By: Cassandra Ingraham

Seasonal influenza vaccinations are recommended for all travelers.  International travelers are also urged to seek advice from their primary care physician to identify any specific vaccination or health precautions required for each country you will visit.

You can also reference the World Health organization (WHO) or the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cdc.gov/travel

If travelers are cruising, the local authorities in each port of call,  may prevent passengers from going ashore if certain health precautions have not been meet.  Be sure to check with the cruise line to be sure that all medical requirements have been meet for each port of call.

If you take regular medications, it is best that you contact the airlines and ask them where is the best place for you to carry your medicine?  It may also be a good idea to carry an extra supply of medicine in the bottle or container provided by the pharmacy.  If you are cruising, it is acceptable (at the time this article was written) to put your medicine in your carry on bag.

Before you travel outside the US, it is strongly recommended that you review your health insurance.  Many policies including Medicare WILL NOT pay for services outside of the US.  So it may be a good idea to shop for travel insurance before you travel to be sure you are covered when traveling outside of the US.