What’s not allowed on a ship? You might be stunned by the answer. Even your travel agent might be shocked. Cruise lines have quietly been adding to the list of things that are verboten at sea.
Newborns. Cruise Critic reported over the weekend that Royal Caribbean adjusted its infant policy from having no minimum age restriction to requiring that babies be at least 6 months or 1 year in age, depending on the itinerary. Passengers trying to bring a child onboard who does not meet minimum age requirements will be denied boarding for the child and possibly for one of the parents as well and the cruise line will not reimburse the family for the missed sailing.
The policy makes some sense. Cruise ships are only able to offer limited medical attention, and babies sometimes have special medical needs that can only be addressed at shore-based hospitals. Other cruise lines have restricted the presence of young children, particularly on longer cruises. For example, Cunard doesn’t accept toddlers on transatlantic cruises, a policy that’s been in place for several years. But don’t try to find that information on Cunard’s Web site. Minimum age requirements are listed on the Cruise Line International Association site. (CLIA is an industry trade group.)
Smoking. As of January 2008, most all cruise lines have banned smoking in the cabins. Some still allow passengers to light up on cabin balconies, but the observation could be made that this will force smokers to only book cabins with balconies, effectively stinking up the rooms for those non-smoking passengers who come in afterwards (everybody knows the smoke will blow inside the cabins and linger there). Some ships do have certain areas, like some club lounges, where pipe or cigar smoking is still allowed.
The policy is disclosed in a confusing way, though. Some ships have the new restrictions, while others don’t. There’s really no telling if you can light up in your room — or anywhere else on board — on your next floating vacation.
Pregnant women. Most cruise lines don’t allow pregnant women to sail during their third trimester. Specific policies vary from one company to another. It’s always best to check with the cruise line before booking your trip. If you are pregnant, it is a good idea to carry a letter from your healthcare provider stating your due date, your fitness for travel and any medical conditions you may have. That way, you can avoid any unpleasant confrontations when the time comes for boarding the ship.
Just try squeezing that information out of your cruise line! The policy may be buried deep in its Web site — as Carnival’s is, for example — and your travel agent may or may not know it.
Bottom line: if you’re pregnant, smoke or if you’re the parent of very young children, what you don’t know about your next cruise could cost you.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The only “news” here is RCL’s adjustment to the “infant policy”. Any decent Travel Agent would have known about smoking restrictions and pregnant passengers.
Newsflash Mindy: Not everyone uses a travel agent (not a proper noun by the way, so not to be capitalized) to book their cruises.
I was responding to this in the peice:
“Even your travel agent might be shocked.”
But frankly, it’s a good reason that one should use a Travel Agent.
I always recommend the services of a competent travel agent. They should know all of these rules, of course. But it doesn’t look like the cruise lines are making it easy to find out what the rules are.
Actually Chris, since every time I book a cruise on the phone I am asked the age of the passenger, and every time I use a Travel Agent booking engine I am forced to enter an age for a passenger, I’d have to say that I would find out pretty quick about the new age policies…….
I’m going to guess that if a consumer tries to book a cruise on-line with a cruise line’s booking engine (or even Orbitz, Expedia, et. al. as they link to the lines’ booking engines) they are also forced to enter an age for all passengers……
Yes I, or a Consumer, might not know this prior to attempting to book, but we sure would find out before any money went on the booking…..