early and the ship is in port, you can leave your bags on board even if your cabin isn’t ready and then explore the town until check-in time.
Departure: If you are departing after 9am you can leave your bags on board until you are ready to depart (or until your ship leaves port if they have a 1pm departure), but they do need you packed and out of the cabin by 9am so they can clean the cabins for the next cruise. If you have departure transfers included with your cruise and are leaving after 9am, the cruise director will inform you what time you need to be back to meet the transfer.
Luggage space on board: Suitcases can be stored in the allocated space under the beds, usually there is room enough for one large suitcase each. There is a small wardrobe in each cabin, so if your suitcase does not fit in the allocated space, you can simply put your clothes in the cupboard and you can put your empty suitcase in the hold of the ship for the week. The crew will help you with your luggage on and off the ship, please don’t hesitate to request assistance.
What is the dress code? What clothes should I bring?
All our cruises are fairly relaxed and the dress code is casual. You will usually have room for 2 large-ish suitcases under your bed but if your luggage doesn’t fit in your cabin, you can put your clothes in the cupboard and store the suitcase in the hold of the ship.
Clothes: Dress code on our cruises is casual and comfortable. We recommend packing lightly if you can – swimsuit, a pair of shorts, summer dresses, light-weight pants, a few T-shirts and a good mood will suffice! We also recommend bringing some clothes for possible cooler evenings (e.g. windbreaker, light jacket or similar). There is no formal dress code for any included dinners, even on Deluxe cruises. You must be reasonably covered at meal times in the restaurant on-board, so please keep this in mind at breakfast and lunch. Thank you. Wearing a bikini top or just a pair of shorts isn’t acceptable at meal-times. However, going barefoot is usually ok, but please respect the crew’s requests if they ask you to wear shoes in the restaurant.
Don’t forget your sunscreen, hat and snorkel gear (if that’s your thing)! Nobody wants to spend their cruise miserable with sunburn or damaged feet, so please take care. There are numerous kiosks and shops in all harbours that sell sunscreen, glasses, hats, water/rock shoes, inflatable sea toys and so on if you need to buy them on arrival.
Also, take some earplugs, the harbours can get quite busy and noise across water is always amplified. Better to be prepared just in case (see ‘Noise levels and quiet’ section below).
Shoes: On the ship, thongs (flip flops) are perfectly acceptable (and encouraged)! Wearing high heels onboard is discouraged as they can damage the deck. It is advised to bring sturdy walking shoes for sightseeing excursions due to cobblestone streets and uneven or slippery surfaces. If you are planning on beach or ocean swimming, please remember that Croatia is full of pebble beaches and rocky shores, so bring some water shoes with you. You can usually purchase them at small kiosks at Split or Dubrovnik Harbour, along the walkway from the pier to the beach at Bol, or in small shops in Korcula and Hvar. You can take along your own inflatable sea toys on the cruises as well, but please remember that none of these things will be provided by the cruise ship. It’s up to you.
Hair-dryers: All our Premium, Deluxe and Luxury cruise ships have hotel-style hairdryers in the bathrooms. Most of our Vintage ships have hair-dryers as well, but please check with us if you are not sure from the ship description whether your cruise provides them.
Toiletries: All our Deluxe and Luxury cruises have basic toiletries in the bathrooms such as shampoo, conditioner and soap. We recommend you take your own if you have specific requirements.
Beach towels: Most Deluxe cruises include beach towel use. For cruises that don’t include it, there are beach towels that you can hire for the week. Costs vary from 5-10 euro (per week, per towel), which will be added to your bar tab, which you pay at the end. Please check your Inclusions for your cruise.
Bath towels and bed linen are provided at no charge. Most cruises have cabin crew that will tidy your cabin daily and change the bed linens mid-week, some you can ask for extra changes for an extra charge. It will be listed in your ‘Included’ portion of your information, or please check with us.
