A few days ago, cruise fans were all a-twitter because Royal Caribbean has quietly made a change to its list of items that are prohibited from being brought onto their ships. They had added power strips, multi-plug outlets and surge protectors to its Prohibited Items list.
Why?
Just like airlines don’t allow passengers to bring guns, knives and potentially explosive items into the cabin of their planes, cruise lines all have lists of items they don’t allow their passengers to bring with them onto their respective ship. Most items have to do with safety in some form.
Power strips, multi-plug outlets and surge protectors have been on Prohibited Items lists of other cruise lines for years. The fear is they could spark and cause a fire.
Categories of prohibited items
As a general rule of thumb, no cruise line allows passengers to bring:
- Illegal drugs
This includes any form of marijuana or CBD. Although some recreational drugs are legal in some parts of the world, they’re always illegal in international waters, as well as in several countries where the ships will port. - Firearms (including replicas), weapons, ammunition, explosives
This includes law enforcement officers who are on vacation. (explanation: they will be boarding a foreign flag vessel going to foreign countries) - Knives and sharp objects
Again, they don’t want people carrying things that could be used as sharp weapons. Scissors are allowed, but only if the blades are less than a certain amount (usually about 4″). Most tools are also not allowed, for the same reason. - Explosives
You’d think this would be self-explanatory, but there ya go. - Disabling chemicals
Again, why you can’t bring bleach onto the ship should be self-explanatory - Items with a heating element
The biggest fear on a cruise ship is fire. And with good reason – it’s not as if the fire department can come put the fire out if you’re in the middle of the ocean. So candles, irons, steamers, electric kettles, hot plates, etc. - Martial arts and self-defense items
Last thing anyone wants at sea is someone with nunchuks, mace or throwing stars.
The prohibited items lists for some of the major cruise lines:
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Celebrity Cruises
- Disney Cruise Line
- Holland America
- MSC Cruises
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Princess
- Royal Caribbean
- Virgin Voyages
The oddball items
As I read through the lists (which are not all the same), a few things caught my eye that might seem a little oddball…
Handcuffs
All of the lists include handcuffs. I’ve got a funny story about that. The first time I ever noticed handcuffs on a cruise ship’s list of prohibited items was on Virgin Voyages. And let’s face it – Virgin Voyages is strictly for age 18+, so when you think handcuffs, you’re probably thinking of this kind:
But nope. Even Virgin Voyages prohibits handcuffs out of safety concerns. And yes, they will confiscate fuzzy pink plastic handcuffs.
Camouflage
One or two lists include clothing that’s camouflage. That’s because of the 18 countries where it’s illegal for private citizens to wear camouflage.
Food & beverage
Some cruise lines don’t allow you to bring any sort of food or beverage onto the ship. Others are a little more lax. Virgin Voyages allows you to bring two 750 ml bottles of wine (per cabin) onto the ship. Disney Cruise Lines allows the same amount per person (not per cabin) at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call.
Toys
Disney Cruise Line specifies that although they have a zero-weapons policy, they do make exceptions for:
- Store-bought light sabers
- Plastic toy “pirate” swords
- Plastic store-bought toy “Mjolnir” hammers (Thor’s hammer)
Because Disney toys 😉
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line I saw that specifically prohibits Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cell phones. They even have an entire protocol about them.
What happens if you’re caught with a prohibited item?
All luggage, both checked and carry-on, is scanned before being brought aboard. If you’re found to have a prohibited item, what happens next really depends on the item (say, handcuffs vs. marijuana) and the cruise line’s policy.
However, I can share my experience from when I inadvertently brought an extension cord on my Virgin Voyages cruise.
I’m generally a “rule follower,” so I wasn’t trying to “sneak” anything onto the ship. I just always have an 8′ extension cord in my “bag o’ wires” because when you’re staying at a hotel, you never know when you might need one. It didn’t even dawn on me to remove the cord before our cruise.
Anyway, my “bag o’ wires” was in my checked luggage, which was delayed in being sent to our cabin. When it finally arrived, it included this notice and a receipt.
I was able to pick up my extension cord upon disembarkation. I noticed that it was surrounded by an array of travel irons, electric kettles, and fuzzy plastic handcuffs LOLOL.
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