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Warning: These Things Could Get You Kicked Off a Cruise (Or Denied Boarding)

Getting kicked off a cruise ship? It’s rare, but it does happen from time to time. The same thing goes for being denied boarding. For the vast majority of passengers, it’s nothing they will have to worry about. However, there are some situations where the cruise lines reserve the right to either remove you from the ship or not let you even board in the first place.

All of the following are situations where at least one cruise line has either taken a passenger off the ship (or didn’t let them on) or they explicitly reserve the right to do so according to the passenger cruise contract that’s agreed to when buying a ticket.

Bringing a Baby Younger than Six Months

It seems harsh to deny someone boarding because they have a small infant. However, it’s actually in the interest of the baby’s health. Cruise lines won’t let children younger than six months board because of the difficulty in providing medical care in the middle of the ocean. Were the child to get sick, it could be a day or two to the nearest port. In addition, your child must be older than one year for trips that sail to Hawaii or across the Atlantic.

Don’t worry too much about running afoul of this rule, however. The online reservation systems the cruise lines use typically won’t let you book a trip if your child will be younger than the minimum age at the time of sailing.

(Read: The Complete Guide to Taking a Baby on a Cruise… From Someone Who’s  Done It )

Being More than 24 Weeks Pregnant

First things first, if you are pregnant, then it’s a good idea to read up on Zika and the risks associated with it. Second, just know that you can cruise while pregnant… up to a point. Cruise lines don’t allow you to sail past a certain week of pregnancy — usually around the 24th week. Similar to not sailing with small children, this is for the health of both mother and baby. Being at sea means there is often no quick access to hospitals if there is an emergency.

But just know that cruise lines are serious about this rule. Disney reportedly denied boarding to a woman because she was too far along in her pregnancy:

Show Signs of Contagious Illness

A runny nose? You’re fine. But if you are having signs of serious sickness — especially gastrointestinal illnesses with diarrhea and vomiting — then you could be denied boarding. It’s nothing against you, but the health of literally thousands of passengers and crew is at stake. If you report symptoms, you can be checked out for no charge by the cruise line’s doctor to decide if you are fit for travel.

Risky Behavior That Could Harm Others

If you read through your passenger contract, it actually gives the cruise lines broad authority to deny boarding or remove passengers. For instance, a passage in Carnival’s ticket contract states that “Carnival and the Master each reserves the right to refuse passage, disembark or confine to a stateroom… any Guest whose physical or mental condition or behavior would be considered, in the sole opinion of the Captain in consultation with the ship’s physician, a risk to any Guest or crew member.”

In other words, if the Captain thinks you might harm others, then you can be booted off the ship.

Smoking is heavily regulated on a cruise ship. This is not only for the comfort of passengers, but also for safety reasons. Fire is a major concern on a cruise ship. That’s why smoking is never allowed in cabins and is only allowed in designated areas. If you are caught smoking in a disallowed area, you will be asked to stop and could be fined. In addition, some cruise contracts state that the cruise line has the right to disembark passengers for violating the policy.

Trying to Sell on the Cruise Ship

It’s an odd thing to include, but buried inside the cruise passenger contract for Carnival is the following statement: “Guest further agrees not to solicit anyone on the vessel for any commercial or professional purposes. Guest agrees that any violation of this Clause may subject Guest to disembarkation.”

That’s right! If you solicit people on the ship for your business, it could get you kicked off.

Underage Drinking

Cruise lines take underage drinking seriously. In fact, we’ve seen it explicitly stated in cruise contracts with passengers that they have the right to remove underage passengers who are caught purchasing (or attempting to purchase) alcohol on the ship. This also includes any adults traveling with the minor. And if you purchase a drink for someone underage, that’s against the rules too.

Not Letting the Staff Search Your Room

It sounds, draconian, but it’s written in black and white in the ticket contract with Carnival:

“Guest agrees Carnival has, at all times with or without notice, the right to enter and search Guest’s stateroom, personal safe or storage spaces, or to search or screen any Guest, and/or personal effects, at any location, to ensure compliance with any of the restrictions set forth in this agreement. Any Guest who refuses any such search or screening may be denied boarding or disembarked and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued.”

That’s right. If you refuse the search, then you can be denied boarding or taken off the ship.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean states they may remove a passenger from the ship when “when a Passenger refuses to permit search of his person or property for explosives, weapons, dangerous materials or other stolen, illegal or prohibited items.”

Have you ever seen someone removed from a ship? Tell us the story in the comments below.

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Royal Caribbean Cruise Line did not let us board at Singapore, saying that we are Botswana citizens, and that cruise will be in the Thai waters, hence Thai authorities need visa. We told them that since we intend to remain on board and not disembark and cross immigration and are in transit for 8 hours, we do not need Thailand visa. But they did not let us board. We had to wait in Singapore for 4 days to get our luggage which they could not offload. We lost over 20000 US Dollars of our savings.

