Carnival Cruise Lines Puts New Rules In Place, Curbing Uncivilized Behavior

In recent months, numerous unfortunate media reports have surfaced about unruly guests on Carnival Cruise Lines, and it appears that the company has had enough of this behavior, implementing specific rules to address it. 

Carnival has apparently analyzed the source of these most prolific incidents and is now not only enhancing their zero tolerance policy on marihuana but also banning hip hop & rap music, Bluetooth speakers, as well as dancing in public area It’s no secret that Carnival is known for having a very diverse audience, and that, out of their entire portfolio, it’s the least premium brand, often attracting demographics that are prone to poor behavior. 

Here is the new set of basic rules on Carnival:
What’s interesting – and weird – is that now you can’t even bring a minor on Carnival unless you’re at least 25 years old? I mean, you’re an ADULT in the U.S. at 21 and you can enlist in the military years earlier. But to bring your kids on the cruise you have to be 25+ !? Will that curb disturbances? Maybe, but I think it’s somewhat of an overregulation. 

I’m all for banning pool chair blockers and to aggressively police disruptive guests, resulting in them being kicked off the ship and then banned from Carnival (all brands). 

So what’s up with this controversial music, speaker, and dance ban that some folks online are so up in arms about? 

Apparently, this matter has now turned into a “removing black culture” thing rather than “policing ALL people who are out of control”. But not so fast, because there are many cruise content creators who are black themselves and they’re sick and tired of the “ratchedness” on Carnival ships: 
I’ve watched a bunch of videos about this online, and these two explain it objectively, with language that isn’t too profanity-laden:Whew, this compilation of responses is really mindblowing. And while most of these bad incidents indeed involve Carnival, this has little to do with color but with civility and upbringing. Most cruise lines, including Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Princess, have pool chair hoarders and plain rude people. I wish they would all take a stronger stance to enforce rules onboard. 

There was also a recent fight on the new Icon of the Seas from Royal Caribbean: And another one on the Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL ENCORE. 

Cruises are special in terms of having thousands of people in a confined space, and tempers can flare up when people don’t respect rules and common courtesy. It’s also difficult to curb and police behavior, as you can’t just tell people to leave; you’re on a ship. If it gets really bad, then the captain can order that guests be confined in either their cabin or special “confinement cells/rooms” that don’t have balconies.

Bottom line is that despite all this, Carnival is a cruise line that offers lots of budget cruises and with such comes budget behavior. The brand image has suffered from this reputation, and now the company is trying to clean up. If certain rules keep you from booking a cruise, then Carnival has already achieved a huge part of what they tried to accomplish.The only way I’d ever take a Carnival cruise is probably when it’s a destination that’s known for having people who are more interested in the actual itinerary and scenery rather than getting drunk and going at each other every day. So maybe Panama Canal, Alaska, or Asia. That being said, there are plenty of lines out there, and I never had the desire to use CCL mainline even though I had free suite comp offers. 

Conclusion 
Carnival has implemented new rules and guidelines to restore the brand image of the CCL mainline following a series of media reports about onboard fights and passenger misconduct. The rules range from a curfew for minors to restrictions on the use of electronics (including loudspeakers) and a ban on certain music and open dance styles. Some have called this a de-ghettoisation of Carnival, but I’d counter with saying that it’s common sense for a company to get its brand image under control. There is also a considerable safety aspect to being by the book. If people are too rowdy onboard and engage in uncivilized or dangerous behavior, the likelihood that someone gets injured increases. You don’t want to get injured on a ship – it’s expensive. And you definitely don’t want to be detained/banned on the captain’s orders.

Remember: A ban is always valid for all brands that particular cruise line owns, and in the case of Carnival, that’s A LOT of lines.

Source : loyaltylobby  Sebastian Powell