Cruise on Shabbat

Am I allowed to take a cruise that includes Shabbat?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

When planning to travel on a cruise that will sail over Shabbat, it's important to take the following into consideration before booking your trip.

If the cruise is run by a Jewish company then it would be forbidden to travel on the ship over the course of Shabbos since one is benefitting from a Jew who is violating the Shabbos. One may never benefit from an intentional violation of Shabbat (though there is some discussion if one may benefit from work performed by a Jew on Shabbat after Shabbat has ended).

If the cruise is run and staffed non-Jews then the following conditions would have to be met in order to allow cruising over the course of Shabbat.

1. Most of the passengers on the cruise are non-Jews.

2. The cruise would take place even without the Jewish passengers

3. One boards the ship before Wednesday.

The primary reason for the latter restriction is that it takes a person three days to get used to the rocking of the ship which can cause sea sickness. As such, if one were to embark on the cruise on a Friday one would likely be feeling sick over Shabbat thereby ruining one’s Shabbat enjoyment. By leaving on Wednesday one can better ensure that one’s body is already used to the movement of the ship, and one will not be affected.

It is worth mentioning that one should only go on cruises that are kosher certified as eating non-supervised food, even when seemingly kosher, is even more complicated on Shabbat. 

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