Banned & Restricted Items on a Cruise - Cruise Guide - Cruise Nation (2024)

With such a wide range of delicious alcoholic beverages available on board, why would you want to waste precious luggage space with the alcohol you’ve brought from home? If you do try to bring alcohol on board, it will be confiscated and given back to you at the end of your holiday. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered across the bars and restaurants available on your cruise.

This really should go without saying, but if it’s illegal on land, it’s illegal on our cruise holidays. If you’re found to have illegal drugs on your person, they will be confiscated and NOT returned.

Despite being legal in the UK, any cannabis products will be confiscated if you’re found to have them. This includes but is not limited to, gummies, vapes and lotions. You’ll certainly be able to find other ways to relax on board our luxury cruises.

Again, this really should go without saying but you absolutely cannot bring weapons, ammunition or imitation weapons on board. This is for the safety of others as well as your own.

Despite having a practical function in the home, even kitchen knives can pose a significant safety risk onboard a cruise liner. We want you to be safe and reduce the risk of accidents during your holiday, which means that even scissors with blades longer than 4 inches will have to be left at home.

You should consider taking a manicure kit with small nail scissors if you think you might need them while at sea.

We appreciate you’ll want to scrub up well and get a shirt or twoironed for dinner on board the liner you’re travelling on, but due to their heating element, irons and steamers are considered a fire hazard. You should consider investing in some anti-crease spray as an alternative. Many cruise lines will offer laundry and dry-cleaning services.

Extension leads can also pose a fire safety risk, for this reason, you shouldn’t pack one to bring with you. Luckily, modern cruise liners are designed to be as accessible as possible with plenty of access to plug sockets that usually have USB ports too.

If you’re still struggling for sockets, you can purchase a cruise-approved extension lead onboard.

As well as taking up a lot of room in your luggage, appliances such as coffee makers, kettles and hot plates can be dangerous at sea if they get too hot or malfunction. Rest assured you’ll still be able to get a hot cup of Joe throughout your voyage at an onboard venue.

We all love a scented candle to make a room smell nice, but this can endanger you and your fellow passengers if knocked over or left unattended. Cleaners onboard will ensure that your room smells fresh as a daisy.

As with candles and incense, highly flammable liquids are dangerous items to have on board a cruise liner.

You might think of yourself as a budding Picasso or Monet, but paints can contain harsh chemicals that could be dangerous to you, your child, and other passengers.

As with most things on board a cruise ship, cleaning is well and truly taken care of by the wonderful cleaners. We know it might be tempting to bring your marigolds and cleaning products but rest assured, your cabin and the rest of the ship will be kept spotless.

Compressed gas bottles or cylinders can pose a serious risk of explosion if exposed to the right conditions. As you can imagine, this is not ideal when aboard a cruise liner. There is an exception to this rule if it is needed for a medical reason, but the cruise liner must be informed prior to travel.

Dive tanks are also not permitted on board for the same reason.

Largely because of the weight and size of some sports gear, cruise companies have decided to ban some of them. These include canoes, kayaks, bikes, etc. Bats such as baseball and cricket bats are also not permitted on board as they do pose a risk of injury.

Drones are allowed on board, but they must be kept by security on board the cruise to be used exclusively when the ship is in port. Drones are prohibited for use when the ship is at sea.

Some smoking devices, such as hookah pipes, are not allowed on board a cruise. Cigarettes and e-cigarettes are allowed on board, but must be smoked in specified areas.

Personal grooming items are allowed on board when kept in good condition and are used responsibly with proper caution. Items that come under this umbrella include hairdryers, straighteners, electric shavers, etc.

Although it isn’t strictly banned, we’d really encourage you to limit the amount of food that you bring from home. There is more than enough delicious food from a variety of on board restaurants to treat yourself to. If you do decide to bring a couple of meal deals, make sure all the food is non-perishable and pre-packaged.

Floatation devices such as lilos aren’t permitted on a cruise ship because they take up quite a bit of space in the relatively small pools that are on a cruise ship. Armbands are allowed for people who feel they need them, but keep your inflatable flamingo at home.

Loud music might be great a gig, but it’s not ideal when you’re trying to sleep on your cruise holiday. Musical instruments and music-playing devices are allowed on board, but guests are encouraged to be considerate of the volume and time of day that they’re using these items.

Small coolers are allowed on board a cruise; however, they must be of a personal size. This size might vary between companies, so if you want to take one with, it’s probably best to check with the cruise line ahead of time.