What bed will I get in my cabin? Some cruise ships have ‘flex-beds’ where they can move 2 single beds together if you want a double bed. This does leave a small seam down the middle of the bed, but at least you can usually have the bed type you requested. Some cruise ships have fixed beds only, so you might end up with a double bed, or twin beds. Usually if you book twin beds, this is what you will receive, as there tends to be not enough doubles to meet the demand. So sometimes even if you request a double bed cabin, you might end up with a twin. No cruise company will guarantee a specific bed type due to this situation. And unfortunately for solo travellers, couples privilege tends to take precedence and you will likely end up with twin beds even if you have booked the whole cabin for yourself.
5. General Info:
Electricity / power points – ALL cruise cabins on all ships have at least 1 or 2 power points
Power points require EU plugs with two round pins of 4.8 mm diameter. In order to use any appliances you should bring up to 3 things:
1. Universal adapter plugs, if your plugs are not 2 round pins.
2. Extension cord for CPAP machines in case the power point is not close enough to the bed.
3. Universal transformer to convert the power if your device does not support 220 volts power.
Internet connection (Wi-Fi)
We are glad we can offer our guests the convenience of free Wi-Fi service on board. Please note that Internet connection used is cellular service and is shared between passengers and crew, and as such the connection might be unreliable during some stages of the cruise. Due to the distance from shore, reception sometimes might not be possible and/or connection speeds will drop significantly. Skype calls are best suited to be made in bigger towns where reception is better. The Wi-Fi connection provided is best used for merely checking email or accessing news portals only. Wi-Fi connection can be accessed in the salon or from the rear lounge.
We actively discourage downloading files, uploading videos or watching Netflix or similar whilst using the ship’s Wi-Fi as it affects speeds for all passengers and the crew. If you would like to watch videos, please download them before you arrive on the cruise for the consideration of the other people on board. You can also use your own cellular connections when the ships are close enough to the cell towers.
Many Croatian restaurants, bars, cafes and shops have free internet connections available for their customers. We suggest that you try to do as much as you can when on-shore where the Wi-Fi speeds are much more reliable than while on the ship out to sea. Thank you.
Smoking
Whilst most of Croatia still allows smoking in almost all outdoor areas, the cruise ships have allocated certain areas as ‘smoking areas’ and smoking is not permitted in cabins or in the restaurant. The smoking section is usually at the back of the ship on the Main Deck near the swimming platform so the wind blows the smoke to the rear as the ship is moving forward, or at the prow of the ship away from the restaurant. We do ask that clients refrain from smoking near other guests out of courtesy, especially if they are using the swimming platform at swim stops. Some ships have more than one smoking area, please check with the crew.
If you have a problem with passengers or crew smoking in other areas, please speak to the Cruise Director and to the Captain to ensure that the situation is fixed on the spot.
What time do we have to be back on the ship?
Noise restrictions start from 24.00hrs, so you are asked to be especially careful if you are arriving back after that. Please check with the Cruise Director in each port if you have to be back at a certain time, but as the ship stays in port overnight and tied to the dock you should be able to come back when you like, as long as you are quiet.
Noise levels and quiet – take some earplugs!
As the boats are explicitly acoustic (sound travels over water) all guests are asked to behave accordingly and respect the night peace that officially starts at midnight (24.00hrs). Since the boat will be docking for the night in ports of call of varying liveliness and buzz, especially in the months of July and August you can expect a certain level of noise coming from the shore and other boats in the harbor. Noise level usually drops by 24.00hrs. Still, sometimes there are festivities such as Patron Saints Day and similar, which often last long into the night. If you are on a ship with air-con, the air-conditioning runs for the whole night, and you will be able to sleep with closed windows. No cruise line or Captain is able to influence the noise level in any of the ports of call, nor which ships you are allocated a berth next to. The only people who can control the noise on the ships is the people on the actual ship that’s making the noise, or perhaps the Harbour Master.
Unfortunately, there are some 18-35s cruise operators who encourage partying on board the ships in some of the more popular harbours. We are really sorry but there is nothing you can do to avoid this, the harbour master is the only one who has any control over which ship is parked where. Hvar and Mljet can get particularly loud, we recommend that you take earplugs with you in case the noise bothers you. They are supposed to finish partying at midnight by law, so if there is a real problem please try to find one of your crew and check with them.
