Joining up with a Mercy Ship cruise may not be your typical vacation, but it could be a very rewarding one… Mercy Ships are cruise ships unlike any others.

They are non-profit floating hospitals that sail around the world providing free medical and emergency care to port residents. Once docked, Mercy Ship teams fan out into local communities to help with a variety of tasks.

If you’re not a doctor or nurse, this is where you come in.

Mercy Ships encourage volunteers to join the international crew to help out for periods of two weeks up to a year in any number of positions, from teaching English or computer skills to helping locals build wells and latrines.

In other words, there is a wealth of great volunteer opportunities for people of all skill levels.

While the Mercy Ships organization does have a slightly Christian bent, they welcome volunteers from all religions and their charity work benefits people of all faiths.

For more, visit Mercy Ships.org.

See Voluntourism for more information.

To learn more about traveling responsibly, check out our Responsible Travel section.