What not to bring on a cruise, and what gets taken at security

If one item defines this list, it is the clothes iron, and its relative the handheld garment steamer. Royal Caribbean puts clothing irons and garment steamers in the category that admits no exceptions at all, the same category as firearms and open flames. Norwegian bans anything containing a heating element, giving immersion heaters, heating blankets, clothing irons, water heaters and coffee machines with hot plates as examples, and separately names irons and steamers on its packing page under what to leave at home. Princess lists clothing irons among heating-element items under safety hazards. Carnival prohibits electrical and household appliances containing a heating element, listing irons, clothes steamers, immersion heaters, heating blankets, water heaters, coffee machines, hot plates, toasters and humidifiers, and then adds the sentence the other lines omit: valet laundry is available on all its ships for a fee, and most of them, excluding Carnival Firenze, Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Venezia, also provide self-service facilities with ironing boards and irons. Carnival goes one step further and says electric heating pads are not allowed to be used on board for safety reasons, recommending a refillable hot-water pouch or a disposable heat compress from a pharmacy instead. The reason is straightforward. A ship is a steel box full of people who cannot leave, fire is the casualty that frightens crews most, and a forgotten iron on a bedspread is a fire. Plan around it rather than testing it. Wrinkle release spray, a shower-steamed bathroom, and clothing chosen because it survives being rolled will handle a week. If you truly need a crease, the ship's laundry will press a shirt for a fee, and on most Carnival ships you can iron it yourself in the launderette.

• Royal Caribbean: clothing irons and garment steamers prohibited with no exceptions.
• Norwegian: all heating elements banned, with irons and steamers named on the packing page as well.
• Princess: clothing irons listed under items posing a safety hazard.
• Carnival: irons and clothes steamers banned, but valet laundry fleetwide and self-service irons on most ships other than Firenze, Luminosa and Venezia.
• Carnival also bars the use of electric heating pads on board, suggesting a hot-water pouch or disposable heat compress instead.

Every clause here is quoted from the line named beside it, read on that line's own prohibited items or packing page on the dates in the sources below.

Cabins are notoriously short of outlets, so the internet's standard advice is to pack a cruise-approved non-surge power strip. That advice is correct on some ships and will cost you the strip on others, which makes this the one item worth checking before you pack rather than after. Royal Caribbean is the strictest of the four. Its policy groups electrical items not designed for personal grooming, naming baby monitors, clothing irons, garment steamers, extension cords, power strips and multi-plug outlets, and prohibits them, with exceptions only for device and USB chargers marked with a recognized US or European conformity certification, and for two-way radios limited to ten miles of range and five watts of output. There is no non-surge carve-out in that wording. Carnival is the most permissive, listing power strips, multi-plug box outlets and adaptors, and extension cords without surge protectors among items allowed when used with proper caution, with the caveat that anything determined to pose a hazard will be removed and returned on debarkation morning. Princess sits in between and is the most procedural: it lists electrical devices with surge protectors, including small fans, multi-plug adaptors and power strips, as a safety hazard, then states that versions without surge protection are permitted when used with proper caution and following inspection and testing by the onboard electrical department, with anything judged hazardous removed and returned the last day before debark. Norwegian does not name power strips on the prohibited list we read at all, though it does ban large batteries and anything with a heating element, and it warns that small fans are subject to confiscation for inspection and approval. The surge protector itself is the sticking point, not the strip. A surge protector diverts current to ground, and a ship's electrical system is not grounded the way a house is, which is why the device that protects your laptop at home behaves unpredictably at sea. If you carry one strip, make it a non-surge, cruise-labeled model, and accept that on Royal Caribbean it is still not permitted.

• Royal Caribbean: extension cords, power strips and multi-plug outlets prohibited, with an exception only for certified device and USB chargers.
• Carnival: power strips, multi-plug outlets and extension cords allowed provided they have no surge protector.
• Princess: non-surge versions permitted after inspection by the onboard electrical department; surge-protected versions listed as a hazard.
• Norwegian: not named on the prohibited list, though large batteries are banned and fans may be confiscated for inspection.
• The surge protector is the problem, not the strip, because a ship's electrical system is not grounded like a house.

Wording is taken from each line's own prohibited items page; the explanation of why surge protection is the sticking point is ours rather than a line's statement.

