While Carnival's banned-item list on the website is long, it does not include everything that passengers can't bring on board.
Its language does, however, leave room for interpretation to cover items it never even considered passengers might try to board with.
"Carnival Cruise Line prohibits weapons, illegal drugs, and certain items that could interfere with the safe operation of its ships or compromise the safety and secure environment of its guests and crew," the cruise line explains.
"Carnival conducts security scanning of all luggage and reserves the right to confiscate any item which, in Carnival’s sole discretion, is deemed dangerous or can pose a risk to the vessel or its guests. Items will be removed and disposed of and no compensation will be provided."
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It specifically lists many of the weapons that are prohibited and makes clear that illegal drugs can't be brought on board. The cruise line tries to be specific, but it simply can't cover everything.
For example, the list of prohibited items specifically mentions "surfboards, boats and canoes" but does not mention standup paddleboards. Those are banned, but some passengers likely try to bring them on board.
The situation can lead to angry passengers and flabbergasted cruise personnel. Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald recently got involved in a situation where an item that was not on the banned list was confiscated.
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Image source: John Heald/Facebook
Carnival confiscated items, angering passengers
After he'd been away for a few days on Carnival business, Heald returned and shared an angry email from a passenger:
Message: 2nd time I have asked this. 2nd time I have been ignored by John Heald. We just came off the Breeze. My daughter was having a gender reveal party for her and her significant other. They had planned to use the confetti cannons to show the rest of the family if she was having a boy or a girl.
There were 15 of us on board for this cruise. The confetti cannons were confiscated. We were told that they are not allowed. There is nowhere that this is written!!! The party was ruined and nobody would help us. Why are they not allowed. SMH
Heald was kind and apologetic in his response but made clear why the cruise line does not allow confetti cannons, even though it does not specifically name them on its prohibited-items list.
"Thank you, and I can imagine the disappointment. We do not allow them, and I will have to see if we can get this specifically added to the prohibited list," he posted.
"But as gender reveal parties are very popular, I should explain why we do not allow confetti. The biggest reason is that had you done this outdoors, and some of the confetti had gone overboard, we would be in breach of environmental rules and regulations."
Heald acknowledged that the cruise line itself sometimes uses confetti indoors.
"We do use confetti in some of the show finales in the theatres, but not outside. And indeed it is not something easy for housekeeping to clean up," he added. "We do allow confetti at the organized weddings we have on board, but again, only indoors."
Carnival passengers largely agree with the confetti ban
Nearly 1,000 people commented on Heald's post in the first four hours it was up. Most were not sympathetic to the original message writer.
"Nearly on a daily basis, I am left shaking my head at some of the sheer stupidity expressed on social media by people who otherwise appear to be normal, functional, and reasonably intelligent human beings," said Thomas Pepera.
Debbie Touchet Baker seemed to think that this was just common sense.
"I agree with this not being allowed. You don’t want this ending up in the water and harming the wildlife. I would never think about bringing that onboard. How could anyone think this would be ok?" she posted.
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Others took a harsher approach.
"Aside from the fact that I find gender reveal parties to be one of the stupidest "new traditions" we've invented, this seems a classic case of someone who thinks the world revolves around them. People like this ruin cruising for all of us," Jeff Fishbein shared.
Rita Shaffer echoed that sentiment:
"They don't care about others, only themselves. This should have been done at home so they could clean up the mess, but at the very least, they should have contacted Carnival to arrange for the gender reveal, and they would have been told what was allowed."
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