It may seem strange to imagine that people who are afraid of water will go on a cruise, and yet every year many thousands of people do exactly that. Some of these people have very deep seated fears of water, and may not be able to swim as a result of that fear. Other people may not even consider that they are afraid, but discover a slight fear once they set foot on their first cruise ship and watch the firm land they left drifting into the far horizon. Still others have fears that are almost hidden, and do not admit it even to themselves, but let the anxiety hide deep down, causing them to enjoy the trip less.

Considering the cost of cruises, and also what a fantastic experience they can be, it is worth giving some thought to points that may in some small way help to alleviate any fears, especially those which are based on misunderstood facts, or simply myths which have no basis in reality.

One of the most useful things to consider doing is to book your first cruise as part of a group. Going with a large group of familiar people will help you to feel less afraid. The sight of familiar faces will help to bring some of the associations you have of dry land onto the ship. These people will know you, and will be able to support you. Don't be afraid to admit your worries - that way people can be more supportive and sympathetic. It is not a weakness; we all have our own personal fears and worries, many of which are quite irrational and even absurd! Certainly the fear of water is entirely understandable, yet there are points to mention which might help in some way to calm nerves.

One of the most common fears is, of course, to do with the ship sinking. These cruise ships are many hundreds of meters long, and hundreds of meters high. They are the length of several football pitches, and as high as tower blocks. The huge size of these ships means that they are highly unlikely to ever sink, and even if they did, it would be such a ludicrously slow process that there would never be any cause for fear that it would sink so quickly you wouldn't be saved.

The other thing of course is that all cruise ships have more than enough lifeboats for every single passenger on board, and enough life jackets for everyone too. In addition to which, the seas and routes taken by cruise ships today are so busy that you are highly unlikely to ever be far from another ship, which would simply come along and pick you up.

But all this is highly improbable. Although people will undoubtedly be thinking of the Titanic, it is worth remembering that not only it was almost a hundred years ago, but the crew didn't bother taking enough lifeboats, there were serious design flaws, it was sailed in a way that was strictly against the design recommendations, along with many other factors which made the disaster inevitable.

Oddly, people who are afraid of cruising on a ship have no problem flying - this is over the same stretch of water yet 30,000 feet higher up! Statistically, cruising is the safest means of transportation. You're more likely to have an accident cycling to work. In fact, more people are being injured or killed every year by having a coconut fall on their head than have died from a cruise ship accident in the last 25 years.