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47 Major Crimes Were Alleged on U.S. Cruise Ships in the First Three Months of 2024. Here’s What to Know

The best gift ever for people that love cruises this might be it…, nearly 100 passengers fall ill with stomach virus on princess cruise, hotels with cruise shuttles for every major port in america, 107 best cruise tips, tricks, secrets, and freebies, 39 useful things to pack for your cruise (including 17 you’d never think of).

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10 Ways to Get Kicked Off a Cruise

By Matt Meltzer

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Getting kicked off a cruise is a lot easier than you think. Those ships are private property, and even if you’ve paid for the trip in full , you at some point signed an agreement that allowed the cruise line to kick you off if it deemed your removal necessary for the safety and comfort of other passengers. Royal Caribbean , for example, states it “may remove any guest from its vessel, when such refusal or removal of the guest is reasonably necessary in the Cruise Line’s sole discretion for the guest’s comfort or safety, for the comfort or safety of other guest or the Cruise Line employees, or for the prevention of damage to the property of the Cruise Line or its guest or employees.”

That, of course, is pretty broad. So we dug a little deeper and found ten specific things that will get you kicked off a cruise.

Not Having the Paperwork

Typically, a cruise is a trip to a foreign country, which means you’re going to need a passport to get onboard. If you don’t produce one at check-in, typically, you won’t be allowed entry. It’s not so much getting kicked off, as not being allowed on.

You’re Banned from a Country

Let’s say you booked a cruise with a stop in Istanbul, and failed to mention to the cruise line you’d been banned from Turkey for some reason you’d rather not go into publicly. If Turkish immigration alerts the cruise line, it will toss you from the ship prior to arrival in Istanbul .

Miss the Muster Drill

This isn’t like sleeping through the safety demonstration when a flight attendant is teaching you how to fasten a seatbelt. The muster drill is the one thing on a cruise where attendance in mandatory, and back in 2012—shortly after the Costa Concordia disaster in Italy—both Holland America and Seabourn had highly publicized incidents where passengers were removed for “ non-compliance ” because they skipped the muster drill.

Practice Poor Time Management

Few things in this world are more hilarious than watching a group of sunburned cruise passengers weighed down by bags of 3-for-$10 t-shirts, sprinting after a cruise ship that’s slowly pulling out of port. Cruise employees call this the Run of Shame, and it happens when passengers visit a port, lose track of time, and miss the ship’s debarkation. The ship will leave without you, and if you’re late getting back, your choices are either meet it at the next port or go home.

Bringing Drugs Onboard

You don’t have to be like the fine young ladies who mistook the MS Sea Princess for a really slow-moving cigarette boat, and tried using it to smuggle $23 million worth of cocaine . Just tipping off the drug dogs (which often come aboard at a new port) will get you the boot, and possibly a few nights’ stay as a guest of the local government. And U.S. search and seizure laws don’t extend to ships either—refuse to have your room searched, and cruise lines will kick you off as well.

Throwing Anything Overboard

Tossing anything overboard—food, errant plates, a spouse who just can’t master the concept of breathe-right strips—is a big no-no. One poor Aussie reportedly had his cruise ended by simply flicking a cigarette butt off the deck in Bali. But honestly, throwing stuff in the ocean is a pretty crummy thing to do anyway, so nobody will have sympathy when you’re forcibly removed.

Impersonating Crew

You wanna wear your favorite Captain Stubing outfit on dress-up night to give your friends a good laugh? That’s fine. You wanna pose as a cruise doctor and spend five years treating passengers you don’t have authorization to treat? Not fine. Pretending to be a crew member—whether it’s the captain or just someone who makes colorful animals out of bath towels—will get you thrown off a ship instantly.

Getting Ill

Obviously, someone with a highly contagious disease shouldn’t be traveling on the giant floating incubator that is a cruise ship. And if you’re found to be patient zero in a dysentery outbreak, you’re out. But cruise lines will also eject passengers they feel are gravely ill, more for their own safety than that of other passengers.

Cruise lines don’t even care if you’re an F-list reality TV “star,” as Bad Girls Club ’s Judy Jai learned in 2015 when she was thrown off a cruise in Jamaica after getting into a fight with her cabin-mate AC Style. Or Trace Adkins, who left a ship and checked into rehab after getting into a fight with a passenger who was apparently butchering his songs at karaoke . Moral of the story: Use some restraint if you disagree with someone aboard ship. They’re not worth losing the rest of your vacation.

Throwing a Fit, or Otherwise Being Verbally Abusive

You don’t even need to get physical to get thrown off a cruise ship. Causing a commotion with words will also rate an ejection. Just ask Foxy Brown, who back in 2011 got so enraged when the onboard salon couldn’t accommodate her manicure —after she showed up three hours late—that she was booted when the boat docked in the Cayman Islands.

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Welcome to Consumer Rescue

Fiascos and Fixes

Here’s how to get kicked off a cruise with no refund included

Michelle Couch-Friedman

Consumer reporter and ombudsman

March 7, 2023

Could you be accused of a crime, convicted and kicked off your cruise without any supporting evidence?