If you like a really dark room for sleeping, you might like to take along a black scarf to put over the window or portholes. Or you could try out our personal recommendation for a comfortable sleeping mask that fits pretty much everyone, the Manta Sleep Mask. We’re not an affiliate, we just all like using it.
Laundry
There are laundry facilities in the main ports such as Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik if you need them, though they of course take a few hours. Please take this into consideration and whilst you can hand-wash in your bathroom and hang clothes in the shower they might take some time to dry. Anything hung over the ship rail is very likely to be swept away by the wind and we do not recommend it (including beach towels, so please be careful). If you lose a hired beach towel, do you do need to pay for it (prices vary by ship).
6. Guest mix (Nationalities and ages)
There is usually an international mix of guests from all over the world on board – Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy … It will be a great way to meet the people from across the world and make new and long-lasting friendships!
Most of the passengers on the Deluxe and Deluxe Superior cruises will be mature couples, solo travellers and small groups of friends/family. Most passengers on these higher standard cruises will be 35-70yrs. We cannot tell you the other passengers ages in advance, as not only are the cruise companies not allowed to give out that information due to privacy issues, but most of the cruise companies do not even ask for ages of anyone over 18. They only find out the ages when the passengers arrive and hand in their passports to the cruise director for a few minutes to be registered as a tourist (as per the law).
Passenger etiquette: Please be considerate of other passengers that may have booked at a different time or in a different currency and not discuss the price of your cruise. If you got a better deal than someone else and discuss it openly, it could very well cast a shadow over the holiday they have worked so hard for. So please, keep this in mind. Thank you.
Children on board, Deluxe and Deluxe Superior: Some Deluxe cruises don’t allow children at all. Some others do, but there is no guarantee there will be other families on-board with children around the same age, unless there are already others booked before you. It is a possibility you will end up as the only family on-board a Deluxe cruise and that most of the other passengers will be in their 40’s and upwards. It’s pot-luck whether you will end up with a boat of 50yr olds, or a boat of 70yr olds, or a mixture. Older clients do tend to try to travel when it’s cooler in May, June and September rather than July or August, but that’s just our observation from our own clients over the years, not a guarantee.
Children on board, Premium and Premium Superior: These mid-range cruises have a wider range of ages and usually attract more families and young people who aren’t looking for the 18-35s party cruises.
“Party Cruises”: Most clients who want to party book themselves onto specific 18-35s cruises, so they are with like-minded groups of travellers their own age, so it’s very unlikely you will end up with a bunch of party-goers in their 20’s on a Deluxe Cruise.
Physical disabilities
Most cruises are not suitable for persons with limited physical abilities, such as wheelchairs or walkers. You must cross between ships and sometimes there are gaps of up to 50cm and you must jump across. Of course the crew can assist you, but you still must be able to support yourself to bridge the gap. This is common with all the small cruise ships and sometimes you might have 4 or 5 ships lined up sideways next to each other and this means you have to walk through several ships and jump across several spaces between them. It can be difficult if you are unsteady on your feet. Please take this into account and do not book a cruise if you think this might be a problem. We cannot guarantee that your ship will be closest to the harbour, no matter which cruise line you choose.
Please note that the majority of passenger ships have limited access for disabled guests. Steep staircases, steps of above average height and size and gaps between boats can be expected when embarking or disembarking and crossing from one boat to the other. In addition, the itinerary warrants that most of the shore excursions are done on foot. You should be able to stand on your feet for an extended period of time to visit museums and other sites. Guided walking tours usually last 30-45 minutes and include movement over cobbled and uneven surfaces and up and down the stairs, as do shore excursions. Therefore, severe walking disabilities may limit the guest’s overall experience on these programs. However, guests with disabilities are still welcome on-board and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
7. Health and Safety Measures on Croatian Small Cruise Ships
The small Croatian cruise ships only hold a maximum of 40 passengers per ship, and are nothing like the large international cruise liners. Croatian cruises are domestic cruises only (within Croatia) and these ships do not leave Croatian waters at all.
