Any time a cruise line changes a policy or decides to enforce a rule that's on the books, but rarely adhered to, a segment of their passengers get angry. In some cases, that's fair as both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have a lot of rules that rarely get enforced.
It's easy to see why someone who gets turned away from their main dining room (MDR) seating for wearing shorts might get upset while people who see others allowed in dressed that way would also be angry.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line answers anger over 'discriminatory' policy
Both cruise lines technically ban men from wearing shorts in their MDRs and certainly in specialty restaurants. In reality, most restaurant hosts don't have time to be bothered with having a fight with a passenger who may get angry if turned away.
That could cause a bigger scene than the horror of fellow passengers having to see a man's bare legs at dinner. MDR policies are not the only issue when it comes to rule enforcement.
Both Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) and Royal Caribbean have had issues with people getting up early to reserve pool chairs. That's a violation of the rules and either company reserves the right to move your things, but until Carnival recently started testing a new enforcement method, that rarely happened.
Now, Carnival has received a lot of pushback for its decision to enforce its rules regarding mobility scooters.
Image source: Pixabay
Carnival makes a clear ruling
In early March Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald used his Facebook page to explain why the cruise line planned to enforce its policy on scooters not being stored in the hallway.
"However, we do need to try hard now to not allow anyone to leave their mobility scooter outside in the guest corridors at any time," he said. "We are testing this on one of the ships as we speak, with guests sailing being sent emails with all the implications and rules ahead of time."
Heald made it clear how the process would work.
"The embarkation team will check if the cabin of any guest that comes with a scooter can accommodate the scooter, meaning if it is one of the extra large ones, then they will not be allowed to board the ship."
Carnival will, however, offer the passenger the ability to rent a mobility scooter that would fit.
Carnival faces people calling decision 'discrimination'
Since Carnival shared that new policy, the feedback on social media has not been kind. Heald addressed it in a new Facebook post.
"Since we announced that we would not be allowing guests in oversized mobility scooters that will not fit inside the cabins I have been inundated with many hundreds of questions and comments. It has I must admit been quite disappointing to be told we are being “discriminatory.” One chap called me a “Nazi” which, well, is wrong on many levels," he shared.
The brand ambassador explained why Carnival made the controversial decision.
"So to all my friends (and I have many ) who cruise with us and use a mobility scooter please know this. We are not being discriminatory, we are not trying to push you to another cruise line. We are just protecting every guest's safety and yours by saying that scooters must go inside the cabins and must not be parked outside in the corridors," he added.
Heald also reiterated that impacted passengers would have choices.
"We will have options for you should this not be something you agree with including a chance to cancel your cruise without penalty and most importantly a chance for you to collect a collapsible scooter at embarkation from the companies we recommend that rent scooters," he shared.