Halfway around the world, Elaine Chan discovered the answer to that question is yes. She and her husband were summarily ejected from their Holland America cruise in Helsinki. The captain accused Chan’s 65-year-old husband of assaulting a crew member. He then ordered the shocked couple to gather their belongings and get off his ship.

Chan wants to clear her husband’s name and get a refund from Holland America.

I promise this story will make you angry. It’s yet another troubling case of a company leveling a wild accusation at a customer and refusing to provide even a shred of evidence to support it. And it’s the consumer who pays the price — financially and emotionally.

Editor’s note: I first reported this couple’s cruise fiasco in July 2018, and it was subsequently covered by many media outlets . This article has been updated to include five things that will get you kicked off your cruise today as it moves to its new archive home here at Consumer Rescue.

Kicked off your cruise? With Holland America, it can happen

With much anticipation, Chan and her husband booked a 24-day cruise on Holland America’s Zuiderdam . But on day five, things went terribly wrong.

“We did not expect our highly anticipated vacation to end as a nightmare in complete humiliation,” Chan explained. “We were kicked off the cruise by the Holland America captain in Helsinki.”

Chan said that at 8 a.m., the captain called the couple into his office. He explained that there had been an incident during disembarkation two days earlier in St. Petersburg.

The captain said that during that incident, several passengers had become verbally abusive to crew members. While leaving the ship, one passenger had escalated the situation by pushing an employee. Another crew member identified Chan’s husband as the person who did the shoving. As a result, they were no longer welcome on his ship.

The shocked couple told the captain that they hadn’t been involved in any incident. The captain was unmoved and told them his decision was final. He ordered them to leave the cruise immediately.

Chan explained what happened next:

Then the captain gave us an envelope with tickets back to San Francisco. He forced us to leave the cruise by 10 a.m. to catch our flight. If we did not leave on time, he said we would miss our flight. So we had no time to plead our case and get more information. Can you really get kicked off your cruise like this with no evidence or even chance to respond? We’re devastated. My husband didn’t do this. Someone made a mistake and misidentified him. This false accusation has really taken a toll on him. What can we do?

Where is the proof of this cruise ship mayhem?

Since the moment the embarrassed couple arrived home from their aborted cruise, they have been on a mission to prove their innocence.

Initially, Chan felt confident that video cameras on board the Zuiderdam would conclusively prove that they had been kicked off the cruise in error. She begged the executives of Holland America to pull those videotapes. Instead, she received a written explanation of the accusations.

Your husband participated in a scene where staff members were verbally abused. This abuse became physical when he and another guest attempted to push their way off the ship in port at St. Petersburg. As a result, a staff member required medical attention. As stated by the Captain in your verbal interview and in our previous correspondence, this is a violation of Section 4 of the Cruise Contract, and so the decision was made to remove both parties from the ship at the next port of call (Helsinki). Holland America

Chan and her husband again asked that Holland America review the videotapes. The couple offered to provide photos of themselves on the day of the incident. They hoped that company executives could compare those photos with any videos or photos the cruise line might have of the true perpetrator. Additionally, they agreed to take lie detector tests at their own cost.

Get kicked off your cruise — you’re not getting a refund from Holland America

Holland America declined to provide any evidence to support its claim, but instead concluded its investigation of the case with this email:

While we regret that this final response could not be more favorable, we do hope you will continue to include Holland America Line in your travel plans. Thank you again for your inquiry. I appreciate this opportunity to assist and hope you will sail with us again soon. Holland America

This final email stirred up a lot of questions for me.

If Holland America believed that Chan’s husband injured a crew member so severely that he needed medical treatment, why would the cruise line hope this assaultive passenger would set sail with the cruise line ever again?

Something wasn’t adding up.

Can this couple get a refund from Holland America?

Coincidentally, Chan’s request for help landed on my desk at the same time that a somewhat similar plea arrived. Another wife needed help vindicating her husband against a company’s wacky accusations. Lois Kendall reported that her 76-year-old husband had been accused of stealing two pillows from a Choice Hotels franchised Quality Inn. She was outraged that the hotel had targeted her husband with accusations of theft. But even more outrageous was Choice Hotels refusal to investigate and help its loyal customer.

Kendall’s case ended on a positive note once the court of public opinion weighed in under the article in the comments section. Choice Hotels quickly corrected its error and provided a refund and an apology.

In Chan’s case, I hoped that I could get a favorable resolution on a more timely basis. She wished for an apology and a refund from Holland America.

I contacted Holland America and asked for clarification. I pointed out that the couple offered to take a lie detector test. And I asked about the videotape and the curious final email hoping to see the couple soon on another Holland America cruise. I can’t vouch for whether this couple participated in any brawl, but it seems if they did they probably wouldn’t take a lie detector test or beg for the video review.

Can a cruise line kick a passenger off the cruise and keep their money too?

