National Center for Environmental Health's Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services

This center within the CDC uses US Public Health Service officers to protect passenger and crew health by developing and implementing comprehensive sanitation programs to minimize gastrointestinal illness aboard cruise ships, inspect vessels using the Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual, collect and monitor outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease, and provide technical assistance to international groups on outbreaks of disease.

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard has oversight of the safety, security, and environmental stewardship of commercial vessels, facilities, and mariners. US law dictates that all accidents or incidents occurring on cruise ships must be reported to the Coast Guard immediately. The Coast Guard reviews the information and makes in-depth studies of the occurrences to determine the causes and establish corrective actions that need to be taken. The particular cruise line is held accountable for the problems and making necessary corrections to avoid this from occurring again. Passengers as of July 2015 will have to attend mandatory safety briefings immediately after the vessel sails. Because of recent fires on several cruise ships, there has been an intensive effort made to improve equipment and training of crew members. Coast Guard field inspectors witness training programs for crew members as well as information programs for passengers as part of the inspection process.