Are cruises safe?

Short answer: Yes, cruises are very safe.

Nothing is 100% safe, but crime statistics show that cruises are safer than a vacation to most places in the U.S.¹ We have other articles about staying healthy, but specifically with respect to crime, there are several reasons cruises are safe:

• Enclosed environment. Bad guys would have trouble getting away, and each member of the crew and all passengers are accounted for -- complete with family contact information
• Cruise lines have an incentive to keep you safe. A single crime in, say, San Francisco is unlikely to get much attention from mayor. After all, it has little financial impact for him. But even one crime on a cruise ship would hurt sales, so the cruise lines CEOs care quite a lot about keeping you safe
• It's a "nice neighborhood". When you are on a cruise ship you are generally around people who have few financial worries. After all, the people who work onboard have good jobs (that they don't want to risk), and your fellow guests had enough spare cash to go on a nice vacation. Sure, there could be a bad apple, but overall you are in good company.

If you are concerned about safety (and arguably everyone should be), you may also want to read about how cruise lines are regulated (which covers health and Coast Guard inspections as well as crime) and Tips for Staying Safe on your Cruise.