Most cruise lines have terms written into their contracts allowing for the removal of passengers under a variety of conditions. And no refund is provided in most circumstances. Holland America already referred Chan to Section 4 of their HAL cruise contract which says:

Carrier may without liability for refund, payment, compensation or credit, except as provided herein, disembark or refuse to embark You, confine You in a stateroom, quarantine You, restrain You, change Your accommodations or disembark You at any time if, in the sole opinion of Carrier, the Captain or any doctor, You or any minor or other person in Your care during the Cruise, Land + Sea Journey, and/or Land Trip(s), are unfit for any reason for the Cruise, Land + Sea Journey, and/or Land Trip(s), or Your presence might be detrimental to Your health, comfort or safety or that of any other person, or in the judgment of the Captain is advisable for any reason.

But the unusual nature of this accusation is that it came days after the event. The captain blindsided Chan and her husband with charges the couple could not defend themselves against.

It seems questionable that a passenger assaulted a crew member and the employees made no accusations at the time of the incident. And since almost everyone has cell phones with the capability to take photos and videos, there should be some documentation of this event. What about a photo of the perpetrator making his getaway down the gangplank?

The bottom line: Getting kicked off your cruise = no refund

Holland America refused to respond to any of my requests for a statement about this case. As I’ve pointed out many times, when trying to fix a consumer problem , it’s best not to mention an attorney unless you actually have one. Often once a lawyer is mentioned, company executives refer all future correspondence to their legal department. And that legal department typically will not respond to a consumer advocate. Chan did allude to a lawyer in one of her later emails to Holland America.

Unfortunately, it appears that neither a refund from Holland America nor an apology will be heading this couple’s way. Chan says this experience has been like a bad movie from which they can’t escape. She hopes by telling her story, she might find some solace in the court of public opinion.

Post-publication update: I caught up with Chan nearly a year after she and her husband were kicked off their cruise to see if HAL had ever followed up.

Hi Michelle, No, Hal never contacted us. We did not proceed with legal action either due to the fact that the legal cost most likely would exceed any refund we could get. Having our story shared on your website helped us a great deal in terms of finding peace in our mind and finally being able to move on with our life. Elaine Chan

Top things that can get you kicked off a cruise

It isn’t often that I receive complaints from cruise ship passengers who have been kicked off the ship mid-way through the trip. But it can and does happen. However, we often hear from distraught would-be cruisers who get rejected before they even boarded the ship.

Here are the top four things that can lead to getting the boot from the boat before or during the cruise.

Not having the correct identification

Nearly a week goes by when I don’t receive a complaint from a distraught would-be cruise ship passenger who failed to read their cruise contract or verify the necessary requirements for their particular itinerary. 

From passengers who have flown across the world  without the necessary visas  to enter the country where their cruise ship was waiting to travelers who  brought the wrong or expired documents  to the embarkation point, we’ve seen it all. But the outcome is always the same: no cruise and no refund. 

How to avoid this completely avoidable fate?  Always check with the  U.S. State Department  for entry requirements to all destinations on your cruise. Don’t forget to check every part of your itinerary, or you ( like this couple on Holland America’s  Westerdam ) could end up getting offloaded mid-cruise on the other side of the world. 

And who do you suppose will pay all the expenses for you to get home? You guessed it: YOU.

Showing up too late to board the ship

Running a close second to the disappointed travelers who contact us after they’ve been denied boarding their cruise because of the lack of correct documentation are the ones who pushed their luck and showed up too late to board the cruise. Some of these disappointed vacationers have been  stranded in foreign destinations like Cuba  and  Mexico . While others  never even got to board the cruise  in the first place. 

How to avoid this fate?  Never fly to your ship’s embarkation destination on the  same day the cruise is set to begin . And make sure to check your cruise ship’s daily schedule while on board. Remember,  cruise itineraries are always subject to change . If you don’t want to find yourself standing on the dock wondering what happened to your cruise ship and how you’re going to get home, pay attention to those overhead announcements, newsletters placed under your cabin door, and signs you’ll see on the way off the boat as you leave for excursions. 

Bad behavior on the ship

Of course, if you behave badly on the ship, you should expect you’ll be off-boarded, as happened to the couple in our story today. A good lesson here is if you see riff-raff going on, it’s best to remove yourself from the equation. Don’t stand around watching, or you could also be considered part of the mix, and you’ll be removed from the cruise as well. 

How to avoid this fate ? Basically, just behave like a dignified adult on your cruise. Don’t drink too much , be polite to others (passengers and crew), and don’t bring prohibited items onboard the ship. If you’re unsure what you can carry on board the vessel, review your cruise contract — all will be revealed there!

Being too pregnant

Most cruise lines welcome pregnant women onboard — but only until they reach the 24th week of their pregnancy. As one of our readers recently found out, if you show up too pregnant for your cruise, you’ll be denied boarding. Not only will you not get the vacation you were planning, but you’ll also forfeit the cruise fare. Similarly, babies, less than six months old (and for some cruises 12 months old) are not allowed to sail.

How to avoid this fate: Be aware of the restrictions for your cruise. This information will be found in your cruise contract. If you’re pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, keep in mind you won’t be able to board the ship after you reach 24 weeks.

