Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) and rival Royal Caribbean (RCL) encourage passengers to let go and have a little (maybe a lot) more fun than they generally have when they're not on vacation.
In fact, both family-friendly cruise lines embrace the idea that you're going to do some things on your cruise that you might not do at home.
That might be as simple as over-indulging on meals and snacks. You can eat a five-course dinner at 7 p.m., have some wings at 11 p.m. then cap your night with a pizza at 2 a.m.
In addition, both Royal Caribbean and Carnival offer enough free and added-fee dining options such that you could focus your entire trip on eating.
If you did that, however, you'd be ignoring the opportunity to indulge in the many drink options onboard. Both cruise lines offer unlimited drink packages that give you access to adult beverages, fancy coffee, milkshakes and, if you need a palette cleanser, fresh juice. (Carnival caps passengers at 15 alcoholic drinks per day.)
Both companies also allow passengers to smoke, albeit only on certain exterior decks and in parts of the casinos (never on a cabin balcony). This has been a controversial practice as nonsmokers tend to be pretty vocal about wanting the practice outlawed or at least limited further.
At least for now you can smoke cigarettes, perhaps a pipe, and even cigars on Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships -- but only ones filled with tobacco.
The cruise lines draw the line there, even though some passengers question that practice.
Image source: Getty Images
You Can't Smoke Marijuana on Carnival or Royal Caribbean
Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald fields questions about the cruise line on his Facebook page. He sometimes turns those queries into polls to see what his followers are thinking. At other times, he gives an answer (even if a question isn't phrased all that nicely).
He recently answered a question from "G" about Carnival's marijuana policy.
John I am an avid consumer of cannabis. It is legal in the great state of Oregon which is in the United Sates of America. As you are an American cruise line I was shocked and embarrassed to be fined by Carnival for using it. I was also told I could be taken off the ship in the next port.
Carnival should be marijuana friendly. 48 million people from the United States smoke marijuana , many for medical benefits and for immediate pain relief. Your passengers are allowed to smoke stinky cigarettes and cigars but I am the one punished. It is legal. Deal with it or see 48 million people spend their $$$ on another cruise line....You have drug sniffer dogs to stop us from bringing this on cruises we have paid for. Really shows that Carnival is not Americans cruise line at all.
Carnival, it should be noted, is not an American cruise line, nor is Royal Caribbean. Both have headquarters in the U.S. but flag their ships in the Bahamas.
Heald was generous in his response to the question.
I do of course realise that people take it for pain relief and I understand and appreciate this so much. However, let me be clear if I may and say while it is legal to purchase in many parts of America it is not allowed to be brought on board regardless if it used for pain relief or not. Yes, we really have made a huge effort to stop this being used on board and while it may not be foolproof it is making a big difference.
Heald made clear that Carnival uses U.S. federal law as its standard, just as it does when it comes to drinking on its ships.
It is a federal law that marijuana cannot be brought and used on the ship and yes we will fine guests and possibly take further action as well. So please, I ask respectfully, do not bring it on board and for those who need it for pain relief I hope you will be able to find an alternative for while you are on your cruise.
Royal Caribbean abides by the same policies.
Why Royal Caribbean and Carnival Follow U.S. Law
While the U.S. government has limited control over what happens on cruise ships once they leave American ports, the pandemic showed that if it chooses, it can exert its will.
During covid the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention simply opted not to allow ships to sail from U.S. ports for over nearly a year-and-a-half. And it could do the same if the cruise lines decided to apply marijuana policies that differed from federal standards.
The reality is that both cruise lines would probably like to ban smoking on their ships (or at least in the casinos) but efforts to test that have not gone well, according to Royal Caribbean Group President Michael Bayley. He commented during a question-and-answer session on Ovation of the Seas during the President's Cruise, Royal Caribbean Blog reported.
"It's a bit of a conundrum," Bayley said. "The dilemma is that there are many people who do want to smoke in the casino. I know that's not a popular response, but it's it's the truth. I'm not judging anyone or anything, but there's a large group of people who do want to smoke in the casino."
Royal Caribbean does not allow smoking in the casinos on its Celebrity line. But Bayley said that no plans to change the namesake brand are in the works because it hurts revenue.
"[I] would say every couple of years we do test this and we take one or two or three ships and we ban smoking in the casino. And the result is less people go in the casino and that's the reality of it," he explained.
