8 Things Royal Caribbean Is Cracking Down on Right Now

Royal Caribbean has always had rules, but lately, some of them seem to be getting a lot harder to ignore. A few are things most cruisers would probably expect, while others are the kind of changes you could easily miss until you’re already onboard.

And that’s where it gets interesting.

Some affect what you can bring. Some affect what you can do once you’re on the ship. And a couple could end up costing you money if you get them wrong.

So if you’ve sailed with Royal Caribbean before and think you already know the rules, it may be worth checking again.

Here are eight things Royal Caribbean is cracking down on right now.

1. Sharing Drink Packages

If you’re hoping to buy one Royal Caribbean drinks package and quietly use it for two people, don’t.

Royal Caribbean is very clear that beverage packages are for one guest only. You’ll be served one drink at a time, and you can’t share your package with your partner, friend or anyone else who suddenly develops a thirst when it’s your turn at the bar.

There’s another rule that can make the Deluxe Beverage Package particularly expensive for couples. If one guest buys the alcoholic package, Royal Caribbean’s standard policy requires every guest of legal drinking age staying in the same stateroom to buy it too.

Two adults wearing sunglasses on a cruise ship deck, smiling and holding frozen tropical drinks garnished with pineapple.

The way Royal Caribbean has handled exceptions has changed quite a bit over the past couple of years. In the past, guests could sometimes call and request an exception if one person didn’t drink alcohol, and that became widely discussed in cruise groups as a way for one person to buy the Deluxe Package while the other purchased a cheaper non-alcoholic package.

Not everyone asking for an exception was trying to beat the system, of course. But Royal Caribbean eventually said requests were increasing while drink-package sharing was continuing to cause problems.

So on August 1, 2025, the cruise line stopped routinely allowing those exceptions. For a while, that made the rule pretty simple: if one adult of legal drinking age in the cabin bought the Deluxe Beverage Package, the other adults generally had to buy it too.

Then things changed again.

In September 2026, cruisers began receiving a new Royal Caribbean form called the Beverage Package Accommodation Request. It allows certain guests to apply for an exception if they cannot consume alcohol because of a disability, medical condition or pregnancy.

This isn’t the old loophole coming back, though.

Requests are considered individually, approval isn’t guaranteed, and simply deciding that you don’t drink or don’t want to pay for the Deluxe Package isn’t one of the listed reasons. If an accommodation is approved, the affected guest still has to purchase a non-alcoholic beverage package.

Bloody Mary cocktail held beside a cruise ship pool deck from lounge chair.

The form reportedly allows guests to provide a brief supporting statement if they want to, although supporting documentation isn’t mandatory. It also warns that false or misleading information can result in the full Deluxe Beverage Package price being charged retrospectively.

And none of this changes the rule about sharing. Royal Caribbean still says packages are for individual use only, so the difference now is that there’s a much narrower route for guests who genuinely cannot drink alcohol rather than the broader exception system that existed before.

2. Reserving Pool Chairs

Few things annoy cruisers faster than finding a row of prime poolside loungers occupied by nothing more than towels, flip-flops and a paperback that hasn’t moved in two hours.

Royal Caribbean’s rule is actually pretty simple: pool deck chairs are first come, first served and cannot be reserved. If a chair is left unattended for more than 30 minutes with no sign that the guest is coming back, crew members can remove the belongings and place them in lost and found.

Pool deck sign says loungers aren’t reservable and unattended belongings may be moved after 30 minutes.

So yes, the famous “chair hog” rule is real.

What’s less predictable is how aggressively it gets enforced. Some cruisers report seeing crew members actively monitor unused loungers, mark chairs and return once the 30-minute window has passed, while others say towels and bags can still sit untouched for much longer unless someone asks a crew member to step in.

Enforcement can vary by ship, sailing and even how busy the pool deck is that day. That probably explains why the problem refuses to disappear.

Child eating from a plate while sitting on a towel-covered pool lounger on a cruise ship deck.

Putting your towel down at 7 a.m., disappearing for breakfast, riding the waterslides and wandering back at lunchtime does not turn that lounger into your personal property. Stepping away for a quick drink or bathroom break is one thing; reserving half the pool deck while your group is somewhere else entirely is another.

And if your belongings do disappear after a long absence, check lost and found before assuming someone has walked off with them.

3. Using Smart Glasses in Certain Areas

Smart glasses have gone from being a slightly futuristic gadget to something you might genuinely spot on a cruise ship. Royal Caribbean is fine with you bringing them onboard, but where you use them is another matter.

The cruise line now specifically restricts smart glasses in places including the casino, spa service areas, restrooms, locker rooms, medical facilities, security screening areas, youth facilities, crew areas and during back-of-house tours. They’re also restricted anywhere guests or crew would reasonably expect privacy.

