The cruise industry has changed over the years—here's what to expect on your next sailing
9 Things You Won’t Be Able to Do on Cruises Anymore
Updated on Mar. 20, 2025
Listen to Bluetooth speakers
It will come as no surprise that portable speakers are a disturbance to fellow passengers—and, as part of the latest cruise industry trends, at least one cruise line has banned them so far. “Whether you are trying to relax by the pool, converse with friends in a lounge or sleep in your cabin, having people nearby blasting music from a portable speaker has become commonplace in our society today and people have been complaining that their vacation experience is being compromised,” says Kertes. “Whether it be the volume or a particular taste of music, it’s something the cruise lines decided that they needed to be in control of.”
Fly a drones
Sure, it might seem cool to capture some overhead content for your social media, but drones are on the banned list on most cruise lines, including Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity,Azamara, MSC, and Viking. “Whether it be U.S. security while docked in a U.S. port, or traveling to a foreign country, or cruising through international waters, having people flying drones—taking pictures and videos—is deemed a security risk,” explains Kertes. “The cruise lines have consulted with governments around the world as a part of this initiative. To a lesser degree, cruise lines want to ensure that the footage taken from privately flown drones cannot be used for commercial purposes.”
Drones are also restricted in many ports, including Florida’s Port Canaveral and Port Miami. If you’re caught flying a drone in these areas, you could be slapped with an expensive fine and your drone could be destroyed by local authorities.
Check a paper schedule
To make life easier for guests and reduce paper waste, Stijn Creupelandt, vice president of hotel operations & product development of Windstar Cruises, says that many cruise lines are going digital with everything from daily schedules and menus to ship events, spa offerings and even your bill. “We’ve completed the process of rolling out interactive TVs in all staterooms and suites, so you’re able to check out the latest ship schedule, keep track of your bill in real-time, learn about your amazing shipboard team, and even pick a movie to watch—all with the click of a button,” he says. “Plus, forget about carrying around that paper schedule—everything you need is right at your fingertips on your mobile device.” Just make sure your phone is in airplane mode so you don’t make this expensive mistake.
Enjoy a midnight buffet
Remember the intricate fruit carvings, woven bread baskets, stunning dessert displays and the thrill of sneaking in yet another meal before bed? This once-popular old-world tradition in cruising disappeared years ago and Kertes says it’s due to modern-day cruise ships offering more dining options beyond the buffet and main dining room combined with open seating at these establishments that include late-night hours. “There is simply no longer a need to create a separate, special buffet in one place, at one time, to serve everyone,” he says.
Reserve a seat on the pool deck
There are at least 10 things polite people never do on cruises, and one of the worst offenders is hogging poolside lounge chairs. “Here’s something you only really see on the big, mega ships: people fighting over deck chairs,” says Kertes. “People getting up at 5 a.m., going out to the pool deck, and putting towels on six chairs to ‘save’ them for their family.”
The problem? Typically, there are never enough chairs for the entire shipboard population (at least not in the most popular places to sit), and there have literally been physical altercations break out over this practice. As part of cruise industry trends being addressed, Carnival enforces a 40-minute rule for unoccupied chairs, at which point crew members will remove the person’s belongings to free up the seat. Royal Caribbean has a similar 30-minute policy.
Log on at an internet cafe
Back in the late 1990s, Kertes says new cruise ships were built featuring gigantic spaces filled with computer stations where guests could log on (for a fee, of course) and keep in touch with friends and family back home. “To make better use of these spaces as well as offer a service/activity to guests, cruise lines offered computer classes in these spaces for folks who were either beginners or just wanted to learn some new computer skills,” he says.
Fast-forward to today, and you can hardly find any passenger without a smartphone, tablet or laptop with which to conduct their online business. “Now they can just sell you a Wi-Fi package, and off you go,” he concludes. Most of these internet cafes have been repurposed into new spaces.
Sip out of a plastic straw
Gangwaze, a popular website for cruise tips, estimates that the average cruiser uses five straws per day. And according to Cruise Lines International Association’s May 2024 State of the Cruising Industry Report, total passenger volume for 2023 was 31.7 million—which means cruisers use 158.5 million straws per year.
In 2018, the Norwegian coastal cruise line Hurtigruten announced its plan to become the world’s first plastic-free cruise company. Since then, plenty of cruise lines have hopped onboard this cruise industry trend to eliminate plastic straws, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival and Disney Cruise Lines.
While straws may seem like a small step, they’re an important one: Two garbage trucks’ worth of plastic enters the oceans every minute, which equates to 33 billion pounds of plastic entering the ocean every year according to Oceana. And it’s far too easy for tipsy passengers to accidentally fling their straw overboard or a strong gust of wind to send it flying out to sea.
Consider investing in your own reusable straws and adding them to your cruise packing list.
Leave the lights on in an unoccupied cabin
Some cruise industry trends come from other areas of the hospitality industry. Like most European hotels, a few cruise ships now employ a key-card system to operate the lights and power outlets in their cabins. This environmental measure means that you will need to insert your room key when entering your cabin to be able to flip on the lights and charge your devices. When you leave and take your key out, the room goes dark and energy is conserved. You may want to bring along a portable charger to make sure your devices are fully powered up when you’re out and about.
Cruise to nowhere
Once upon a time, you could board a cruise ship and drift off to international waters for a few days without a destination on the itinerary or a port of call to be called upon. It was called a cruise to nowhere, and it was quite popular for a short, inexpensive and thoroughly relaxing getaway. This is something you will not be able to experience again on a cruise, unless the ship has an all-American crew, which isn’t the case on big lines like Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.
The reasoning is complicated, but it has to do with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security attempting to better enforce immigration laws and working visas often held by cruise ship members. As a result, foreign-flagged ships (those registered in the Bahamas, for example) can no longer sail without stopping at a foreign port at some point on their itinerary. Instead, make your cruise count with one of these 12 best Mediterranean cruises.
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Sources:
- Scott Kertes, president of Vacations by Design, a member of EnsembleÂ
- Stijn Creupelandt is vice president of hotel operations & product development of Windstar Cruises
- Gangwaze: Straws by Cruise Line
- Cruise Lines International Association: “May 2024 State of the Cruising Industry Report”
- Oceana: “Tackling the Plastics Crisis at the Source”