Extra safety and cleaning measures are now undertaken on the cruise ships, such as hand-sanitizer in public areas and increased cleaning of public areas.
The Cruise Manager and Crew are specifically prohibited from offering or administering any medication to passengers, as they are not medically qualified. The Crew only have access to basic first-aid, which does not include any medication whatsoever, just bandages and antiseptics etc. The Captain, Cruise Manager and Crew are qualified sailors, deckhands, chefs, hospitality or maintenance personnel, not qualified medical professionals.
They do not carry any medication onboard, and are not even allowed to offer you basic headache medication. We therefore recommend that you travel with your own medication for emergencies, such as any headache remedies, seasickness remedies, or any prescription medication you might require, including any ‘just in case’ anti-virals or antibiotics.
If you are taken ill while at sea, we request that you make it known to the Cruise Manager or Crew and immediately confine yourself to your cabin. The Crew will bring you meals and drinks and do their best to accommodate your other needs. The Cruise Manager will help you liaise with any travel insurance provider to ascertain what you should do once you reach port. If you must disembark the ship you may do so freely, as you are still in Croatian waters and therefore free to leave once safely in port.
Though the larger Croatian islands do have medical facilities and doctors, there are no major hospitals, except on the mainland. If you are taken seriously ill, you might need to disembark the ship in port and make your way back to the mainland via public ferry or private boat hire / helicopter. We highly recommend that you arrange full medical travel insurance for yourself that covers cruises so that you can be sure your travel insurance provider can arrange the correct medically necessary transportation for you in an emergency.
If you are immune compromised please let us know the details as soon as possible and we can let you know the details so you can decide if this type of cruise is for you.
Here is some Health and Safety information from the Croatian Tourist Board website: https://croatia.hr/en-gb/travel-info/health-and-safety. Croatia is included in the ‘Safe Travels’ Global Safety Stamp Protocols: https://wttc.org/COVID-19/Safe-Travels-Global-Protocols-Stamp.
Resolution Measures while cruising
If you have any problem on the cruise, please immediately speak to your Cruise Manager or one of the Crew about it, no matter how small the problem might seem. It’s a lot easier to fix something at the time than it is to ask for explanations later once you’re home. We know it can be uncomfortable talking about problems, but it really is best for everyone if the problem can be addressed at the time so you can enjoy your cruise without any small niggles or resentments building. You can ask to speak to them in private if you prefer. If you are still not comfortable talking to someone on the ship, please send us an email or WhatsApp +61 2 9212 1507 (please keep in mind the time difference if it’s not an actual emergency) so that we can advocate on your behalf while you are still on the cruise. We can do so anonymously if you prefer.
In case of any serious complaints or emergencies:
Harbour Master – Split
Obala Lazareta 1, p.p. 317 , 21000 Split,
Tel:+385-21-302-400, or +385-21-302-405
Harbour Master – Dubrovnik
Obala Stjepana Radica 37, 20000 Dubrovnik
Tel:+385-20-418-987, or +385-20-418-988
DISCLAIMER:
All ship descriptions on our website are sent to us by the cruise companies and we are not liable for any discrepancy in the listed features or services as we are not the producers of the marketing materials. We act as an intermediary only, we are not the end supplier and therefore do not have access to visit every cabin on every ship and check every single feature before every departure. Thank you for understanding. Please see our full Terms and Conditions here.
All departures on specific ships are subject to any unforeseen incidences occurring before your departure. If that ship cannot be provided due to accident, emergency repair or similar, then a similar ship will be provided if at all possible, but please understand that there are few spare ships as they are all being used for other cruises. We cannot guarantee any departure as the cruise companies themselves do not guarantee every single ship on every single departure as very, very occasionally there are issues that require repair or there’s been some other ‘force majeure’ beyond their control. This is why we recommend you have proper travel insurance to cover you for all events.
Check out all our cruises here: Current Availability – All Cruises
Call us or WhatsApp: +612-9212-1507
Email us: [email protected]
