Recent news headlines about the cruise industry have been full of alarming passenger behavior.
Carnival Cruise Line just put 24 people on its “Do Not Sail” list after they engaged in a massive fight in a Port of Galveston cruise terminal as they were disembarking from Carnival Jubilee on April 26.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line rep sounds alarm on odd new smuggling trend
Royal Caribbean has also had its share of startling incidents, including an 18-year-old passenger who was arrested in April on a felony charge after he and others severely beat a man in an elevator aboard Liberty of the Seas.
Earlier in April, Virgin Voyages also made headlines after a passenger choked and threatened to kill another passenger in a strange incident in an onboard bar.
Naturally, this rise in violent altercations on cruise ships has left some passengers concerned about their upcoming sailings, and wondering what kind of steps cruise lines are taking to keep passengers with a history of violence off their ships.
One concerned cruiser recently raised this issue for discussion in the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit.
Carnival Cruise Line recently made it very clear that any passenger who gets into a physical altercation will not be allowed to sail on their ships ever again.
Image source: Carnival Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean cruisers want ‘Do Not Sail’ lists shared among cruise lines
“Do banned guests from Royal Caribbean get banned from other cruise lines as well?” Reddit user gkcook asked the cruise community.
The cruiser explained that they thought that passengers who have committed major offenses on board a cruise ship shouldn’t be allowed to sail again on any cruise line, not just the line where the incident occurred.
“Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and MSC should share info on guests that get banned for particularly egregious misbehavior so they can’t cruise again. I’m not talking about puking in the hot tub — but violent assaults, sexual harassment, etc.,” gkcook clarified.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line rep talks about massive fight
The passenger also expressed concerns as a parent cruising with kids.
“I’m actually starting to wonder if I should even let my responsible kids walk around the ship without an adult after reading recent news stories,” gkcook continued. “You would think security would be doing a better job at tracking troublemakers as they roam the ship. It’s not like unruly teenagers are hard to spot.”
Through the more than 100 comments and upvotes on the thread, many Royal Caribbean passengers agreed that cruise lines should step up security efforts and work together to keep industry-wide “Do Not Sail” lists.
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Can banned cruisers sail with a cruise line owned by the same company?
Although it’s unclear whether the recent rise in violent incidents will lead cruise lines to take steps to share this kind of passenger data with each other in the future, cruise lines may enforce passenger bans among lines owned by the same company.
If a passenger is banned from Royal Caribbean, for example, they may not be able to sail with its sister cruise lines Celebrity Cruises or Silversea Cruises. This may be determined on a case-by-case basis, however.
Similarly, when a passenger is added to Carnival Cruise Line’s “Do Not Sail” list, that information could be shared with other Carnival Corporation-owned cruise brands, including Princess Cruises and Holland America Line.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line shares clear rules on Real ID
While the wave of recent violent incidents that has swept across multiple cruise lines is troubling, cruise passengers can find some peace of mind in the fact that cruise lines do screen passengers prior to boarding. As part of that process, they can access public records containing information about any felony convictions.
“Carnival is committed to a safe environment for our guests and crew and reserves the right to deny boarding to any persons convicted of certain crimes which may include but are not limited to aggravated physical assault, sexual assault, and other sexual offenses, armed robbery and related offenses, and other violent or immoral crimes,” the cruise line states on its website.
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