Becoming sick

Although your cruise ship will have a sick bay, these medical suites have limited capabilities. Regular readers of my column may remember the case of an NCL passenger who became quite ill and needed a blood transfusion . He was removed from the ship in St. Kitts and taken to a hospital, where he refused the transfusion, preferring the cruise line provide it. Yes, he expected NCL to give him a blood transfusion. Of course, that wasn’t possible, and he was denied reboarding. 

Remember to always obtain travel insurance for your cruise because if you are removed from the ship in a foreign country for medical reasons, you’ll need to find your own way home. Of course, if you need emergency treatment abroad, you’ll quickly realize how critical trip insurance is. Many countries will only treat a passenger if they can prove payment.

But even worse? If you receive treatment and aren’t allowed to leave the hospital until you pay or prove insurance coverage. (See:  Hurt on vacation? Don’t make this traveler’s mistake! )

How to avoid this fate?  Make sure you’re healthy for travel before you embark on a cruise. A ship is not where you want to be if you have a health crisis. So if you have any concerns about your suitability for cruising, check with your doctor. And keep in mind that even the healthiest people can become sick or injured abroad (or before the journey even begins). Trip insurance can protect you against life’s unexpected calamities — before and during your cruise. (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer Rescue)

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Cruise Ships Are Kicking Off Passengers With Pot

C ruise travelers wanting to smoke pot or chew gummies are running into a problem: cruise lines trying to eradicate all types of cannabis products on board.

Cruise lines say they are simply following federal law, and that marijuana is illegal in many countries they sail to. They say that they also want to create a comfortable experience for nonusers.

The companies are warning passengers not to sail with cannabis products and ratcheting up efforts to identify people flouting their rules as their ships swell with travelers. Among the efforts, Carnival Cruise Line has started employing drug-sniffing dogs and is sending out multiple pre-cruise messages that warn against bringing on marijuana.

Passengers say they are scared and confused amid the crackdown. Some passengers have been kicked off ships in foreign ports or banned, while others say they have used the products openly with no repercussions.

Josh DeLucio and his wife take about three cruises each year. He says he manages multiple medical conditions that cause chronic pain in his legs.

He never vacations without what he calls his mobile pharmacy, replete with prescription medications and other treatments. Among them: a topical salve containing CBD and THC that he says decreases his leg pain. He says he doesn’t enjoy the smell of marijuana or being around people using it recreationally, but says it helps him manage his pain occasionally.

“My fear is being on the seas or in a foreign country and needing something,” says DeLucio, who lives in Richmond, Ind.

After hearing about cases where passengers were kicked off cruises for having similar items, DeLucio said he is reconsidering whether to bring the products with him on future trips.

Besides limiting potential legal liability, cruise lines could benefit financially by prohibiting cannabis onboard. Alcohol is a major revenue-generator for ships, and cruises also limit how much booze passengers bring on board.

Inconsistent consequences

Major cruise lines include cannabis on the list of items that passengers are prohibited from bringing onboard ships, along with other drugs and weapons. Some cruise lines also prohibit hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, products that don’t produce a high. Congress legalized them at the federal level in 2018.

A Texas woman received a lifetime ban from sailing with Carnival after CBD gummies were found in her carry-on luggage during a pre-cruise security screening for a trip this summer. Erin Van Veldhuizen was barred from boarding the ship, and her family received a partial refund after the incident, says Daren Stabinski, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based lawyer representing her.

A 25-year-old TikTok influencer from Orlando, Fla., says he was asked to disembark in Jamaica from a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise midway through the trip after he was caught on surveillance smoking marijuana on an upper deck of the ship. The man says he has a medical-marijuana card and had previously sailed with products containing THC without any issues.

His mother exited the ship with him so that he wasn’t alone. Royal Caribbean didn’t provide refunds or assistance in booking their travel home, he says.

“I learned my lesson. I had to pay a lot of money just to exit a boat that we already paid a lot of money to be on,” he says.

Royal Caribbean said in an email that marijuana, even in its medicinal form or for medicinal purposes, is prohibited on its ships.

Regular rule-breakers

On cruise forums and social media, travelers trade tips about how to sneak the substances onto boats. Some put CBD gummies in containers meant for chewable multivitamins.

Nettie Freeman, a nanny from Monroeville, Pa., says the smell of marijuana smoke triggers migraines for her. On a recent five-night cruise with Carnival, she and her husband enjoyed spending time on their balcony only on the first day because people in a neighboring cabin were smoking.

“I think it’s selfish of them to think they should be able to smoke and have it affect everybody around them,” she says. The extra cost of a cabin with a balcony felt like a waste since she hardly used it.

“When a guest cannot enjoy their balcony because neighbors are smoking marijuana, this becomes a customer-service issue,” Chris Chiames, chief communications officer for Carnival, said in an email.

He added that the legalization of marijuana and cannabis products at the state level in the U.S. has created confusion for passengers recently, particularly with so many people taking cruises for the first time.

“Guests who bring on and smoke marijuana on board usually know they should not do so, and end up smoking in nonsmoking areas like their stateroom, which is a legitimate fire hazard on a cruise ship,” Chiames said.

Legal questions

Similar to going through an airport, all checked and carry-on luggage is screened during the boarding process before a cruise. Bags are put through X-ray scanners to prevent contraband from being brought on board.

