All cruise lines have security measures passengers see — like the safety officers and lifeguards on its ships — and some that you're not meant to fully know about. There are cameras in all public areas and Big Brother is watching.
Most people appreciate those safety measures, although one recent change has been controversial. Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald confirmed last May that the cruise line has added drug-sniffing dogs to some ships as a way to catch people smoking marijuana.
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"As for the drug detection dogs, well let me say that they have, along with our no tolerance rules and enforcement, made a massive difference to the problem of people thinking it is legal and allowed to use marijuana on their cruise. It isn’t," he posted on his Facebook page.
All cruise lines sailing from U.S. ports ban marijuana even if it's legally obtained or prescribed. That's because the cruise lines generally defer to federal laws.
The drug-sniffing dogs are a bit controversial because marijuana smokers don't want to get caught while some passengers appreciate the enforcement.
"They really need more drug dogs when we are getting back on the ship because people pick up drugs in ports and that is when I smell marijuana on the balconies," wrote Janet Buckingham Stoda on Heald's page.
Now, Carnival has added another security measure, but it's a safety measure designed to protect passengers before their cruise.
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Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival wants to protect your cruise
Carnival has taken steps to protect future passengers' private information. In order to log in to your cruise and make changes, passengers now have to provide more information.
Passengers used to just need their name and their booking ID. Now, they have to add their date of birth, their sail date, and their ship name.
"The changes follow a recent identity theft case that was widely publicized on social media after a guest posted her booking ID and cabin number on the platform. An unknown person was able to log into her booking and cancel it, causing a major financial loss for the victim, who then shared the story online," CruiseHive reported.
If someone else can access your cruise, they could make purchases in your name, cancel purchases, and make other changes that could be problematic for your cruise. In theory, they could also upgrade your room, leaving you with massive unexpected charges that the cruise line is not liable for.
Carnival has strong booking trends
While not all Carnival passengers are happy at the increased enforcement of its marijuana rules, the cruise line has been smashing sales records. That's something CEO Josh Weinstein talked about during his company's second-quarter earnings call.
"In the last three months, not only did we take more bookings for post-2024 sailings than we did for in-year sailings, we set yet another record for the most future bookings ever taken during the second quarter," he shared. "And while it is still early for 2025, both price and occupancy are already ahead of where we were last year, leaving us in a position of strength with less inventory remaining for 2025."
Weinstein made it clear that he does not think the increases are temporary or part of a Covid bounceback.
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"You have heard me say this before. This is not pent-up demand, it is the compounding effect of building increased consideration in our cruise brands over time and improvement in our yield management techniques to translate that demand into higher ticket prices. And it is further evidence of the strength of our consumer. Encouragingly, we're enjoying consistent growth in both repeat guests and new guests with each segment up 10% this quarter over last year," he added.
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