Black Ray-Ban smart glasses with built-in camera resting on a gray surface. — Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

That makes sense when you consider what modern smart glasses can do. Some models can record video and audio without the obvious phone-in-the-air warning that usually tells everyone around you they’re being filmed.

You could be standing next to someone wearing what looks like a normal pair of glasses and have no idea a camera is running.

Royal Caribbean’s current policy says smart glasses used in restricted areas may be confiscated, and security retains discretion over questionable items brought onboard. There was some confusion when this rule first appeared in early 2026 because notices in Royal Caribbean’s app reportedly made it sound as though smart glasses weren’t allowed onboard at all.

The published policy is clearer now: you can bring the glasses, but you can’t use them everywhere.

4. Certain Electronics and Networking Gear

Packing for a cruise used to be mostly about remembering your swimsuit, sunscreen and enough chargers to keep everyone happy. Now there’s another category worth checking before you zip up the suitcase: electronics.

Royal Caribbean’s current prohibited-items policy specifically restricts several types of electrical and electronic equipment. That includes baby monitors, extension cords, power strips, multi-plug outlets, HAM radios, cybersecurity devices and electronic-crime equipment.

The power-strip rule is especially worth paying attention to because older cruise advice often focused only on avoiding surge protectors. Royal Caribbean’s current wording goes further than that: extension cords, traditional power strips and multi-plug outlets are prohibited, whether or not they include surge protection.

So I wouldn’t assume a “non-surge” power strip is safe to pack. What you can bring are ordinary device and USB chargers that carry a recognized U.S. or European conformity certification.

If you need to charge several phones, watches or tablets at once, a certified multi-port USB charger is a much safer choice than anything that adds extra AC outlets. Certain walkie-talkies are also permitted if they meet Royal Caribbean’s limits on range, power and antennas.

The part that has caused the most confusion, though, involves travel routers.

A travel router is a small device that connects to the ship’s Wi-Fi and then creates a private Wi-Fi network for your own phones, tablets and laptops. Some cruisers use them to make connecting several devices easier.

Close-up of hands holding a smartphone with a Wi-Fi signal icon on the screen, indicating connectivity to a wireless router, with a laptop and notepads in the background on a white desk.

Royal Caribbean previously used wording that specifically mentioned routers and other networking equipment when describing prohibited cybersecurity gear. That led to plenty of warnings that portable travel routers were being banned onboard.

But the current public policy is less specific. As of November 2026, Royal Caribbean’s live prohibited-items page refers to cybersecurity devices and electronic-crime equipment, but it no longer names ordinary travel routers in that section.

Royal Caribbean also gives its security team discretion to review questionable electronics during screening. If an item is considered prohibited, it can be confiscated and held until the end of the cruise.

So this is one area where I wouldn’t rely on an old packing list or assume that because something worked on your last sailing, it’ll automatically be accepted on the next one.

5. Fighting and Seriously Bad Behavior

This one really shouldn’t need explaining, but apparently it does.

Royal Caribbean’s Guest Conduct Policy specifically prohibits violence, threats, harassment, vandalism, theft, unwanted physical contact and other abusive or offensive behavior onboard. The consequences can go well beyond being told to calm down.

Royal Caribbean says security or law enforcement can become involved, onboard privileges can be taken away, guests can be confined to a stateroom or holding cell, and passengers can be removed from the ship entirely. In serious cases, the cruise line can also deny someone the chance to sail with its brands again in the future.

Split image showing Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas cruise ship on the left and a physical altercation onboard on the right, with a woman holding a small child as several adults confront one another.

We’ve already seen examples of how quickly things can escalate. In one case covered by Mad About Cruises, two guests were removed from Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas in Roatán following an onboard fight.

Another more recent video, reportedly filmed aboard Oasis of the Seas, went viral after a child was caught in the middle of an altercation.

Getting kicked off can be expensive too. If Royal Caribbean removes you from a ship because you violated its policy, you’re responsible for your own accommodation and transportation home, and there’s no guarantee of compensation or a refund either.

Alcohol doesn’t provide much of an excuse. Royal Caribbean says crew can stop serving alcohol to anyone they believe isn’t drinking responsibly, and drinking games are also prohibited.

Guests who overconsume, behave irresponsibly or break the cruise line’s alcohol rules can potentially be disembarked at their own expense. Depending on the circumstances, enforcement action can also extend beyond the person who caused the problem and potentially affect other people in their travel party or reservation.

A few bad minutes can therefore become a very expensive end to the vacation.

6. Coca-Cola Freestyle Machine Access

Royal Caribbean has also tightened up access to one small perk that used to come with its more expensive drink packages.

Since March 15, 2026, guests with the Deluxe Beverage Package or Refreshment Package no longer automatically receive a Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cup. That cup matters because it contains a special chip that activates Royal Caribbean’s Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.

Royal Caribbean Cruise guests use Coca-Cola Freestyle machines to refill souvenir cups at a self-serve soda station onboard. — Photo Credit: Royal Caribbean/YouTube

Without it, you can’t simply walk up to the machine and fill any random cup. If you have the Deluxe or Refreshment Package and still want access to the Freestyle machines, you now need to buy the souvenir cup onboard for $4.99.

