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11 Foods to NEVER Eat on a Cruise to Avoid Food Poisoning (Must Watch Before You Cruise)
Türkiye CountryCarnival Cruise Line Cruise LineCelebrity Cruises Cruise LineDisney Cruise Line Cruise LineMSC Cruises Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise Line Cruise LinePrincess Cruises Cruise LineRoyal Caribbean Cruise LineHolland America Group Cruise Company
One wrong bite at the cruise buffet can ruin more than your meal — it can ruin your whole cruise. In this video, we’re looking at 11 foods to never eat on a cruise to avoid food poisoning, stomach bugs, buffet mistakes, and risky cruise ship food choices that can turn a dream holiday into days stuck in your cabin. Most cruise food is perfectly safe, and cruise lines do have food safety rules. But some foods become higher-risk on a cruise ship because they sit out too long, are handled by lots of passengers, rely on perfect temperature control, or are served raw or undercooked. If you are going on your first cruise, planning a cruise in 2026, travelling with family, cruising as a senior, or simply want to avoid getting sick on vacation, these cruise food tips are worth knowing before you board. In this video, we cover cruise buffet foods to avoid, risky cruise ship seafood, raw oysters, buffet sushi, lukewarm scrambled eggs, pre-cut fruit salad, mayonnaise-based salads, undercooked fish, deli meats, soft-serve ice cream machines, buffet chicken, chocolate fountains, and off-peak buffet food that may have been sitting too long. This is not about being scared of every meal onboard. It is about knowing which cruise foods I would personally be more cautious with, especially if you are older, pregnant, travelling with children, have a weaker immune system, or you just do not want to risk missing ports, excursions, shows, dinners, and days of your cruise because of one bad plate of food. You’ll also learn safer cruise food choices, including made-to-order omelets, whole fruit, freshly cooked grill food, fully cooked seafood, dining room meals, hot food that is actually steaming, cold food that is properly chilled, and buffet items with fast turnover. Whether you cruise with Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, Holland America, Disney Cruise Line, or another major cruise line, these cruise food safety tips can help you make smarter choices at the buffet, main dining room, pool grill, café, and cruise ship restaurants. Foods covered in this video: Number 1. Raw oysters and raw shellfish. Why raw oysters, raw clams, raw mussels, and raw shellfish can be one of the riskiest cruise foods, and why cooked seafood is usually the smarter choice. Number 2. Buffet sushi and sashimi. Why buffet sushi, raw fish, sashimi, and sushi sitting out too long can be risky, and when fresh-made sushi is a better option. Number 3. Lukewarm scrambled eggs from the buffet tray. Why wet, lukewarm, tired buffet scrambled eggs are different from fresh omelets, dining room eggs, or eggs cooked to order. Number 4. Pre-cut fruit salad, especially melon. Why mixed fruit salad, cut melon, watermelon, rockmelon, honeydew, and buffet fruit bowls can be riskier than whole fruit with skin or peel. Number 5. Mayonnaise-based salads sitting on the buffet. Why potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, egg salad, tuna salad, and chicken salad can become risky if they are not kept properly cold. Number 6. Rare or undercooked fish. Why fully cooked fish and hot seafood dishes are safer choices than rare fish, undercooked salmon, undercooked tuna, or seafood that makes you hesitate. Number 7. Open deli meats and cold cuts. Why open trays of ham, turkey, roast beef, salami, and cold sandwich meats can be more risky than hot toasted sandwiches or fresh-made options. Number 8. Soft-serve ice cream machines. Why the soft-serve machine matters, what to look for before using it, and why packaged ice cream or staff-served desserts may be safer. Number 9. Dry buffet chicken that has been sitting too long. Why fresh, hot chicken is very different from dry, lukewarm buffet chicken that has been sitting under lights too long. Number 10. Chocolate fountains and self-serve dipping foods. Why chocolate fountains, shared dips, toppings stations, and messy self-serve dessert areas can be a problem when lots of passengers touch the same area. Number 11. Off-peak buffet food that looks like it has been sitting. Why food turnover matters on a cruise buffet, and why the safest buffet food is often the food that is freshly cooked, properly hot, properly cold, or being replaced often. Before your next cruise, watch this video so you know which cruise ship foods to avoid, what to eat instead, how to spot risky buffet food, and how to lower your chances of getting food poisoning on a cruise. Have you ever avoided a cruise buffet food because it looked wrong? Or have you ever gotten sick on a cruise? Let us know in the comments. Watch next for more cruise tips, cruise mistakes to avoid, cruise food secrets, cruise buffet tips, first time cruise advice, cruise packing tips, cruise ship secrets, and smart ways to stay healthy and enjoy your next cruise vacation.