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8 Behaviors That Will Get You Kicked off a Cruise (We Agree With # 7)

From balcony selfies to CBD gummies, these mistakes end cruises early

By Amanda Teague , Edited by Sara Albertelli

Updated Nov. 13, 2026

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Cruise lines are fed up with bad behavior. Carnival handed lifetime bans to dozens of passengers after a string of brawls, and guests now commit to a code of conduct at check-in.

If you travel on a budget, getting booted is brutal, since you'll pay your own way home. Here's what gets you kicked off, and the one rule we think goes too far.

Starting a fight

Fighting is the fastest way off a ship. After a brawl in the customs area at PortMiami, Carnival banned all 16 passengers involved for life. Another fight in the Galveston terminal put 24 people on its Do Not Sail list. It doesn't even matter much who swung first.

Most lines take a zero-tolerance approach that can boot everyone involved, even people who didn't start it. Carnival can also charge $500 for code of conduct violations, and Royal Caribbean and Celebrity may remove your entire travel party. We're fully on board with this one. Nobody wants a deck chair flying past their margarita.

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Getting too drunk

Drink packages make it easy to overdo it, and alcohol is typically to blame for shipboard fights. There's even a phrase for it: cruise ship drunk. After one dance floor brawl, Carnival had 10 guests disembark in Mexico. Its ticket contract lets the line cut off your drinks and disembark any unfit guest, so you don't have to throw a punch to get escorted off.

Overdoing it can even end your trip before it starts. One German passenger was too drunk to board her AIDA cruise and ended up in a police drunk tank after arguing with the crew. Pace yourself.

Bringing drugs aboard

Cannabis might be legal back home, but that doesn't count for much at sea. Carnival prohibits marijuana, and most lines won't let you bring THC vapes, even with a medical card. Ports can be even stricter. Bermuda customs routinely boards visiting ships with drug-sniffing dogs, and a court there fined two passengers $500 each for a small bag of weed found in their cabin. They never tried to bring it ashore.

In 2025, four Americans sailing with Carnival were arrested on arrival in Bermuda with cannabis and carfentanil. Carnival says it has a zero-tolerance drug policy, and guests can face local law enforcement personally.

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Balcony stunts

Balcony railings are not a photo prop. A Royal Caribbean guest on Allure of the Seas stood on her railing for a selfie, and she and her companion were put off the ship in Jamaica and banned for life. Another passenger who jumped from an 11th-deck balcony while docked in Nassau got the same lifetime ban, along with his friends.

Tossing things off your balcony is a problem too. Carnival charges $500 for throwing items overboard, and a cigarette butt dropped over the side got a couple booted from a Bali cruise. These rules make total sense, since gravity doesn't care about your Instagram.

Public indecency

Cruise ships are shared spaces, and lines take public indecency seriously. One German passenger was kicked off after allegedly urinating into a beer glass in a public area. What happens in your cabin can matter too if the neighbors can hear it. A Regent Seven Seas couple says they were asked to leave after getting a little too loud with the balcony door open, and they're suing the line over it.

Royal Caribbean's contract lets it remove anyone whose conduct it believes is detrimental to the comfort or enjoyment of others. That's a broad net, so keep things PG outside your cabin.

Smoking where you shouldn't

Smoking in the wrong spot is one of the priciest mistakes you can make. On Carnival, lighting up in your cabin or on your balcony brings a $500 charge per violation, and the line may disembark everyone in the stateroom. If that happens, you cover your own trip home with no refund for the rest of your fare.

Vapes count too, and even ash or butts on your balcony qualify as a violation. Norwegian has listed a gentler $250 cleaning charge. Carnival's toughness makes sense, though. Several Carnival Corporation ships have had fires that may have been caused by smoking.

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Harassing people or ignoring warnings

Some removals build up over time instead of happening instantly. Carnival's contract lets it detain or disembark, at your expense, any guest who disrupts the safety or comfort of others, crew included. Royal Caribbean's policy lists lighter penalties like losing privileges or cabin confinement alongside removal.

Filming strangers is another flashpoint. Royal Caribbean has kicked off livestreamers after guests complained about being recorded without consent. Ignoring warnings rarely ends well, either. One couple brushed off a note and verbal warnings about a slot machine someone else was using, then allegedly shoved that player. They were disembarked in Grand Cayman and banned for life.

Pre-sailing slipups

Not every costly mistake involves bad behavior onboard. An elderly couple was escorted off a Seabourn ship after the wife refused to attend the muster drill. Carnival says guests without proper documents won't board or get a refund.

Running late in port is pricey too, since major lines won't reimburse you for catching up. Power strips get confiscated constantly, and one woman was banned for life over CBD gummies. Vapes are fine in designated areas on most ships, but Mexico banned importing them in 2026. This is the one we can't fully get behind. Losing a whole fare over paperwork feels harsh.

Bottom line

Almost every removal here is preventable, and most hit your whole group. Royal Caribbean's policy allows removing everyone in your travel party, so one bad call can sink the entire trip.

Travel insurance may not bail you out either. One Arizona couple's insurer refused to refund their $4,623 Princess cruise when the husband brought an expired passport. To save money on travel, read your cruise line's code of conduct before you pack.

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