CruiseAware LLC
Bringing trusted health, safety, and destination intelligence together — so travelers can prepare before problems occur.
Our Mission
CruiseAware was created from a simple realization: travelers are given plenty of information about where to go and what to do, but the health, safety, and preparedness information they may need most is often scattered across multiple government agencies and other sources.
Our mission is to bring that information together, organize it clearly, and turn it into practical guidance travelers can use before departure and while away from home.
CruiseAware was designed with cruise travelers in mind, where a single trip may involve several countries and rapidly changing conditions. But the same destination intelligence can also help travelers arriving by air, land, or sea.
We draw on trusted sources including the CDC, U.S. Department of State, WHO, NOAA, and other recognized authorities to help travelers understand current health concerns, destination risks, medical access, transportation issues, scams, emergency resources, weather, and other factors that can affect a journey.
We are not a travel blog, and we do not sell cruises or vacations. We are an independent travel health, safety, and destination-intelligence resource designed to help people prepare before problems occur.
Travel Smart. Travel Safe.
Our Leadership
Gerald (Skip) Carlson
President & Founder
- •40+ years executive healthcare leadership
- •Former hospital associate administrator
- •Founder, Carlson Healthcare Consulting
- •International healthcare consultant & business strategist
- •Peace Corps Volunteer – Honduras
- •Medical mission leader in underserved communities
- •50+ years volunteer leadership, Scouting America
Skip's decades of healthcare operations and international medical experience directly inform how CruiseAware evaluates ship sanitation standards, health risk language, and pre-voyage preparedness guidance. He writes Skip's Tips and reviews all briefings before publication.
Edward J. Miller
Principal Advisor — MSPH, PMP
- •Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH)
- •Project Management Professional (PMP)
- •Senior roles: HHS, BARDA, ASPR, USAID, DoD, CDC
- •Directed global health security & emergency preparedness
- •Infectious disease preparedness & pandemic response
- •International public health programs in 20+ countries
- •Expert in health risk assessment & international capacity building
Edward ensures CruiseAware's health intelligence is grounded in trusted public health principles and internationally recognized best practices — the same frameworks applied in government public health programs worldwide.
Our Methodology
CruiseAware does not create health or security data — we translate it. Our role is to take technical information published by government agencies and recognized international bodies and convert it into clear, actionable guidance for cruise travelers.
We are not trying to replace the CDC, the U.S. State Department, the World Health Organization, NOAA, or cruise-line medical staff. We are positioning ourselves as the interpreter and organizer of those sources — so travelers can make informed decisions without having to decode government terminology on their own.
1. Gather
We monitor authoritative public sources continuously: CDC VSP inspection reports, CDC Travelers' Health notices, U.S. State Department travel advisories, and WHO disease alerts.
2. Interpret
Our team applies public health principles and travel-security frameworks to translate technical findings into plain-language risk assessments travelers can act on.
3. Cite & Publish
Every risk rating, alert, and ship score links directly to its primary government source so travelers can verify the underlying data themselves.
Editorial Standards
Every piece of content on CruiseAware is evaluated against a consistent editorial framework before it is published. Our standards are designed to answer four questions a first-time visitor should never have to wonder about:
Who reviews health-related content?
Health content is reviewed using public health principles and authoritative sources — primarily the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program, CDC Travelers' Health, and the World Health Organization. Skip applies his background in health and safety research to evaluate risk language before publication.
Who reviews destination security assessments?
Destination security assessments are based on U.S. State Department travel advisories and recognized travel-security frameworks. Each destination profile identifies the specific advisory level and links directly to the State Department source.
What type of review does each article receive?
Content is categorized at publication: health content is marked as editorially reviewed against public health sources; security content is marked as reviewed against government advisory data; product recommendations carry a commercial disclosure. We do not mix categories without explicit labeling.
How are disagreements between sources handled?
When authoritative sources conflict — for example, if the CDC and a destination government publish differing health guidance — we cite both, note the discrepancy, and default to the more conservative (safer for the traveler) guidance until the conflict is resolved.
CruiseAware Global Impact Commitment™
Helping Others
A portion of CruiseAware revenue helps support carefully selected organizations — including Mercy Ships, Project HOPE, and International Medical Corps — that improve global health and build stronger communities. Charitable giving never influences our risk ratings, alerts, or editorial content.
Our Data Sourcing & Honesty Policy
Trust is our only product. We believe in absolute transparency about where our information comes from and how current it is.
- Clear Citations: Every destination profile, alert, and ship briefing includes direct links to the authoritative public sources we consulted (such as the CDC, U.S. State Department, or WHO).
- Human Verification: While we use advanced technology to aggregate data, our core health and safety briefings are verified by our team. We clearly display "Last reviewed" dates so you know how fresh the information is.
- Live vs. Sample Data: For feeds like the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program scores, we attempt to pull live data. If the live feed is ever offline or unavailable, we fall back to curated historical data and explicitly label it with a Sample Data badge so you are never misled.
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