Cruise ships have a lot of rules, but sort of two rulebooks.
First, there are the rules that aren't negotiable. You have to report to your muster station and complete the safety briefing. That's a legal requirement and the cruise lines have no leeway on enforcement in that area.
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The same applies to certain onboard behavior. If you're violent to a passenger or crew member, there will be consequences. And, if you opt to smoke in your room and get caught, there will be fines and you may even get kicked off the ship.
There's a whole other set of cruise rules that are on the books, but enforcement is not consistent. In many cases, that's because while the person is breaking a rule, their actions aren't actually hurting anyone else.
You may be greatly offended by someone wearing shorts in the main dining room (MDR) on a Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, or Carnival ship — that's technically not allowed — but the crew has to decide which battles are worth fighting. The same applies for people who claim pool chairs and then disappear.
In both cases, a rule is being broken, but the crew may not want to cause a scene by either turning a passenger away at the MDR or removing their items from a pool chair.
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Celebrity passengers speak out
Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge recently conducted an "Ask Me Anything" session on the Cruise Critic message boards. Many of the posters asked her about how Celebrity enforces its stated rules.
"Why do you not enforce the rules you have onboard? Like, no reserving lounge chairs on the pool deck, no feet on couches and chairs, and particularly no sleeping in the lounges," wrote pete_coach.
Many of the people who weighed in asked about the enforcement of the dress code in the dining room.
"The existing dress code is not enforced. Either do not permit men in shorts and T-shirts in the MDR at dinner or change the guidelines to permit men to wear shorts and T-shirts at dinner," shared DaKahuna, who also mentioned one other rule that is often overlooked. "No children under 16 in the Solarium outside of family hours."
Some passengers were also concerned about whether the crew actually had the ability to enforce these rules.
"How are the staff empowered to enforce the rules? Staff seem afraid to offend any passenger who is disregarding behavioral expectations," posted Tudy.
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Celebrity Cruise Lines president answers
Hodges Bethge answered in a way that's probably not going to quiet the passengers who get angry when someone else dresses informally in the MDR.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Our crew are trained to enforce the rules onboard, and we will certainly re-evaluate training measures to ensure this is emphasized. We always want to ensure that all our guests are enjoying their vacation in a respectful and enjoyable way," she wrote.
Hodges Bethge did provide an answer on the family hours in the solarium, which only are offered on select sailings.
"To accommodate guests under the age of 16 during colder weather, the Solarium does offer family hours on select sailings in Alaska, The Baltics, and Antarctica from 5-7 p.m. daily. Our goal always is for everyone to have a positive experience. While there are some instances where this could change, we will do our best to make sure you have ample notice to make sure you can plan around this for a better cruise experience," she shared.
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Some Celebrity ships sailing from Florida also appear to have standard all-ages hours in the solarium.
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