When passengers are caught with cannabis products, they are rarely charged with any crime in the U.S., defense lawyers say. Passengers can face more risks when caught with a prohibited substance abroad. Tourists have faced jail time or hefty fines for having marijuana in places including the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Defense lawyers say cruise lines may have motivations beyond legal concerns in banning cannabis.

“I’m convinced that the decision to take such a hard line on marijuana or CBD is because they are trying to drive alcohol sales,” says Spencer Aronfeld, a Florida-based personal-injury attorney who handles cases related to cruise ships.

Multiple cruise lines have increased the cost of drink packages in recent years. The companies also enforce limits on how much alcohol passengers can bring on ships.

Chiames, the Carnival spokesman, dismissed the idea that these rules help boost cruise lines’ alcohol sales as nonsense. “That sounds like something someone would say when they’re high,” he said.

Sign up for the WSJ Travel newsletter for more tips and insights from the Journal’s travel team.

Write to Jacob Passy at [email protected]

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Cruise Karen has meltdown after being kicked off Royal Caribbean ship due to positive COVID test

'look, they sanitized everything, as if we're really contagious.'.

Kahron Spearman

Posted on Jul 13, 2021   Updated on Jul 13, 2021, 12:50 pm CDT

A viral TikTok video shows an anti-vax cruise Karen having a meltdown while being removed from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship because of a positive COVID test. 

@amethyst216 posted the initial video of herself, which has over 2.8 million views on TikTok and is trending on  Reddit . The caption reads: “Went on #RoyalCaribbeanFreedomOfTheSea July 2 We gave them our negative Covid test &they accidentally gave us a band 4 vaccinated ppl.”

“Ridiculous,” she begins. “They closed off the freakin’ floor at our rooms. Look at our luggage; it’s wrapped in freaking plastic.”

@amethyst216 Went on #RoyalCaribbeanFreedomOfTheSea July2 We gave them our negative Covid test &they accidentally gave us a band 4 vaccinated ppl. #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Amethyst216

“Look, they sanitized everything, as if we’re really contagious,” she continues, “as if I really had COVID; I had COVID three months ago.” The Center for Disease Control and Infection says that COVID-19 reinfection , while rare, can occur.

Out of precaution, the cruise ship medical team have an ambulance awaiting them, to the woman’s shock. All attendant staff is in full hazmat gear to combat the threat of catching the virus.

She demands she not be pushed down the ramp, asking for some paperwork, doing whatever she can to stay on the ship. Then she yells: “I’m gonna be in charge of my own fucking life.” She accuses them of fabricating information.

“They’re fucking lying!” she yells.

Then, she says she feels like she’s going to have a heart attack, ironically listing symptoms aligned with those of COVID, saying: “Won’t this be a freakin’ story for the printed press.”

She tells the staff that she came onto the boat with a negative PCR test and claims she had a high antibody count.

@amethyst216 #RoyalCaribbean illegally falsified my Covid test & made it positive. Had Covid & have high antibodies. They fucked up & we paid the price #foryou ♬ original sound – Amethyst216

In the following video, she accuses Royal Caribbean of falsifying her COVID test. She was allegedly onboarded with a wristband meant for vaccinated travelers by mistake. The woman claims that cruise security then told them that her party was not tested prior to boarding the ship, which she refutes.

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She claims that she was given a COVID test, which she “knew” would come back positive. She believes it was because she was placed “around vaccinated people who were not tested for COVID [who] could be a carrier, asymptomatic, and not even know about it.”

“I know I don’t have COVID,” she persists.

@amethyst216 ♬ original sound – Amethyst216

In the last video, her flight details are provided for her. She writes in the overlay that Royal Caribbean was sending her and her friend home in an ICU plane. She continues to insist that the COVID test was a false positive.

According to the Royal Caribbean  website , vaccination is “recommended” but not required at only one port—Florida. However, they also say, “Since the majority of our guests will be vaccinated onboard, there will be venues and events restricted to vaccinated guests only.” As of July 1, per WebMD, Royal Caribbean also  requires  “proof of insurance for coronavirus-related expenses.” The cruise line has already had  numerous  COVID-related issues since restarting their voyages.

The Daily Dot reached out to Royal Caribbean. The Karen in the video could not be reached for comment.

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Kahron Spearman is the community manager for the Daily Dot and Nautilus magazine. He’s also a journalist, copywriter, and host of “Discovery with Kahron Spearman” on KAZI 88.7.

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Your Weed Isn't Welcome On The Giant Party Boat

Cruise ships are booting passengers who bring pot aboard.

Cruise lines are waging a war on drugs . Lately the big floating pollution and bacchanalia machines have been pulling out all the stops to prevent marijuana products from getting aboard. Carnival Cruise Line has started bringing a squadron of drug dogs to root out the druggies and drag them back to land. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal , passengers are confused at the sudden about face, as they’ve previously openly smoked or consumed edible marijuana with no repercussions. Other passengers say they’ve been kicked off their ship in a foreign port, or received lifetime bans from cruising.

