Get enough people in one place, and there’s always someone that can’t follow the rules. That’s why despite the fact that 99.9% of passengers know how to behave themselves, with thousands of people on a cruise ship, there’s always at least a few people who do something they shouldn’t be doing.
Some of it is illegal activity. Some of it is just against the rules. But it’s all things that at least some cruise passengers are doing on their vacation that they absolutely shouldn’t be doing.
Sneak on Booze When Boarding
If there was one bad behavior we could somewhat justify, it would have to be smuggling on your own alcohol. We don’t condone it, but we understand.
With cocktails being $12-14 a pop (before gratuity), bringing on a little booze of your own is justifiable to some passengers. And there are lots of products out there — from collapsible plastic flasks to fake sunscreen bottles — that can help you do just that. In other words, not only does sneaking on alcohol happen, but there is even an entire industry around it.
But for some people, just sneaking on a little alcohol isn’t enough. They like to even brag about it in social media to the point that Carnival had to emphasize that they monitor social media and even threaten removal for those caught sneaking on drinks.
Make Whoopie Outside
We get that cruises are a time to get romantic. You’re on vacation, it’s relaxing, you’re able to let loose and it doesn’t hurt that there are drinks everywhere. No wonder people like to get busy while on a cruise.
But there are plenty of people that like to take the fun outside of the privacy of their cabin. Many people have stories, and on our cruises we’ve witnessed it two separate times.
One, a couple was enjoying themselves on the balcony just four doors down from our balcony. While they weren’t showing that much, it was obvious by the hand placement on the railing and the rhythm exactly what was going on during the middle of the day.
Second, we were enjoying a drink at a poolside bar when we noticed the woman a few seats down looked like she was just enjoying the view… except she had one hand up the leg of her partner’s shorts, moving her hand back and forth.
Look, we’re not prudes and cruises are a great place for romance. But that doesn’t mean others want to see it.
Smoke in the Cabin (Including Balcony)
Smoking on a cruise ship is heavily regulated. Not only can the smell annoy some passengers, but the big risk is fire on the ship in the middle of the ocean. For that reason, smoking is relegated only to certain areas. Typically, this means it’s only allowed on a certain portion of an outside deck and in the casino.
Even so, some people try to smoke (or vape!) on their balcony or even in their room. Every cruise line lays out clearly that smoking in the room is against the rules. In fact, they even lay out penalties for getting caught that can include a $500 fine in some cases.
Still, we’ve definitely smelled people smoking on balconies while on the ship despite the rules.
Get in Fights (Really?!)
What compels people to go on vacation and then get in a fight? Who knows, but it definitely happens. You only need to search social media or cruise news stories for instance after instance of a brawl breaking out on a ship.
The reasons behind the fights will vary, but we’ve noticed they are often later at night when alcohol could be a contributing factor.
Cruise lines have their own security teams since there are no police in the middle of the ocean. However, videos of fights show them usually unable to do that much other than keep things confined in one area.
In good news, people that do fight on ships are usually kicked off the ship in port and not allowed to sail the cruise line anymore.
Overdo it on Alcohol
If you’re going to drink too much, a cruise ship is a pretty good place to do it. You don’t have to drive and your room is only a short walk away no matter where you are. And yes, plenty of us enjoy ourselves on the ship.
But there’s a line between having a good time and having too much. To be fair, the cruise lines do advise that they can cut anyone off if it seems like they’ve had too much. And there is a record of all the drinks you’ve bought, with some lines like Carnival even limiting the number of alcoholic drinks you can have with the drink package. We feel that given the amount of alcohol available on the ship, most people are pretty good about knowing their limits.
Still, we have definitely witnessed people having too way too much and it’s not fun to see the results.
Sail With Arrest Warrants
Sometimes being bad doesn’t actually happen on the cruise, but occurs well before. We’re talking about people boarding the ship with warrants for their arrest.
When you cruise, expect the passenger manifest to be run through a database looking for outstanding warrants. If there’s a hit, then it could mean going into custody. We’ve heard of it happening both before the cruise departs or waiting until the ship returns to make an arrest of a passenger.
In fact, a recent Border Patrol release from Norfolk, Virginia outlined the arrest of a man before he boarded a cruise ship who had an outstanding warrant for rape.
Commit Crimes on the Ship
Overall your cruise is a pretty safe environment. With millions of people sailing each year though there is going to be some crime that happens.
To inform the public, the U.S. Department of Transportation website provides updates on crimes aboard ships reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Under a law known as “The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010” cruise ships that embark and disembark in the United States must report major crimes to the agency.
This doesn’t cover every illegal act on a ship, but does cover major offenses that are alleged, including homicides, missing U.S. nationals, kidnapping, tampering with a vessel, suspicious death, sexual assault, and thefts over $10,000.
Each quarter these statistics are compiled across cruise lines and released to the public through Cruise Line Incident Reports. In 2024 there were close to 170 crimes reported, with the most common being sexual assaults.
So crimes are rare to happen, but it’s still smart to not let your guard down completely, even while on vacation.
