The Spot On A Ship Many Cruisers Call The 'Naughty Room' And How To Avoid Being Sent There
Cruises can be a great place to shed your inhibitions, though they aren't without their own rules and consequences. Defying these regulations can lead to a trip to the ship's "naughty room." And before you get too excited, no, we aren't talking about the brig — although bad behavior can earn you a spot there. We're talking about a different kind of "naughty" room where prohibited items take their own kind of vacation.
Just like with an airplane, there are a bunch of objects you can and cannot bring aboard a cruise ship. Think of the naughty room as an extended stay in TSA with a lot more electronic mandates. If you pack items like alcohol, banned electronics (like a hot plate), or even candles, they'll be confiscated and sent to the naughty room, which is the playful name people have given to the place on a cruise ship where prohibited items are kept.
In some cases, if you're not careful, a prohibited or even illegal item could get you completely banned, like one cruiser who accidentally brought CBD gummies onto a ship in November 2023. If you make a mistake like bringing a drone on your cruise or packing a pair of scissors slightly bigger than what's permitted, you probably won't be banned, but your luggage could still be confiscated. And the only way to get your legal belongings back is to head straight to the so-called naughty room.
What does a trip to a cruise ship's naughty room entail?
When passengers pack prohibited items, their luggage is often kept by security for a period of time. Your suitcase won't magically appear inside your cabin either. Instead, you will receive a message that you can go to the naughty room and retrieve your belongings. However, you won't be allowed to get the banned item back until the end of the cruise, and security may still have a few questions for you, too.
This approach makes sense, though, especially for things like electric devices. Items such as power strips are banned for good reason. Cruise ships aren't built for certain kinds of electric overload, so you won't be getting that clothing iron back until the end, either. That's why it's ultimately just as important to know what to pack for a cruise and what to leave behind as it is to know which cabins to avoid.
Carnival brand ambassador John Heald often hears stories about the naughty room, and it makes him chuckle. "I do have to say I always smile when I hear the place on deck 0 where these inspections are carried out referred to a 'the naughty room,'" he wrote on Facebook. "Where did this ever start? Was it my late Mum who came up with this?" Heald also conducted a poll on Facebook in 2019 asking passengers if they'd ever been sent to the naughty room, and 9% answered "yes."
Prohibited items in carry-on luggage can also end up in the naughty room (or disappear altogether)
Cruisers who think they're sneaky by putting prohibited items in their hand luggage aren't so coy. Cruise lines don't just screen checked luggage — they look into everything. If you tuck that coffee maker neatly into your hand luggage, they're going to find it. Carry-ons can end up in the naughty room just as easily as checked bags.
If you plan on sneaking liquor, you should especially reconsider. Some people might be able to get their wine or alcohol back, while others will be out of luck. On Reddit, cruise ship passengers shared their stories about getting sent to the naughty room or having something confiscated with varying results. "On Carnival I had some extra wine in my luggage," one Redditor wrote. "They took it out and placed a very nicely worded note telling me that the item was not allowed and it would be confiscated. They did not give me the option to get it back. They also did not call me to the 'naughty room' but I do not lock my suitcase when handing it to Carnival handlers." Several others in the thread confirmed that their food or beverage items were also not returned.