Cruising can be a carefree and fun vacation experience. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get into trouble while on a cruise. In fact, some people have even been kicked off cruise ships for certain things they did.
Things are like this: When you sign your cruise contract, you agree to a code of conduct, pledging not to do anything unsafe, inappropriate, or discourteous. This includes standing or sitting on outside railings, too. If you break the rules, the shipboard security staff may confine you to your cabin. Moreover, they can even send you to the brig.
In fact, cruise lines have every right to remove unruly passengers from their ships. This usually means you’ll be kicked off at the next port of call. For those who do something illegal, the consequences are well-matched for the misbehavior—they are turned over to local law enforcement.
Without further ado, here are 7 things not to do on a cruise ship!
1. Fight With Other Guests or Crew Members
A few years ago, a senior couple from New York got into trouble while on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary. The reason for the fight? The wife screamed at a fellow passenger, and eventually everything turned into a shouting match.
According to the cruise line staff, this wasn’t the first incident involving the 82-year-old woman, as she had engaged in multiple episodes of disruptive and disrespectful behavior toward other guests and crew members.
In deference to their ages—her husband was 91—the captain decided to let the couple, who were on a 30-day, $20,000 cruise, stay onboard until the ship returned to New York. But the wife and husband were both confined to their cabin. They weren’t allowed to have any alcohol either.
There were also situations where passengers got into fistfights, forcing the plainclothes members of the ship’s security team to step in and put an end to the altercations. Those involved were hauled off to confinement.
Something similar happened in Australia a few years ago, when 16 passengers were removed from P&O Cruises’ Pacific Dawn for fighting.
2. Fail to Attend the Safety Muster
One of the things you’re required to do once you set foot on your cruise ship is attend the muster drill. Basically, the ship’s crew conducts some sort of exercise that’s meant to prepare passengers in the event of an emergency, such as the ship sinking or catching fire.
You’ll have to go to your assigned muster station, where you’ll see live or via video a series of safety procedures that cover how to board a lifeboat or put on a life vest.
If you’ve been on a cruise before, you may think that you won’t need to attend the safety muster—having been there, done that. However, participating in this safety exercise is in fact mandatory under International Maritime Organization rules, and cruise lines can remove you from the ship if you don’t show up.
Just ask the elderly couple dismissed from Seabourn Cruise Line’s sumptuous Seabourn Sojourn in Lisbon, Portugal, or the fellow kicked off Holland America Line’s Westerdam at the wharf in Fort Lauderdale for refusing to attend the safety drill. Both incidents happened after the deadly Costa Cruises’ Costa Concordia disaster in 2012.
3. Bring a Joint Onboard
You’re about to go on a cruise, so you may think, “This is my vacation, so I can finally have a really good time.” You definitely do, and you should, but not when it comes to things that aren’t within the law.
Even if cannabis is legal in some states, you still aren’t allowed to bring it on the ship. Pot, including medical marijuana, is forbidden—along with many other illicit drugs—from cruise ships.
According to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act regulations, crew members are required to report smelling or seeing anything suspicious. If you get caught with even one joint, you’ll be kicked off the ship at the next port of call. In fact, you may even be turned over to local authorities.
Some ports are actually pretty tough on those in possession of contraband. In Bermuda, for example, drug-sniffing dogs may be brought onboard the ship to detect any banned substances. Even if you have a small amount of illegal drugs with you, you face a pretty harsh fine and possible imprisonment.
Even worse, if you carry marijuana while entering US ports, including those of San Juan and St. Thomas, which fall under US jurisdiction, you’re likely to face a drug trafficking charge.
4. Throw Things Overboard
In 2010, a man from California somehow managed to lower the rear anchor of Holland America Line’s Ryndam. This happened while the ship sailed from Mexico to Florida, and there were over 1,000 passengers, plus crew members, on board. Luckily, no one was hurt.
The man admitted to being extremely curious and inebriated. He was fined, sentenced to several months in prison, and ordered to seek counseling.
Although the incident may be a bit extreme, you can face serious consequences if you’re seen throwing lit cigarettes—which pose a fire hazard—or other things overboard. On one cruise my husband and I took, unruly teenagers threw a deck chair off Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas. They got a talking-to, and all teens on the cruise ship were punished with a mandatory curfew.
5. Get Left Behind in Port
When you head out on a shore excursion at a port of call, the cruise line has a guarantee that the ship won’t leave you behind. However, if you decide to go off on your own, it’s up to you to keep track of time and return to the ship before the scheduled departure time.
There’s even a name for those passengers who wait until the last minute to get back onboard—”pier runners.” It perfectly described people who are frantically running down the pier to head back on the ship before the gangplank is pulled up.
Sometimes passengers get stranded, especially in ports where bars serve tequila or other liquor shots. There’s even a post on Carnival Cruise Line’s now-dead Funville Forum where one passenger wrote about a Carnival Elation ship that left, leaving 17 people behind in Progreso, Mexico.
6. Shaking Sheets Too Loudly
You definitely weren’t expecting to see this one on our list. If we’re being honest, neither do we ever think we’ll be adding it to this list, but, well… Recently, a couple was removed from a TUI Cruises ship for being too loud while being intimate with each other… The real issue here? They forgot to close the balcony door.
Therefore, neighbors complained, and the incident was brought to the captain’s attention. When confronted about the embarrassing situation, the couple was apologetic, assuring the crew that it was consensual and that they had forgotten to close the door.
You may think that’s how things ended, but no. In fact, instead of just being scolded, the decision was made to remove them from the ship at the next port. Now, if you ask me, the consequences were a bit extreme, and the situation could have been handled in a different way.
If they were sorry and said it wouldn’t be the next time, I don’t see any reason why the couple couldn’t just have been given a warning and allowed to enjoy the voyage. The bottom line here? Make sure you close the balcony door before getting hot and heavy!
7. (Dangerously) Breaking the Rules for a Selfie
You have probably seen the photo of the woman on Allure of the Seas who thought standing on the balcony railing was a good idea. She wanted to get a unique shot, and I suppose her traveling companion was behind her when she took the photo.
In fact, lots of people have already lost their lives trying to capture that perfect photo. According to a study, there were more than 250 selfie-related deaths reported between 2011 and 2017. I can only presume the number per year has gone up since then.
Not only is standing on a cruise ship’s railing dangerous and stupid for the risk-taker, but it’s also dangerous for those who have to carry out a search-and-rescue mission if you were to fall overboard. One thing to point out here is that most people who accidentally go overboard on a cruise ship are never found.
But what exactly happened to this woman on Allure? She was stopped by another passenger, who reported her out of fear for her safety. The woman was kicked off the cruise ship at the next port and even banned from ever sailing on Royal Caribbean again.
Don’t be this person. There are many other ways to take a good selfie that don’t involve putting your life in danger.
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