20 Things That You Should Never Do on a Cruise

Three images: a cocktail on a cruise ship table, a woman on a ship wearing a mask, and a drone flying at sunset — Cheapism / Kirk Fisher/istockphoto / Giacomo Augugliaro/Getty Images / georgealmanza/istockphoto

Cruising for Trouble

From the peril of reckless selfies to the nuances of interacting with staff, and the absolute necessity of not missing the muster drill, cruise ship etiquette extends far beyond the buffet line. Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned sailor, being aware of these lesser-known guidelines and things to never do on a cruise is crucial so your dream vacation isn’t turned into a nautical nightmare.

Closeup of young woman with a large smile in bikini taking a selfie on a small cruise, ocean shoreline and granite mountains in the background, on a sunny day — AaronAmat/istockphoto

Shoot Reckless Selfies

Just because you’ve booked a cruise of a lifetime does not mean you have the license to endanger yourself for a TikTok. Royal Caribbean's rules get right to the point: “Sitting, standing, jumping, laying or climbing on, over or across any exterior or interior railings or other protective barriers is strictly prohibited” and they enforce it as well; they’ve banned a woman caught posing on her balcony railing in her swimwear.

'Crew Only' sign hung in the doorway of a hallway of a cruise, deck floor in the foreground, white walls and a blue panel on the right, with the hallway in the background — chrisbradshaw/istockphoto

Hook Up With a Member of Staff

Every cruise line has strict and explicit guidelines on interactions between crew and passengers. Royal Caribbean even goes so far as to say: “Please do not misinterpret their friendliness. Crew members are prohibited from engaging in physical relationships with guests.” Staff are not permitted in staterooms except to perform their shipboard duties, and similarly, passengers are not allowed to enter restricted or crew areas of the ship.

Female hand holding a passport on top of luggage in the front doorway of a home with front door opened to the outside, blurred background of carpet on hardwood floor and a grey wall — Grace Cary/Getty Images

Forget Your Passport

Yes, you can go on a cruise without your passport but you need to make sure you have the right paperwork, and IF you get stranded in a foreign port of call and have to fly back, it could get tricky. So pack your passport and government ID on you, and leave it in your checked bag or you might end up being refused boarding.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Freedom of the Seas leaving port in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten during sunset, another ship in the background — guvendemir/istockphoto

Throw Anything Overboard, Including Yourself

Whether it’s a fork, a lounge chair, or even yourself, don’t throw anything overboard. It may sound like an obvious one, but as we know, common sense isn’t always so common. Cruise staff take this offense very seriously and passengers have not only faced fines but been asked to disembark, or even banned for life like this man who leaped from a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Hanging orange safety beacon and life preserver ring on the railing of a wooden promenade deck of a cruise ship during dusk, ocean in the background — grandriver/istockphoto

Skip the Muster Drill

A muster drill is a mandatory safety exercise that familiarizes passengers with emergency procedures such as using life vests and locating escape routes. Now that you can usually access the drills from your stateroom TV or via an app on your phone (applicable only to some cruise lines), you don’t have any excuse not to complete them. If you miss the 24-hour deadline to participate in one, find out how/when you can attend a makeup drill.

And if you think you can skip it altogether, according to Cruise Hive you can be forced to exit the ship at its next port of call. At the very least your cabin number and name will be broadcast ship-wide, so don’t be that person.

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Drone in air over ocean at dawn, drone on right in focus, ocean and horizon blurred in the background — georgealmanza/istockphoto

Fly a Drone

You can pack it but may not be able to use it, and it might be temporarily confiscated until the end of your voyage. Carnival and Royal Caribbean sailing are currently the only cruise lines that allow drones but there are conditions, Carnival only allows camera drones, Royal Caribbean won’t allow you to use the drone on the ship or even inside the port, and also their private destinations of CocoCay, Bahamas or Labadee, Haiti.

Woman wearing a face mask, siting inside looking out of a window of the ocean, on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, dining area in the background — Giacomo Augugliaro/Getty Images

Hide a Communicable Illness

With so many passengers in an enclosed space, ships take any form of infectious disease (flu, coronavirus, norovirus) very seriously. According to Royal Caribbean, even if mild symptoms show up, you’re expected to return to your stateroom and report to the ship’s medical personnel by calling the medical facility onboard or risk a fine.

Closeup of square maroon CBD gummies out of black container against a white background — OntheRunPhoto/istockphoto

Bring Drugs, Even CBD Gummies

Don’t bring drugs. Not even cannabis even if it may be legal in your state. They’re not allowed on cruise ships, especially those calling into ports that have a hard stance on drugs. Try to sneak some in (even if it’s just some CBD gummies) and you risk getting arrested or even banned for life — even if you have a medical marijuana card.

Female right hand holding a dish of spaghetti, selective focus, against the trace of the ship on the ocean on a cruise ship — guvendemir/istockphoto

Just Eat at the Buffet

Variety is nice but the ship’s buffet is often the most crowded and chaotic part of the ship. Take the time to browse the rest of the dining options (don’t just leave specialty dining to the last day) or order off the menu at the main dining room for a more peaceful dining experience.

Female passenger checking watch as she goes through the boarding ramp of a cruise ship, empty ramp in the foreground with woman in the back of it, another cruise ship is dock in the background — jax10289/istockphoto

Be the Last One to Board

It doesn’t matter if it’s 20 minutes or two hours, cruise ships are on a tight schedule and they leave on time. If you think you can rock up at the tail end of boarding, don’t wing it because you might run late and get there just in time to see the ship sail out of port. But what about excursions, surely they won’t leave without you right? Nope. Just ask this woman who came back late and had to catch a plane to her next port of call.