Beverages produce more confiscations than anything except irons, because the rules are numerically specific and no two lines share a number. Royal Caribbean permits non-alcoholic beverages up to 12 standard 17 oz cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom, brought as carry-on on boarding day, with milk and distilled water for infant, medical or dietary use permitted on top of that. Carnival's limit is per person rather than per stateroom, and it is fussier about the container: up to 12 cans or cartons each, none larger than 12 ounces, and bottles are not accepted. Carnival also permits a personal cooler no larger than 12 by 12 by 12 inches as carry-on for small quantities of drinks or medication. Princess handles the question through the same cooler rule, permitting a cooler of roughly 12 by 12 by 12 inches, which it describes as holding six to twelve cans, and stating that a larger cooler goes back to your vehicle or is destroyed unless it holds baby food or formula, kosher or special dietary food, or medication. Norwegian is the outlier and the one that catches people. Since sailings from July 2016 onward it has prohibited guests from bringing any beverages at all, including liquor, beer, water, soda and juices, as carry-on or checked luggage, with the only exception being purified or distilled water in factory-sealed containers for a medical device or for reconstituting infant formula. It also states what happens: guests who bring beverages to embarkation will be directed to return the items to their vehicle, and if there is no vehicle on site the items are disposed of. Alcohol is more uniform. All four allow wine or champagne and none allow beer or spirits. Royal Caribbean permits one sealed 750 ml bottle per guest of drinking age on boarding day. Carnival permits one 750 ml bottle per adult 21 or older and specifically bars port, vermouth, sherry and other fortified wines over 15 percent ABV even within the allowance. Princess permits one 750 ml bottle per voyage with no corkage fee, and welcomes further bottles at a US$20 fee each. Norwegian charges corkage on every bottle, $15 for a 750 ml and $30 for a magnum, waived if you hold a beverage package, and does not accept box wine.

• Royal Caribbean: 12 standard 17 oz cans, bottles or cartons of non-alcoholic drinks per stateroom, carried on at boarding.
• Carnival: 12 cans or cartons per person, 12 ounces or smaller each, no bottles, plus a 12-inch personal cooler.
• Princess: a cooler of about 12 by 12 by 12 inches; oversized ones are returned to your vehicle or destroyed.
• Norwegian: no outside beverages of any kind, except sealed water for a medical device or infant formula.
• Wine only, everywhere: one 750 ml bottle per adult on Royal Caribbean and Carnival, one per voyage on Princess, and any number on Norwegian at $15 or $30 corkage.

Quantities, container rules and corkage fees are each quoted from the line named, taken from its own beverage or prohibited items page on the dates in the sources.

Two items generate more anxiety than their frequency deserves, and both are worth getting right because the consequences are not symmetrical. Drones first. Carnival allows them aboard but treats them as controlled property: a drone must be identified at the terminal during check-in, held in the custody of the Chief Security Officer, and checked out and back in by the owner for port use only, and it may not be used at Carnival's private destinations. Norwegian prohibits any remotely controlled or autonomously flying device, toy or drone outright. Princess does the same, listing drones and any other remote-controlled aerial device among prohibited items, with the sole exception being company-sponsored events approved in advance by Fleet Security. Royal Caribbean's published prohibited items policy does not name drones at all, which is not the same as permission given the line's stated discretion to review any item. If you want footage of the ship, the answer that works everywhere is to book an excursion that provides it or to fly nothing. Cannabis products are the more serious case. All four lines prohibit them, and they do so in language that closes the loopholes people reach for. Royal Caribbean prohibits illegal drugs and substances including marijuana regardless of medical authorisation or local legality. Carnival prohibits marijuana, cannabis and derivatives such as CBD, noting that while some CBD products may be legal under state law they are not legal under US federal law nor in the ports it visits. Norwegian names all products containing CBD, oils, candies and gummies, or anything containing THC, alongside marijuana prescribed for medical purposes. Princess prohibits all illegal drugs including medical marijuana, and extends the list to synthetic cannabis, betel nuts and kava. Norwegian also states plainly what follows when an item is determined to be illegal: the appropriate authorities will be informed. That is the difference between losing a power strip and having a very different kind of vacation, and it is why a bag of gummies bought legally at home is the single worst thing on this page to pack absent-mindedly.

• Carnival: drones permitted but held by the Chief Security Officer, checked out for port use only, never at its private destinations.
• Norwegian and Princess: drones and other remote-controlled aerial devices prohibited outright.
• Royal Caribbean: drones are not named in the published policy, and the line reserves discretion over any item.
• All four prohibit CBD and cannabis in any form, including products that are legal where you bought them.
• Norwegian states that when an item is determined to be illegal, the appropriate authorities will be informed.

Drone handling and cannabis wording are quoted from each line's own prohibited items page, read on the dates in the sources below.