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It seems the most likely answer for these acts of prohibition on the part of the cruise lines is monetarily motivated. With drinks packages garnering as much as $138 per day per passenger for the ship’s budget , allowing passengers to bring weed aboard is probably eating into company profits. The cruise lines say they’re simply abiding by federal laws in the countries they sail to. Marijuana is illegal in many Carribean and Central American countries , and remains federally illegal here in the U.S., despite having been legalized in many states.

Some cruise lines have even outlawed CBD products which don’t produce a high, despite Congress legalizing these products at the federal level five years ago. Some passengers are copping lifetime bans from Carnival when CBD gummies were found in a pre-cruise screening, and others are getting kicked off immediately in foreign ports without so much as a partial refund for uneaten meals or unused rooms. Even customers who have medical prescriptions for marijuana use aren’t excluded from the ban.

“I’m convinced that the decision to take such a hard line on marijuana or CBD is because they are trying to drive alcohol sales,” says Spencer Aronfeld, a Florida-based cruise ship case attorney.

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Why restore passenger rail has set its sights on stopping cruise ships.

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Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them.

It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, is 300 metres long, decorated with bright blue waves vibrating over the bow. The ferries that dart across the harbour, which seem otherwise spacious when they have several dozen people aboard, suddenly look tiny. 

Further down on Princes Wharf, among the Hilton hotel, the shadow of the cruise ship blocks the sun. As a customs announcement echoes across the concrete (“If you are carrying any meat or fresh fruit and vegetables, you may not bring them ashore”), a steady stream of passengers emerge, pulling enormous suitcases, blue stickers on their chests indicating their cabin numbers. One wears a t-shirt reading “Eat. Sleep. Cruise. Repeat.” Various purveyors of experiences – tours, buses, taxi drivers – hover, trying to compel passengers to come with them. 

Among them are several groups of protestors, with big orange signs. “End Luxury Emissions” reads one. Other protesters are greeting the passengers with a big smile. “Welcome to Tāmaki Makaurau, here’s some information.” Most people take a pamphlet, which bears an illustration of a cruise ship in the embrace of a penguin. Others avoid eye contact. One woman opens the pamphlet to see what’s inside: a brief cartoon illustrating how travelling by cruise ships emits three to four times as much as a plane covering the same distance, harms marine life and pollutes the water. “Oh, oh no!” she says, trying to hand it back. 

While only a few people have turned out for this Friday morning protest, there are certainly many more in the country who are unhappy with the frequency of large cruise ships. The Majestic Princess is Auckland’s last cruise ship for the season, but Auckland’s regular commuters have been irked by the hundreds of cancellations of ferry services caused by the slow, ponderous movement of enormous cruise ships through the harbour. 

It’s yet another example of how “luxury” travel is prioritised over everyday, essential travel – and sometimes at the ratepayers’ expense, says James Cockle, spokesperson for Climate Liberation Aotearoa . (If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the unsuccessful challenger to James Shaw’s Green Party leadership in 2021.) “People don’t realise how damaging cruise ships are – because no one needs to travel on a cruise ship, it can be one of the first things to tackle.” 

Cockle is wearing a sandwich board on the dock at the bow of the Majestic Princess, strolling around under a banner that reads “You Cruise, We Lose” – CLA’s catchphrase in its anti-cruise ship campaign. The board is a table, collecting poll responses from passersby, who can use Cockle’s pen to tick a box: Are you shitting your pants about the climate crisis? Moderately worried? Don’t care at all?

Climate Liberation Aotearoa is the new name of Restore Passenger Rail, the direct-action climate group that sprung out of Extinction Rebellion and made headlines for glueing themselves to roads and unfolding banners demanding – wouldn’t you know it – passenger rail last year. The reason for the pivot to cruise ships is clear: “We felt like under the new government we had little chance of making progress on passenger rail under road-centric leaders,” Cockle says. 

So the group has rebranded, regrouped, and set themselves another transport target: the enormous ships that come to New Zealand each summer, disgorging thousands of passengers. There’s certainly a line of logic from their direct actions last year – if people hate it when their transport is disrupted by visible actors, and cruise ships disrupt daily transport in most New Zealand cities in one way or another, then why not try to rally that energy into a movement that targets cruise ships? The target has shifted too, with the group focusing first on changing council emissions policy instead of focusing mainly on changing central government.

For instance, Cockle asks, why do councils run extra buses for cruise ship passengers when people who live somewhere permanently have to wait for infrequent services? Why are there train services in Dunedin for cruise ship passengers looking to go on a day trip, but no – back to a favourite topic – passenger rail for residents? Why do councils not count the emissions of the cruise ships they entice in their emissions calculations? 

This last point is particularly galling: the Climate Change Commission has said that including international shipping and aviation in climate targets is consistent with fighting climate change  although New Zealand doesn’t currently do this. Councils have climate targets too; after submissions from CLA and others, Christchurch City Council is investigating charging an environmental levy on visiting cruise ships, and potentially changing how emissions are calculated. 