Mid-section of woman preparing small carry-on bag on bed, focus on items to be put in bag, bed, white walls, and a window in the background — bymuratdeniz/istockphoto

Forget to Pack a Day Bag for Embarkation Day

Cruise ships are basically moving hotels. Just because you checked in your luggage early does not mean it’ll be waiting in your cabin as soon as you board. So if you have essential medications, or need something specific for your first day of cruising, it's best to keep it handy with you.

Woman sitting on blue stairs feeling sea sickness on a cruise ship, selective focus, she is looking outward, distraught, white walls blurred on both sides — Piyapong Thongcharoen/istockphoto

Think You Won’t Get Sea Sick

Even if you’re out on the water regularly, having sea legs on a large cruise ship is another thing altogether. There are wristbands and patches but you can pop a seasick pill every evening to keep you even-keeled.

Two deck chairs on the balcony of cruise, woman sitting in one of the chair enjoying a glass of white wine, ice bucket with wine bottle and another glass, ocean and sunlight on waves blurred in the background — courtneyk/istockphoto

Sneak Alcohol Onto a Cruise

Mouthwash bags, rum runner flasks, fake shampoo bottles: cruise staff are onto just about every method or product used to smuggle in booze — thanks TikTok for spoiling it for the rest of us — so just don’t do it or you may be asked to disembark at the next port.

Royal Caribbean’s alcohol policy explicitly states, “Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to people under the legal drinking age, demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be disembarked or not allowed to board, at their own expense.”

Most cruise lines will allow each 21-year-old and above adult to carry one 750 milliliter bottle of wine or Champagne onboard, which can be enjoyed for a corkage fee at bars, dining rooms, and specialty restaurants.

Focus on six colorful cords in a white surge protector, on a wooden floor with a grey gradient wall background — Eekhoff Picture Lab/Getty Images

Pack the Surge Protector

You’ll need a power strip but make sure it does not have surge protection. According to Anker: “Surge protectors are not allowed on cruise ships because they increase fire risk. The reason this danger exists is that a normal surge protector only breaks the circuit on the “live” electrical wire, whereas both the “live” and “neutral” wires carry current on a cruise ship.”

Two women looking at numerous pieces of artwork in small frames along a wall, blurred background of more artwork and the adjacent white wall — PeopleImages/istockphoto

Buy a Piece of Art at Sea

The onboard art auctions may be fun but they’re not the best place to buy a piece of art unless you’ve already done your due diligence — look up Park West Gallery which handles most art auctions on cruise ships — to make sure you’re paying the “right” price for it. The lack of Wi-Fi makes it difficult to do on-the-go research on an art piece’s provenance, there’s been controversy over authenticity, and while it’ll come with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity) it’s only as good as who issued it unless the artist signed it.

Bed in the bedroom cabin of a cruise ship, a towel animal swan in the foreground of a made-up bed, all white, two lamps and nightstand on both sides of the bed, and a wall — Ana del Castillo/istockphoto

Assume You Can Freely Vape in Your Room

Vaping is generally not allowed in a ship’s indoor spaces, though restrictions vary by cruise line. Seabourn and Oceania allow vaping in guest suites while most other cruise lines allow vaping in outdoor spaces, but some only in specific outdoor areas.

Many rows of lounge chairs on the deck of cruise ship, one row in the foreground, bright sun in the sky shining — cassinga/istockphoto

Be a Chair Hog

Everyone wants a chair by the pool so be a good sport and reserve it only if you’re going to be using it. If you think you can reserve a pool chair by placing a towel on it and then walking away for a few hours, you might come back to get your towel (and belongings) removed by a pool attendant or an irate fellow cruiser — and you’ll be the one in the wrong.

Luxurious shopping area inside the MSC Grandiosa cruise ship, blue sky through the ceiling windows, high-end shops on both sides — florin1961/istockphoto

Go Shopping Too Early

Do go window shopping early in the cruise to curate a few things that you might want but leave it to the last couple of days to pull the trigger on your purchase. Why? Because you might find the same thing cheaper on a shore excursion, or more likely, it’ll be on sale on the last day of your cruise.

Attractive woman smiling, wearing a cameo jacket over a denim shirt, over a modern pink background — deniskomarov/istockphoto

Dress Inappropriately

Going shirtless in Croatia, traipsing in heels when visiting the Acropolis, or wearing camouflage clothing in certain Caribbean hotspots (Bahamas, Dominica, Barbados, Jamaica) are some of the lesser-known clothing rules. So before you pack, make sure you take note of what’s accepted or not, usually a cruise line will clue you in.

Royal Caribbean’s website states, “Please note camouflage print clothing and accessories, as well as military-style clothing, is illegal in Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. This style of clothing is reserved only for members of the military at these destinations.”

And yes, this even extends to backpacks, just ask this cruise passenger who got escorted back to the ship in Barbados for his camo backpack.

Focus on orange tropical cocktail drink with pineapple on cruise ship, on a white table with feet to the left side, blurred background of deck and ocean — Kirk Fisher/istockphoto

Overpay for Drinks

That Drink Package may look excessive when booking but it’s one way to not overpay for drinks if you’re likely to be drinking more than a couple of glasses a day. Other savvy ways to keep your drink bill reasonable include checking for daily drink specials and happy hour, attending the captain cocktail parties, and if you’re going to be playing at the casino, enjoying some complimentary libations.