8 Things You Should Never Do on a Cruise

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Most cruise advice is somebody’s opinion dressed as a rule. This is not that. Every item below is something a cruise line, a regulator or an international convention has written down, and in most cases the consequence of ignoring it is published too — usually in money, occasionally in being left standing on a quayside.

Eight things, each with the actual rule behind it.

1. Never book a flight that lands on embarkation day

A delayed flight is the most common way passengers miss a ship, and the ship does not wait. Around half of all cruisers avoid the problem entirely: in the Cruise Lines International Association’s December 2025 survey, 52% drove to their embarkation port and only 35% flew — a split CLIA says has held across eight consecutive waves.

If you must fly, fly the day before. Catching up with a ship at the next port is entirely at your expense, and we costed that out in what happens if a cruise leaves you behind.

2. Never confuse final boarding time with departure time

They are different numbers, and only one of them is about you. Carnival’s wording allows no ambiguity:

“In preparation for departure, all guests must be on board by the Final Boarding time printed on your boarding pass or you will not be permitted to sail.”

The same page sets a second deadline people miss: “Checked baggage service is only available until 2 hours before the ship’s published departure time.” Later than that and you carry everything aboard yourself. The full sequence is in our guide to boarding a cruise ship.

3. Never skip the muster drill

This one is not your cruise line being officious. It is international law, and the timing was tightened because of a disaster.

Until 2015, SOLAS — the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea — allowed the muster to happen within 24 hours of embarkation, meaning a ship could sail with passengers who had never been told where to go. The International Maritime Organization adopted amendments to regulation III/19 in 2013, in force from 1 January 2015, requiring drills “before the ship departs or immediately on departure” — and states plainly that it did so “in the wake of the Costa Concordia incident”.

Ships track who has completed it and will page the stragglers by name. Do it when you board.

4. Never pack an iron, a steamer, or a surge-protected power strip

These are the most confiscated items at the gangway, and the ban is universal. Carnival lists “Clothing irons, Garment steamers” as prohibited; Princess bans “items containing any kind of heating element… clothing (garment) irons”; Royal Caribbean does the same.

Power strips turn on one word. Princess bans “electrical devices with surge protectors… power strips/extension cords”, while Carnival permits “extension cords without surge protection”. On a ship, the protected version is the banned one.

What happens next depends entirely on the line, which almost nobody checks in advance: Carnival says “confiscated items will be removed and disposed without compensation”, Norwegian returns hazardous grooming devices “the last day of the cruise prior to debark”, and Royal Caribbean holds items but its conduct policy forfeits anything unclaimed within 15 calendar days. The full comparison is in what not to pack for a cruise.

5. Never treat the daily gratuity as optional spending money

Automatic gratuities are charged per person, per day, for every day of the sailing, and they do not scale with your fare. Royal Caribbean charges $18.50 per guest per day in standard staterooms and $21.00 in suites; Carnival charges $17.00 and $19.00. A couple on a seven-night Royal Caribbean sailing pays $259 before buying a single drink.

A further 18% to 20% is added to drinks, specialty dining, room service and spa treatments — including, on Royal Caribbean, to the purchase of a beverage package itself. Budgeting around all of this is covered in cruising on a budget.

6. Never lose your temper in a public space

You agreed to a conduct policy when you booked. Royal Caribbean’s runs from “removal of certain onboard privileges, which may include being detained” through “denial of boarding or removal from the vessel” to a ban on future sailings — and the cost lands on you:

“Guests removed from a Royal Caribbean Group ship or denied boarding because of a violation of this Policy are responsible for their own accommodations and transportation home, at their expense.”

Add several thousand phones to the equation. After a brawl aboard Costa Smeralda, thirteen people were charged. What the policy does not cover is other guests filming you — see going viral on a cruise.

7. Never book a cruise for one port you cannot miss

Every passage contract lets the line change ports for weather or operational reasons, and a substituted port is not treated as a failure to deliver the cruise. When Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica in October 2025 as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall there, the fleet’s response was not cancellation but wholesale rerouting — Eastern Caribbean itineraries became Western ones by letter under the cabin door.

Ports can also be closed to your ship for reasons unrelated to weather: Venice excludes vessels over 25,000 gross tons from its historic waterways, and Juneau caps arrivals at five large ships a day. What a skipped port does and does not entitle you to is set out in what happens when a cruise ship skips a port.

8. Never stop watching the price after you book

Cruise fares move after you have paid, and most lines have a published mechanism for giving you the difference — usually onboard credit or an upgrade, usually only before final payment, and never automatically. Nobody emails to say your cabin got cheaper.

Checking your own sailing every few weeks until final payment is the highest-return habit in cruising, because the money is already yours to claim. Each major line’s rules and deadlines are in what happens if your cruise price goes down after you book.

Quick Answers

What happens if you arrive late for your cruise?

You are not permitted to sail. Carnival states that all guests must be on board by the Final Boarding time printed on the boarding pass, which is earlier than the published departure time. Catching the ship at a later port is at your own expense.

Can you skip the muster drill on a cruise?

No. SOLAS regulation III/19, amended in 2013 and in force since 1 January 2015, requires passengers to muster before the ship departs or immediately on departure. Ships record who has completed it and will call the rest by name.

How long before departure do you need to be back on the ship in port?

Check the all-aboard time printed in the daily programme and on your key card, which is typically well before the sailing time. Only the ship’s own excursions carry a guarantee that it will wait for you.

Should you fly in the day before your cruise?

Yes, if you are flying at all. A delayed flight is the most common reason passengers miss a ship, which is part of why 52% of cruisers drive to their embarkation port rather than fly.

How do you avoid a shock bill at the end of a cruise?

Account for the fixed charges before you board — $17.00 to $21.00 per person per day in gratuities — and remember that an 18% to 20% service charge is added to drinks, specialty dining, room service and spa treatments. Check your onboard account mid-cruise rather than on the last night.

What is the best cabin location on a cruise ship?

Midship and low reduces the motion you feel most; avoid cabins directly below the pool deck, above the theatre or beside crew access doors if you are a light sleeper. Cabin category is also the largest single variable in what you pay.

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Rules and charges quoted here were read on 23 September 2026 from Carnival’s prohibited items and gratuities pages, Royal Caribbean’s gratuity policy and Guest Health, Safety and Conduct Policy, Princess’s pre-cruise FAQ, the IMO’s briefing on the 2015 SOLAS amendments, and the 2026 State of the Cruise Industry report. Policies vary by line and change without notice — check your own. Consolidation notice: this article replaces five overlapping unsourced posts that covered much the same ground, now merged here and redirected. Cruise Chaos earns nothing from cruise lines and links no booking affiliates. If we have something wrong, tell us and we will correct it.