On an individual level, it’s hard to get banned from cruising on a specific cruise line and even harder to earn an industry-wide ban. If you do something wrong, like have a fight, or break safety rules like using an open flame (like smoking or lighting a candle) in your room, you might get thrown off the ship or even arrested in the next port.
Last year, for example, I was sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas watching my friend’s toddler while he and his wife played laser tag. The little guy and I were playing on the floor of the Crown Lounge (the cruise line’s dedicated space for top-tier loyalty program members) when my buddy and his wife came in flanked by a variety of uniformed security officers.
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My friend was bleeding slightly from his head and I learned that after taunting him multiple times, a teenager had punched him in the face. After a lengthy interview and security watching a tape of the incident, my rather shaken friend was asked if he wanted the teenager arrested in Nassau the next day.
He passed on that, thinking that it was unfair to his parents. Security also offered to kick him off the cruise, but that too seemed like a punishment for the parents, so ultimately the punching teen was only allowed to leave his cabin in the company of an adult.
So, while the potential punishment was severe, no ban was considered. Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) has banned passengers for life for violating its onboard drug rules (you can’t bring CBD or marijuana even if it’s legal where you live), but even that happens very rarely.
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The cruise line does, however, have to comply with the rules in the countries where they operate. That has meant banning passengers from several places around the world.
So do all of Carnival's rivals, including Royal Caribbean (RCL) .
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Carnival explains why certain passengers are banned
While the rules Carnival is citing would impact Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Disney Cruise, MSC Cruises, and many other lines, the actual specifics vary depending upon each company’s operational footprint.
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Carnival Cruise Lines, which includes the Princess and Holland America brands, shared an email with its travel agent partners that’s specific to its operations.
“Carnival Corporation & plc (Carnival) is committed to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. We are writing to specifically reinforce our adherence to all applicable sanctions and trade control laws and regulations, including but not limited to those imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (collectively “Sanctions Laws”),” the cruise line's letter said.
Sanction laws prevent companies from doing business with certain countries.
“In response to the adoption of increased Sanctions Laws following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all Carnival brands previously implemented a policy to no longer sell cruises, including through any travel agent partners, to guests resident in Russia, Belarus, the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, in addition to existing restrictions that prevent sales to guests resident in Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and the Crimea region of Ukraine,” the company shared in its email.
The cruise line needs its travel agent partners to be diligent about and explained what it requires.
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“We would like to reiterate the importance of ensuring accurate guest details are input into our booking systems; in particular we require that you collect full details of each guest’s residency address at the time of booking and input this accurately into our booking system. We also require that you input these details for existing guest bookings. Please also ensure that you continue to implement appropriate technical measures to prevent guests from booking via your websites when located in Restricted Countries/Regions,” the cruise line shared.
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Carnival has a code of conduct
While people who reside in the banned region could, in theory, move, passengers who get banned for behavior have no method of protesting that ban. The cruise line does not list all the reasons it could ban a passenger, but it does have a code of conduct that lays some of it out.
"Our experience has taught us that everyone has a better time when children are supervised, noise in the hallways is kept to a minimum, guests follow queues, and that a spirit of community and neighborliness is shown by all. Consistent with our commitment to safety, disruptive behavior is not tolerated and any guest whose conduct affects the comfort, enjoyment, safety, or well-being of other guests or crew will be disembarked at their own expense and banned from sailing on Carnival in the future," the cruise line shared.
Related: Carnival addresses main dining room policy Royal Caribbean changed
