Planning a cruise trip and Shabbat considerations

Dear Rabbi, I am planning to book a cruise, Before I book I would like to know regarding Shabbat is there a problem?

Thank you for your question.

When planning to travel on a cruise that will sail over Shabbat, it's important to consider several details concerning Halacha.

Cruise run by a Jewish company :

If it is a cruise that is run by a Jewish company then it would be forbidden to travel on the ship during Shabbos since one is benefitting from a Jew who is violating the Shabbos for him. This is a general prohibition of any case that a Jew violated Shabbos that one may not benefit his melacha, this is called “Ma’se shabbos”, The source of this halacha:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת כתובות דף לד עמוד א

המבשל בשבת, בשוגג - יאכל, במזיד - לא יאכל, דברי ר"מ: ר' יהודה אומר: בשוגג - יאכל למוצאי שבת, במזיד - לא יאכל עולמית; רבי יוחנן הסנדלר אומר: בשוגג - יאכל למוצאי שבת לאחרים ולא לו, במזיד לא יאכל עולמית לא לו ולא לאחרים.

Tractate Ketubot, page 34a:

"If one cooks on Shabbat, if unintentionally - he may eat (the food), if intentionally, he (and others) may not eat it (till Motsei Shabbos), this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yeudah says : If unintentionally, he (and others) may eat it after Shabbat, if intentionally, he (the one who cooked the food) may not eat it forever.

Rabbi Yochanan says : If unintentionally, others may eat it after Shabbat but not him, if intentionally, neither he nor others may eat it forever.

We see from all three opinions that food that was cooked on Shabbos one may not have any benefit from it on Shabbos. The argument is only if after Shabbos one may have benefit from a Melacha done by a Jew intentionally on Shabbos (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 318)

Same too, on the cruise one may not have any benefit from the Melacha done by the Jewish company for him on Shabbos and therefore it would be forbidden for one to go on such a cruise on Shabbos.

If the company is run by non-Jews :

If the cruise ship is not only run by non-Jews and also all the workers are non-Jews; then there would be three criteria that need to be analyzed to allow one to travel on the cruise:

1. Most of the guests on the cruise liner are non-Jews. This is because if most of the passengers are Jews then it would be considered that the gentile is doing a Melacha for a Jew this would be problematic since one may not benefit from a Melacha done specifically for a Jew on Shabbos.

2. Even if the Jewish passengers were not on the ship it would have sailed anyway

3. And one may only embark on the ship before Wednesday. This halacha is based on the Shulchan Aruch Siman Orach Chaim 248

שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות שבת סימן רמח סעיף א

אבל לדבר הרשות אין מפליגין בספינה פחות מג' ימים קודם השבת.

“However, if one is traveling for personal reasons, then one may not set sail on a ship less than three days before the Sabbath”.

The Mishneh Berurah writes that the reason for this is that it takes a person three days to get used to the swaying of the ship which can cause seasickness and can be nauseating. So if one were to embark on the journey erev Shabbos it would cause him to be sick on Shabbos and he would not be able to enjoy the day of Shabbos which should be a day of enjoyment and relaxation. As it says וקראת לשבת עונג therefore if one leave before Wednesday he will have three days to accustom himself to the shaking and swaying of the ship.

The other reason is that generally one is prohibited from swimming in the water on Shabbos since one may come to build a raft as explained in Siman 339 therefore the rabbis initiated that one should embark on the journey early before Wednesday and then it will be a reminder to him that it is forbidden to make a raft on Shabbos, and only sailing is permitted.

Wishing you a safe and pleasant trip.

Talmud Bavli, Tractate Ketubot, page 34a

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Siman 318

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Siman 248, Se’if 1