In the past weeks, several reports of disturbances from guests onboard the Carnival Cruise ships have been reported. In particular, one cruise from New York City where the authorities were called in to take certain people off the vessel after a late-night altercation in a nightclub onboard Carnival Magic.
In light of this, Carnival Cruise Line is now including documentation in the Know Before You Go emails where it asks guests to behave and demonstrate care and respect towards others while onboard.
Carnival Asks Guests to Respect Others
While for the vast majority of people, a cruise is a fun vacation away from the stress of daily life, some are not able to leave their issues ashore. In recent weeks, several media reported incidents where altercations had broken out between guests onboard the Carnival cruise ships.
Unsurprisingly Carnival has now reacted by adding a new reminder to the “Know Before You Go” documentation, asking guests to be respectful to others while onboard, letting children enjoy the cruise while being mindful of others, and respecting fundamental decencies such as waiting in line for their turn.
Photo Courtesy: Carnival Cruise Line
The new letter states: “We want you to have a memorable vacation but please remember a cruise ship is a shared space. Our Carnival Values underscore that everyone should feel welcome and included, and that everyone on board demonstrate care and respect towards others.”
“No one will ever confuse a Carnival Cruise Line ship with a school library, but 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.”
Carnival Cruise Line also has a message for guests who do not respect the safety of all onboard or who display disruptive behavior which affects other guests or the crew members onboard:
“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 .”
Cruise Lines Take No-Nonsense Approach
Although incidents can always happen onboard cruise ships, especially as thousands of different people from different cultures come together, the recent increase in incidents onboard is worrisome for Carnival Cruise Line.
Keeping in mind that Carnival and all other cruise companies have always been no-nonsense when dealing with people that cause disturbance onboard by quickly banning them from sailing.
In June and July of this year, two separate incidents happened onboard Carnival Cruise ships. In June, passengers on a Carnival cruise onboard Carnival Magic, sailing back home to New York City, got into trouble in the nightclub on the final evening of the cruise. The NYPD met them on arrival and the group was banned from ever again sailing with Carnival Cruise Line again.
Photo Credit: Melissa Mayntz
In July, a group of passengers onboard Carnival Elation sailing from Jacksonville, Florida, were involved in a disturbance. The security team quickly intervened, and the group was reported to law enforcement. Those who instigated the altercation will no longer be able to sail on the Carnival ships.
Another incident was reported aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager class Navigator of the Seas in early July. Around twelve passengers were involved in an altercation on deck 5 of the vessel, near the Cafe Promenade. That incident was believed to have been between family members.
But it’s not just post-pandemic where these incidents occur. Perhaps one of the most well-known is the cruise onboard Carnival Legend in Australia. There were brawls onboard involving around 30 people, with clashes between two groups of cruise ship passengers who were all arrested by Australian police.
Besides being disruptive to the guests who behave while onboard, this behavior is also hazardous. Not only are guests in an environment where alcohol is flowing freely, but ships are also an inherently dangerous place to be, something that some passengers forget.
Luckily cruise lines do take action against these people and ensure they will never sail again onboard.
