Cruising can be like flying with what you can pack or bring onboard, there are rules on what items are prohibited and without reading the terms and conditions, you might not know. These are the common ones I have seen be confiscated when boarding.
1. Candles/Incense Burners;
Although you are floating on water, fire can be a massive risk onboard cruise ships. With cabins close together and a vast ship to watch, candles, incense burners and others have been banned from majority of the cruise lines. This is a band that is completely understandable. If you love candles then why not bring LED candles as a substitute, perfect for sitting on the balcony in the evening or making a romantic atmosphere in the cabin.
Fires can be devastating and aren’t exactly unheard of. A fire which happened on the Star Princess changed the industry forever, as it suffered a huge fire due to a discarded cigarette. The cigarette butt smoldered for 20 minutes before it set fire to the balcony furniture, partitions, and flooring causing the fire to spread rapidly. Now smoking is not allowed on balconies and the cruise ships have designated smoking areas onboard.
2. Alcohol;
These can change in regards to cruise line or Itinerary and its always best to check with the cruise line you are booked with. P&O allow those travelling as 18yrs and over can bring up to 1 litre of alcohol when embarking however, other cruise lines ban you from bringing any alcohol onboard. There is no charge when consuming your alcohol in your cabin however, if you wish to take it around the ship to consume you may be charged a small fee. Norwegian Cruise Line charges a fee the moment you embark with alcohol. You might also be able to embark with soft drinks too, this will be dependant on each cruise line. Below is the policy from P&O cruises.
‘Each guest aged 18 years (21 years in United States of America and United Arab Emirates ports) and older may bring up to 1 litre of wine, Champagne, beer, spirit or liqueur on board as they embark the ship for the first time only. Alcohol over the 1 litre limit will be stored and returned to the guest prior to the end of the cruise.’
3. Knives/Letter openers;
It isn’t common to bring knives onboard and majority of cruise lines have a policy of not allowing knives onboard with a blade longer than 4inches/10.16 cm. However some cruise lines ban any type of bladed item all together. If carrying a pocket knife or scissors, its better to have them concealed in your suitcase as, you may get stopped at security. Always make sure you are checking the terms and conditions.
My auntie use to collect letter openers whilst on holiday at each port. As they were sharp and had a long blade, they were confiscated and given back to her at the end of the cruise. My auntie knew this was a possibility so she was prepared for them to be kept. This is a rule I can 100% get behind and understand as, the safety onboard for everyone is extremely important.
4. Hoverboards/Drones;
Like anything the safety of yourselves and others is paramount, and cruise ships want everyone to have a enjoyable time onboard. As ships can move quickly or can experience rough seas, you might fall off an cause yourself injury as well as others. With hoverboards needing to be charged for a lengthy amount of time, this could also cause a potential fire risk.
Drones are banned for more of a privacy risk to passengers, unless given the all clear by the cruise company. You may find yourself having to delete the footage and having it confiscated until disembarkation. Most cruise lines also deem them to be safety risks, and interfere with the ships operations. If there is a glitch, the drone could crash onto a deck or balcony and injure another passenger.
5. Irons/Kettles/Coffee Machines;
Most cruise lines don’t allow any Irons, Kettles, Coffee machines or Steamers onboard, due to safety concerns and unlikely being pat tested. Most cruise lines such as P&O have laundries, which are accessible throughout the day and have Irons available. You can also pay an additional fee to the launderettes as they can sometimes offer clothes pressing. A good trick I use is placing my clothes that are creased in the bathroom after I have had a shower, as the steam gets rid of the creases without having to worry about the laundrettes being open. Another thing is purchasing Anti-wrinkle spray and bringing that onboard with you.
Also with kettles and coffee machines, you are provided a kettle in your cabin with tea bags and coffee sachets available. There is coffee facilities which you can purchase onboard the cruise ships such as, P&O have a Costa Coffee onboard which you can use throughout the day. You can bring sachets of coffee you prefer and add hot water from the kettle.
6. Baby Bottle Warmers;
Cruise lines have banned Baby bottle warmers from being brought onboard, however, some cruise lines may differ so its always best to triple check. There are a few companies which have limited bottle sterilisers you can hire such as; P&O, Cunard, Disney, and Costa. If you are not sure you can always take bottle sterilising tablets with you and use them in the sink. On board majority of the cruise lines, its not uncommon for the cabin steward to help when it comes to heating up bottles.
When I cruised with my Niece on P&O’s Iona, she was still having bottles of milk in the night. My sister always went to the buffet and asked a staff member to heat up the milk for her, and then in the middle of the night she rang reception which helped. The staff were always happy to help and being parents themselves they knew the importance of warm milk.
7. Others;
There are lots of items in addition to the list above which are banned to bring onboard cruise ships. I have taken these from the Norwegian Cruise Line but, they may differ for other cruise lines. Some of these may shock you and someone has clearly tried to bring these onboard, after all why would they be on the list?
– Spears and Spear Guns.
– Bicycles.
– Kayaks, Canoes, and Rafts.
– Metal Detectors.
– Restraining equipment such as Handcuffs, and Head restraining straps.
– Fireworks, Flares and Pyrotechnics.
– Illegal Drugs and Narcotics.
– Martial Arts Weapons.
– Stun Devices such as, Tazers and Stun Guns..
– Fresh Flowers.
– Walkie-Talkies
– Crossbows, Crossbow Bolts, and Long Bow Arrows.
– All Firearms, Replicas, Imitations, Non-Firing weapons, Starting Pistols.
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