Carnival Cruise Line has a somewhat unfair reputation for onboard fights and for its passengers being out of control.
The fights are rare, but when they happen they instantly go viral on social media.
That's not the image Carnival wants to put forward; the cruise line markets itself as offering "Fun Ships" for families. Yes, it wants people to have a good time, and that can include alcoholic beverages, but Carnival wants to make clear that there are limits.
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The cruise line literally has a limit on alcoholic beverages: A cruiser can buy only 15 of them each day. That limit applies both to people paying as they go and those who buy the Cheers drink package.
Passengers use, however, some clever ways to get around the limit. Beer buckets and bottles of wine can be used to get around the limit, and the cruise line can't track the drinks a passenger get while in port.
Carnival wants its passengers to have fun, but it wants to make sure the fun does not get out of hand. To help make that happen, the cruise line is hiring a new position for its security team: an RSA Supervisor.
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Image source: Carnival Corp.
Carnival cracks down on excessive drinking
Last year Carnival decided to take steps to keep marijuana off its ships by using drug-sniffing dogs. The dogs were not placed on every ship, but the idea of them and not knowing when they would be used likely deterred some people.
If you're caught on board with marijuana, or even CBD, you could be kicked off the ship or even banned for life. That's true even if you have a prescription in a state that has legalized cannabis because the cruise line follows federal law.
But unlike the sporadically used drug-sniffing dogs, Carnival appears to be placing its new security team member on every ship.
"The RSA Supervisor’s primary responsibility is to prevent anyone from becoming intoxicated, to prevent anyone under the age of 21 from obtaining or consuming alcohol, to ensure that alcohol is consumed in a safe and responsible manner without danger to passengers or crew, and to ensure that the service and consumption of alcohol are conducted in accordance with company policies and procedures," the cruise line said in a job posting.
Some of the responsibilities of the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) Supervisor include:
- Be assigned to a specific bar location or locations as directed by the Chief Security Officer (CSO/designee).
- Identify anyone that is becoming intoxicated and ensure they are given appropriate warnings at an early stage, and if deemed necessary, are not served any further alcoholic beverages until such time they are adjudged capable.
- Assist service personnel in determining whether a passenger should be served — if necessary, engage the passenger in conversation to determine if service should be refused.
- Assist service personnel in addressing passengers who have been refused service.
- Ensure that passengers who have been refused service do not obtain any further alcohol from others.
- Ensure that anyone refused service is safe and that medical assistance is called if required.
Carnival is also hiring Youth Security Officers
Kids have a lot of freedom on cruise ships. That can lead them to get out hand with minor mischief like running in the hallways or being loud in quiet spaces and to more serious offenses.
To combat such behavior Carnival is hiring Youth Safety Officers for all its ships.
"The Youth Security Officer will be charged with enforcing on-board security policies and regulations in general and as they pertain to our younger passengers specifically," according to the job description. "Situations with adult passengers should be immediately referred to the SSO and on-board Ship’s Security Staff."
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The cruise line is specifically looking for people who are good at understanding and communicating with younger and teen passengers. In many ways the YSO's presence will serve to help keep younger passengers in line.
Carnival said the YSO would "provide visible security presence for the enforcement of shipboard policies to unruly minor passengers."
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