Below the headline items sits a longer list of things that are prohibited on at least one line and that almost nobody thinks to check. Carnival publishes the most detailed version of this list, and several entries surprise people every sailing. Boom boxes, radios and all types of speakers including Bluetooth, portable and wireless are prohibited, so the little waterproof speaker for the balcony is not coming. So are hookahs, helium-filled balloons, inflatable kiddie pools, curtains, drapes and hanging room dividers, kava, and any footwear with wheels. Carnival also asks that guests use earphones when listening to music or watching video on personal devices in public spaces, and notes that handheld clack fans are not permitted in the nightclub or on any indoor dance floor. Princess covers similar ground from a different angle, prohibiting hookah and water hookah pipes, strike-anywhere matches, lasers and laser pointers, baseball bats, hockey sticks, pool cues, ski poles and skateboards, bicycles including electric ones, and Heely-style shoes. It also bans tools of trade or hobby, including hammers, drills, saws and anything over seven inches such as screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers. Norwegian bans metal detectors, kayaks, canoes and rafts, bicycles, portable modems, walkie-talkies and lasers, permits only small electrical or battery-operated fans while noting that even those are subject to confiscation for inspection, and singles out paper door decorations as prohibited for flammability, which matters if you are the family that decorates the cabin door. Hoverboards and self-balancing scooters are on every one of these lists, banned for their lithium batteries. Royal Caribbean's list runs shorter but adds a modern entry the others do not have: smart glasses may be brought aboard but may not be used in the casino, spa service areas, restrooms, locker rooms, medical facilities, security screening locations, youth facilities, crew areas, during back-of-house tours, or anywhere there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

• Carnival: no Bluetooth or portable speakers of any kind, no hookahs, no helium balloons, no wheeled footwear.
• Princess: no lasers, no sports sticks or bats, no bicycles including electric, no tools over seven inches, no Heely shoes.
• Norwegian: no metal detectors, kayaks, walkie-talkies or portable modems, and no paper door decorations.
• Hoverboards and self-balancing scooters are prohibited on all four lines.
• Royal Caribbean permits smart glasses aboard but bars their use in the casino, spa, restrooms, youth areas and crew spaces.

Each item is attributed to the line that publishes it, from that line's own prohibited items page read on the dates in the sources below.

The last thing worth knowing is the consequence, because it varies enough to change what you are willing to risk. Norwegian is the bluntest: its prohibited items page states that these items will be confiscated and not transported aboard, and that when an item is determined to be illegal the appropriate authorities will be informed. It carves out one softer case, saying that personal grooming devices such as hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons and shavers are allowed with proper caution, but that if such a device is determined to pose a hazard on board it will be removed by ship security and returned the last day of the cruise before debark. Carnival is similarly direct about destruction rather than storage: it reserves the right to confiscate any item deemed dangerous, and says items will be removed and disposed of with no compensation provided. Its softer case matches Norwegian's, with grooming devices, fans, power strips and adaptors removed and returned on debarkation morning if they are judged hazardous, and the same treatment for a musical instrument that draws a noise complaint. Princess states that prohibited items will not be allowed or stored on board with no exceptions, and that guests are fully responsible for storing such items ashore or disposing of them before embarkation, adding that an oversized cooler will be destroyed in the same manner as other prohibited items and that alcohol outside the policy is removed and discarded with no refund or replacement. Royal Caribbean has the most guest-friendly wording of the four, marking certain categories with an asterisk to indicate that they may be retained by Security for the duration of the cruise and returned to the guest upon departure, subject to local regulations and customs requirements, and separately storing alcohol bought in port or beyond the allowance for return on the last day. The practical reading is simple. On Royal Caribbean and in the specific hazard cases the other lines describe, you may get the item back on the last night. On Carnival and Princess, an item judged prohibited at screening is likely gone. Nothing here is worth an argument at the terminal on embarkation morning, so leave the questionable item at home or in the car, where it stays yours.

• Norwegian: prohibited items are confiscated and not carried aboard; illegal items are reported to authorities.
• Carnival: items are removed and disposed of with no compensation, though hazard-flagged electronics return on debarkation morning.
• Princess: nothing prohibited is stored on board, oversized coolers are destroyed, and out-of-policy alcohol is discarded without refund.
• Royal Caribbean: certain marked categories may be held by Security and returned to you on departure.
• Alcohol beyond the allowance, or bought in port, is stored by the ship and returned on the last day on the lines that address it.

Confiscation, storage and disposal wording is quoted from each line's own page, read on the dates listed in the sources below.