12 Prohibited Items NOT to Take on a Cruise 2024

What you can & cannot bring on a cruise ship is very different from other vacations! In fact, many items that are banned on cruises will be surprising. Every year new items are added to the prohibited list. In this video I share 12 things that you should never bring on a cruise in 2024 - including some that will be unexpected.

Whether you're going on your first cruise or you're a seasoned cruiser, this video includes cruise tips & cruise mistakes. I've included some mistakes to avoid, including a sneaky trick that has resulted in cruise passengers getting caught.

This video will be helpful for anyone going on a cruise on popular cruise lines, from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Celebrity, Disney & more.

🛳 THE ULTIMATE CRUISE PLANNER 🛳

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As Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

CRUISE ESSENTIALS

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FTC LEGAL DISCLOSURE - Some links found in the description box of my videos are affiliate links, meaning that I will make a commission on purchases you make through my links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I personally like and trust.
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Please note that I am unable to give personal cruise and travel advice. If you leave a comment I try my best to answer.

ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.

Some B-roll footage used in this video: Courtesy of RCCL
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Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusicMusic

[queenrocks]

I almost skipped this video because I thought, “I’ve heard this so many times.” ..But you had some new items that I never thought/knew about! THIS is why I never miss one of your videos!

[teresapitman]

My daughter was taking a chef training course that ended the day before our cruise, so she flew to Florida and we boarded the ship. Each graduating chef was given a package of high quality knives as they left. She put them in her suitcase, of course. We didn’t think twice about it until she got called down to the naughty room. They gave them back at the end of the cruise.

[MariaStohler]

I got called down once. The tiniest Swiss Army knife had gotten left in my crochet stuff. Once I came down and they searched my case and they saw it, they told me I could keep it in my cabin. It was a really embarrassing situation, but definitely something that helped me learn my lesson about double checking every pocket of every bag.

[gawainfraites]

I saw you use a photo of Port Zante in St. Kitts when you talked about camouflage clothing. Yes, we don't play that here. Not allowed, so listen to Llana folks she knows what she's talking about.

[ChrisW]

The shampoo bottle hack isn’t new. We first did it in 2006. We did it in protest, however, because the cruise mandated that if one person is a cabin wanted the drink package, EVERYONE in that cabin had to get it and two out of three people didn’t drink alcohol at all. I understand why the rule is in place, but it’s completely unfair to non-drinkers.

[cb]

So, 🙄 the comment about the camouflage shorts is spot on!
We nearly missed an excursion because of this 🤦🏼
We reserved an ATV excursion, we're ready to go, heading out the exit, almost out.... then?
2 security guards, stopped us, had my husband go back in and change his camouflage cargo shorts 😮
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They told us he cannot wear these, we were in Honduras? 🤔 I believe it was. He ran against the flow of traffic, everyone coming out, going down, and here he's going back up! 😕
We're all looking at the time, we had the excursion pending. He made it back quick, and we made it to the excursion. Whew! 🙄 After that stint, never again! Thanks for bringing up that point. 👍🏼🙂

[kathleenjones]

I carefully measured my scissors to be sure they were within the cruise ship limits. My husband had to go down to get my suitcase because of the “large knife” I had “concealed”. They were a very new crew with inadequate training. My husband opened my suitcase and got out my scissors. The supervisor agreed that they were easily within the agreed limits and then he scolded the new security guys. So…even following the rules can cause issues.

[doug]

My family and I are going on our first cruise in February with NCL, thanks to your videos, it has made an overwhelming experience into a little less stressful.

[RonFleener]

Just got back from our 1st cruise. Went to Coco cay and Nassau via Royal Caribbean. Had an absolute blast.

[samantharuber]

Just went on a 4 days cruise with packed alcohol. Maybe they only check if it’s super obvious. We had a variety of types of liquor containers and each adult brought on 2 different ones each and packed with our toiletries.

[zoepayne]

for context....the biggest risk to life on ANY cruise ship is fire and so anything that can generate heat is cause for concern (even those plug in room fragrances) so while it may seem like a cash grab (paying for laundry services instead of using your portable steamer) it's not. When you think about news stories where people left a candle burning or overloaded a power socket and returned to their house in ashes imagine that on a cruise ship with over 5000 people on it in the middle of the ocean.
Sorry to be a Debbie downer but just leave those items at home and enjoy your time away.

[WendyDyke]

Regarding taking drones on a cruise, research the respective port's of calls you are visiting for local laws governing their use. I recently saw a vlog about a couple who were imprisoned for using a drone in the country they were visiting. They were unaware that the country had a strict no fly zone where they were using the drone.

[sheribergman]

Camouflage really took me aback. I’ve never heard that before. Thanks for digging in deep and letting us know 😊

[hollymauk]

lol, we took a cruise several years ago where we leisurely traveled by car down to the port, making a stop in the Smoky Mountains. We played a really cool wizard game that you had to purchase wands with memory chips in the handles, and we just packed them into our luggage for the rest of the ride down to the port. Our luggage got detained in security, at the port, before boarding, because security wasn’t sure what they were. They did allow us to keep them and take them on the ship once we explained what they were.😂 Moral of the story: Unusual, but otherwise harmless items may cause you some unwelcome complications. Consider carefully what you put in your suitcase if it seems to you that it may fall outside the norm.

[salliepaulson]

I've bought many flowers in Bali and taken them back on the ship with no problem.

[laurensweeny]

We were boarding a cruise that had a musician group that were to play and jam during the course of the cruise.As they checked in several tools needed for tuning and maintenance of their instruments were confiscated. This created an uproar. I do not know how it was settled. It was lovely to hear music throughout the ship at any given time.

[dianadawn]

Yup. I took a cruise with my husband and kids and my parents. Myself and my Mom brought an extension cord. I read it could get confiscated, but we tried anyway. Funny thing was, hers was confiscated but mine wasn't...not sure why. Love your idea about the power cube. Thank you! I bought one right away!

[elizabethwalker]

This past March we boarded the Emerald Princess in San Pedro for Hawaii, in the terminal before we went through security, there were Dole representatives passing out a Dole bag, orange peeler and an orange! 😊🍊

[dianeschwalm]

I recently got back from a 10 day Caribbean cruise. I have back issues, and a heating pad is so helpful. I researched an alternative, and found a wrap type pad that Velcro together around your waist, which was heat activated by a simple cellphone type charger. The charger slipped into a little pouch, and a wire in the pouch hooked up to the charger. It was a thin battery, not much weight to it. I wrapped that pad around my waist, and slipped the battery into the pouch. It worked so well. No one said a thing about it. I did not try to hide it either. Prior to boarding, I took it off and put it in my carry on suitcase. Nothing was said. The steward had to have seen it laying on the nightstand several times too. I got it from amazon. Hopefully I’ve not gotten away with anything corrupt 😂. I sure was open and honest about what I had 🤷‍♀️

[charzee]

6 days till my repositioning cruise, binged your packing tips while I packed for my 11 days.