Cruise lines operate outside U.S. law. The major cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean, flag their ships in the Bahamas.
This allows the cruise lines to avoid paying U.S. minimum wages. It also put the cruise companies in an awkward position when it comes to determining which laws it should enforce on ships.
In most cases, it defers to U.S. federal law. Both Royal Caribbean (RCL) -) and Carnival, for example, use 21 as the legal drinking age on their ships when they sail from American ports, even though many of their destinations allow people to drink at 18.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line shares important warning for passengers
It gets confusing, however, when you look at the fact that both Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) -) use 18 as the minimum age for gambling in their casinos. Most — but not all — U.S. casinos require people to be 21 to gamble.
Both cruise lines also follow U.S. federal law when it comes to cannabis. It's not allowed on any ship, in any form, under any circumstances.
Even though it's fully legal in some states while others allow it with a prescription, cruise ships do not allow anyone to bring cannabis on board.
Federal law, however, is less clear on CBD, or cannabidiol. It's legal when it comes from hemp as long as it contains less than 0.3% THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana. Some states have additional CBD laws, but Florida does not, and it's readily available in the state.
Nonetheless, it's technically prohibited on cruise ships, a rule that many passengers have ignored because they don't expect the cruise lines to enforce the policy.
Image source: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images
Carnival gets serious about CBD
Carnival Cruise Line has generally been more concerned about cannabis enforcement than Royal Caribbean. Both cruise lines ban it, but only Carnival has openly had dogs on some ships seeking it out.
Bringing a banned substance onboard can get you kicked off the ship with both cruise lines. It's not uncommon, however, on cruise ships to smell marijuana as some people openly ignore the rules.
Many passengers, however, aren't even aware that both Carnival and Royal Caribbean ban CBD, not just in smoking form but also in its more common gummy form. Not being aware of that rule got one Carnival passenger not only kicked off her cruise but banned from the cruise line forever.
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How CBD gummies led to a Carnival ban
Melinda Van Veldhuizen cruises frequently. In August, she had planned a cruise with her family to celebrate multiple events.
She never actually made it on board as Carnival security spotted a bag of CBD gummies in her backpack that she had purchased legally online, Local 10 News in Pembroke Park, Fla., reported.
“I have trouble sleeping, so it was just to make sure I could sleep on the trip — so if there were any issues, I could sleep,” Van Veldhuizen told the website. ”I’ve always traveled with them, no problem.”
While Carnival will confiscate items not allowed on board — think liquor bottles, candles and surge protectors — generally it just takes them and returns them after the cruise. In this case, Van Veldhuizen was not allowed to board the cruise.
To make matters worse, when she returned home, she received a letter from Carnival telling her that she was now banned for life.
On its website Carnival does make its policy on prohibited items clear, including the following language:
"Any illegal narcotics/drugs including synthetic, designer drugs, Cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana. While certain CBD products used for medicinal purposes may be legal in the US, they are not legal in all the ports we visit and therefore are also considered prohibited items."
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