Top 10 Things You Should NEVER Do On Carnival Cruise!
Today, we are gonna talk about the top 10 things you should never do on a Carnival cruise. We came up with this list because these things can cost you some serious money or can actually get you kicked off of the ship. So, don’t ruin your vacation or waste your hard earned money doing something silly.
tip number 1: pack your carry-on accordingly
These are the things that you're going to need to actually board the ship. the first things are your identification. This is your passport, your birth certificate or government issued photo ID. Now that we're in the times that we live in, you need to make sure that you have your vaccination cards with you as well. They aren’t required anymore by cruise lines but some countries still like you to have them with you.
If you get sea sick or motion sickness, carry on your sea bands or dramamine.
Another thing is you need to make sure that if you are bringing a bottle of wine or champagne onboard, you have to have this in your carry on. If you pack it in your checked luggage, there is a good chance that it will be confiscated.
On that same note, if you are bringing any canned beverages or carton beverages, like sodas, juices, or water, you have to have those in your carry on.
One other thing to make sure that you carry is any medicine or anything of that nature, and anything that’s really important to you. Anything that you don’t feel comfortable letting out of your sight for a few hours, pack it in your carry on.
tip number 2: don't be late getting to the ship
Don’t risk missing the ship on embarkation day and losing all your money! then you have to deal with paying more money to stay at a hotel and money to get a flight back home. Don’t give yourself that headache and anxiety.
Just make sure you are not late for your check in appointment. give yourself a window of time to be there on time. We like to make sure we have a good two to four hours leeway because anything could happen. Like when the airport shut down because of a bomb threat and we couldn’t leave or getting a flat tire on the interstate driving in to port. stuff can go wrong so just plan ahead and give yourself so time to make sure you can get there in time.
tip number 3: you don't want to be late coming back from port
Nobody wants to be a pier runner. so if you out in port it can really cost you if you come back too late. the ship will leave you and everybody will be waving at you goodbye and next thing you know you are on YouTube and TikTok. And then its gonna cost you money because you could end up having to going to the embassy and having to get a temporary passport. More money because of hotel stays and more money again for the flight home. Not to mention that you have missed out on the rest of your cruise! So, yes, have lots of fun in port but be smart and get back to the ship on time.
tip number 4: do not smoke in your room or on the balcony
We all pretty much know that there's designated smoking areas on this ship. and I understand it can be annoying having to leave your nice comfy cabin to go all the way to the often outdoor windy and cold smoking area to smoke. Especially when you just can step right outside on your balcony, light up, get your smoke on and be done with it.
But here's the thing, that quick little puff could cost you $500 per violation if they catch you out there smoking. You have to ask yourself, is it even worth it to light up that cigarette, that cigar, that e-cigarette, that vape, or whatever…is it worth the $500.
And here's the worst part of it, not only do you have to pay the $500 fine but you can get kicked off the ship with no refunds or no compensation, and risk being blacklisted to not being able to cruise again!
So yeah, ask yourself is it worth it to light up in your room or on your balcony? Have to pay a $500 fine and possibly get kicked off the ship? To me, it's just not worth it. Just go to the designated area, get your smoke on, and go back to your cabin.
tip number 5…let’s talk about drugs
If you're in a state that’s marijuana friendly, it doesn't matter. Doesn’t matter if you are allowed to have it for medical purposes. Carnival cruise lines, and all other cruise lines, follows the federal law when it comes to marijuana possession on a cruise ship.
So, I say all this because a lot of people think that, “Oh, because I have a legal prescription you know…” or “it's okay in my state…” or “it's okay in the state that i am sailing from, so i can bring that on board”…I’m here to tell you straight up, the answer to that is a big no. They follow the federal law. The federal law does not recognize it as something that is legal at this time. That goes for any other drugs that you can think of.
So, again $500 fine, never being able to sail with carnival again. then you may have to deal with the repercussions of just having it. yeah and that's a whole other thing. is it worth it? no, it's not. just save the smokey smoke for when you get back home.
tip number 6: to just get all of your ironing done on the embarkation day
If you have never cruised before you may not know this but, you are not allowed to bring irons or any type of steam device for your clothes on the ship. Nope, you cannot bring those on the ship. They will confiscate them and keep them in the port till the end of the cruise.
The good thing is that carnival, unlike some other cruise lines, offers a free ironing room on just about every deck on all of their ships. So, you don’t have to send your clothes off to the laundry and pay to get them ironed. I know it’s a little inconvenient to use their ironing room, because you have to wait and you can’t iron in your cabin. But they do this because it's a fire hazard.
So, right after the muster drill, go iron all your clothes for the week and you avoid the lines and wait during the cruise.
tip number 7: keep your weapons at home
When we think about weapons, the first thing we think about is the obvious stuff. Like our guns, our knives, and things like that. Most of us know that you should leave those things at home when you’re cruising. If you can’t take it on a plane, then you can’t take it on a cruise, right? Yes, even if you have concealed carry permit.
But also remember things like mace and tasers and things like that. You can't bring that stuff either. If they find it, they will take that from you. And they may not give it back to you. so leave it at home. Everybody gonna be in a chill environment and we don’t need to mace anybody.
This reminder is mainly for the ladies out there. because I know a lot of ladies carry mace or tasers in their handbags for self defense, and it just lives in your bag for emergencies and you don’t remember to take it out. So just remember to take it out before you travel. Would hate for you to have to come out of pocket to replace it.
tip number 8: complete the muster drill as soon as you get onboard
They make it super easy to do now, so just get it done and over with. Gone are the days of sitting out in the hot sun on the deck waiting for other people to show up. You simply watch a 5 minute demo of how to properly put on your life jacket and make sure you get your sail and sign card scanned in your correct muster station.
Just do it as soon as you get onboard because you don't want to be that guy or that girl holding up the cruise ship because you did you didn't go to your muster station.
And something that we just learned is that they will freeze your card if you don’t complete the muster drill on time. Meaning that your card won’t work to purchase drinks or in the shops or even open your cabin door! So you have to go to guest services to get your sail and sign card reactivated. And then still end up having to complete the muster drill. Who has time for all that? Just get it done and don’t delay the process. It literally takes less than 10 minutes.
tip number 9: make sure you're not booking your return flight home too early
An easy rule of thumb is no flights before noon. just because the itinerary says that the ship will be back in port at 7am or 8am, that doesn't mean that customs is going to release that ship at that time. Which means that you are not getting off the ship that early. Plus if you use the debark luggage service, you will have to claim your luggage after getting off the ship. then you have to get to your transfer, or your uber, or your lyft, or a taxi, and get to the airport. All of which takes time.
So like I said, rule of thumb, just don't book anything before noon. i know we don't like to wait around and as soon as vacation is over we just want to go ahead and get back home. But with that said, don't risk the possibilities of delays getting to the airport late or checking in with TSA and possibly missing your flight.
tip number 10: don’t throw anything overboard
This includes food. On one of our first cruises, we were in port and there were seagulls everywhere begging for food on the lido. So the kiddos being kiddos starting throwing French fries overboard to feed the seagulls and to get rid of the seagulls. Within minutes, security was nearby waving a big no no to us. And then later explained that we can’t throw anything overboard. That it could lead to a fine of $500. It is considered polluting the ocean. There is no guarantee that the seagulls are gonna catch that French fry.
But I also know that a French fry or a towel or a piece of paper is not worth $500 to risk throwing it overboard. Once again, if you're caught, a $500 fine per violation for throwing stuff overboard and you can get kicked off the ship with no refunds and no compensation. Get kicked off the cruised for throwing stuff overboard…how you going to explain that to your facebook friends?
Here is a video of this blog post.