While passenger rail – which Cockle notes is “overwhelmingly popular”, with an inquiry last year gaining more than 1,700 submissions – might not be on the table with the current government, transport remains a major contributor to Aotearoa’s carbon emissions, at around 18% of total emissions and 44% of energy related emissions (i.e., not methane produced by livestock). That’s without counting the carbon produced by shipping, cruises and international air travel. “I used to think that flying was worse than travelling by ship, but now I know it’s not,” says Caril Cowan, a climate activist protesting as part of CLA, here because she’s keen to take action to do something differently.

People who saw Restore Passenger Rail’s actions last year will be familiar with their approach. “We’ve seen that change is not made through marches and rallies, petitions and letters – we support those actions, but there’s a real need for disruption,” Cockle says. Demanding passenger rail looked like disrupting cars and buses, making a stand on motorways and spray-painting buildings; successfully attention raising but necessarily, and purposefully, unsettling for people wanting to go about their days. 

The tactics are similar in targeting cruise ships, but aimed instead at visitors. CLA have paddled in front of the Majestic Princess in Dunedin Harbour , dropped banners reading “cruise ships kill wildlife, nature and our future” in Zealandia when cruise ship visitors were there on a tour and blocked trams carrying cruise visitors in Christchurch . In trying to engage directly with passengers, using the pamphlets and having conversations with those who are interested, the protesters are hoping to change how people think about cruises. Cockle says that some conversations have been revelatory: a woman he spoke to at a Dunedin cruise stop burst into tears when talking to the protesters, describing her love of the natural world and her sadness that her grandchildren don’t want to have kids because of the climate. “It’s sad to see that, but it’s a response that makes sense to the climate crisis,” Cockle says. 

“A lot of people don’t know how many emissions they’re producing by going on a cruise,” says Tamati, a climate campaigner holding a sign. “I feel sad for the passengers – they think they’re on the cruise for their own good but they don’t see how they’re just being treated as cash for whoever owns the cruise company. They’re just captured.” Others handing out flyers express sympathy for the massive suitcases many passengers are hauling along the footpath, and the confusing signage that leads many fresh-off-the-boat passengers to stop in the middle of the dock, trying to figure out where to go.

In choosing to target cruise ships and their passengers, CLA have perhaps picked a cause that more people can get on board with. While cruise ships get lots of credit for being economic stimuli, Cockle notes that research has shown cruise ship visitors spend less than other tourists, making up 3% of tourism spend but about 9% of total visitors . Cruise passengers aren’t paying for accommodation – which is provided by their overseas-owned vessels – and are usually only in each destination for a day. They tend to only spend in select places: good if you’re a Louis Vuitton store on lower Queen Street, not so much if your business is located anywhere else. “Even if a business is relying on cruise ships, relying on something so unsustainable and unpredictable means they probably need to look at their business model again,” Cockle says. 

Cruise ships, many smaller than the Majestic Princess, made over 1,000 port stops around New Zealand throughout the summer, but fewer visits are expected next summer , which CLA is calling a win, even though it’s mostly due to high port costs rather than climate considerations. Overseas, though, the industry is enormous, and hard to change: each large ship costs hundreds of millions of dollars, meaning the industry is incentivised to make money from it as long as possible. The Majestic Princess, for instance, cost 600 million euros – and it’s only the world’s 49th biggest cruise ship . Against the scale of this industry, the 70-metre-long banner CLA has been unfolding on the hillsides of ports when boats have been visiting seems tiny; as do the protesters in Auckland, not much more than a dozen, against the flow of disembarking passengers and the hulk of the ship itself, a skyscraper floating in the water.

Big ships might be hard to turn, but CLA firmly believes that it’s still possible. “We know it’s not enough to solve the problem on its own, but we think of it as the first pebble in an avalanche of destructive action as people stare down the devastating effects of climate change,” Cockle says. Or, to pick a more nautical metaphor: barnacles might be small, but enough of them can damage even the biggest of boats . 

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The protesters are smiling as they hand the leaflets out, exuding the warm confidence of people who know that a problem exists and have chosen to take action to fix it. But what do the passengers think? 

I talk to S.B., a Singaporean man who has been on several cruises but has been particularly blown away by the beauty of Aotearoa. “Cruises are more relaxing than other holidays, you don’t have to haul yourself around.” He hasn’t noticed the protesters at previous cruise stops, although CLA has been following the Majestic Princess and the Ovation of the Seas, the final ships of the season, through the country. “I don’t know much about cruise emissions – aeroplanes are bad also, cruises are bad, you may as well just enjoy,” he says. 

Another couple, Kris and her husband, are waiting for a taxi. “Oh, we’ve done loads of cruising, I like it because I don’t have to lift a finger,” Kris says. The pair flew from London to Sydney to board the cruise. I ask Kris’s husband what he thinks of the protesters, and the emissions and pollution concerns about cruises. He shakes his head. “A lot more countries put in a lot more pollution than we do; if you say you have to reduce, reduce, reduce, then –” But their taxi is here, and Kris is hustling him and their two heaving suitcases away into the car before he can finish his thought.