Replacement cups cost the same amount, and the cup is only valid for the sailing on which it was issued. The Classic Soda Package is different because that package still includes the Freestyle cup as standard.

It’s worth pointing out that Royal Caribbean hasn’t removed soda from the Deluxe or Refreshment Packages altogether. The Refreshment Package still includes canned and fountain soda, along with drinks such as bottled water, premium coffee, juice and non-alcoholic cocktails.

The Deluxe Package includes those non-alcoholic options alongside alcoholic drinks. What has changed is access to the self-service Freestyle machines unless you pay the extra $4.99 for the chipped cup.

It’s a small charge, but it’s exactly the kind of change regular cruisers notice when something that used to be included suddenly costs extra.

7. Smoking and Vaping in the Wrong Places

Royal Caribbean still allows smoking onboard, but only in designated areas. That means cigarettes, cigars, pipes and e-cigarettes aren’t something you can use wherever you like.

A man in a grey shirt leans against the railing of a cruise ship balcony, deeply inhaling from a cigarette. The calm ocean and clear sky stretch into the horizon behind him, creating a tranquil yet solitary scene on the ship's deck.

Most indoor public spaces are smoke-free, and smoking isn’t allowed in dining venues, theaters, bars, lounges, hallways, elevators or jogging tracks. The rule that catches people out most often is the cabin.

Smoking and vaping are both prohibited inside every stateroom and on every stateroom balcony. If Royal Caribbean catches you breaking that rule, a $250 cleaning fee can be added to your SeaPass account.

And that may not be the end of it.

Royal Caribbean says guests who violate the smoking policy can also face further action under its Guest Conduct Policy, depending on the circumstances. Vaping doesn’t get a special exemption either.

Electronic cigarettes and vapes are only allowed in designated smoking areas, just like regular cigarettes. Cigar and pipe smoking are also limited to designated outdoor areas and cigar bars where available.

A close-up of vaping paraphernalia on a wooden surface: an e-cigarette with a dripping atomizer stands beside a bottle of vape liquid, with a smartphone lying nearby, illustrating a modern smoke-free lifestyle choice or a vaping session.

Casino rules can vary depending on where the ship is sailing. Some Casino Royale venues have designated smoking and non-smoking sections, while ships sailing from places such as Australia and the United Kingdom do not permit smoking in the casino.

There are also age rules to remember. On sailings departing from U.S. ports, you must be at least 21 to purchase, possess or use tobacco.

For sailings beginning elsewhere, Royal Caribbean currently sets the minimum age at 18. And with a $250 cabin-smoking charge on the line, this is one rule that’s worth checking before lighting up or vaping anywhere onboard.

8. Royal Caribbean Isn’t Taking Chances With Labadee

Royal Caribbean has taken a much tougher approach to one of its best-known private destinations. As of November 2026, the cruise line has suspended all visits to Labadee, Haiti, across its entire fleet through April 2028.

That’s a much longer pause than Royal Caribbean originally announced.

The cruise line says it is continuing to monitor the situation with its Global Security & Intelligence team and that guest safety and comfort remain its highest priority. Affected passengers are being contacted directly when their itineraries change.

Labadee itself is a private Royal Caribbean destination on Haiti’s northern coast, with beaches, water activities and attractions including ziplining and the Arawak Aqua Park. Royal Caribbean still maintains a destination page for Labadee, so this isn’t being presented as a permanent closure.

Cruise passenger ziplining over Labadee, Haiti, with a Royal Caribbean ship anchored offshore and the beach below.

But a suspension running all the way through April 2028 shows just how cautious the cruise line is being. Rather than continuing to operate visits while conditions remain uncertain, Royal Caribbean has chosen to remove Labadee from itineraries altogether for an extended period.

For passengers, that means even if Labadee appears on an older itinerary or booking reference, it’s worth checking the latest information before assuming you’ll be going there. For cruisers who have enjoyed Labadee in the past, hopefully conditions eventually improve enough for Royal Caribbean to return.

Are Royal Caribbean’s Rules Actually Getting Stricter?

In some areas, yes. But it’s not quite as simple as Royal Caribbean suddenly deciding to become stricter about everything.

A lot of these changes fall into three clear groups. First, there are the rules designed to stop people gaming paid extras, like sharing drink packages or getting access to features that aren’t included in their package.

Then there are the newer technology and privacy rules, covering things like smart glasses, networking equipment and certain electronics that simply weren’t much of an issue a few years ago. And finally, there are the behavior and safety rules.

Fighting, smoking in cabins, reserving loungers for hours and ignoring security restrictions can all come with real consequences.

Some cruisers will see these changes as overdue. Others will probably feel Royal Caribbean is removing a little too much flexibility.

Either way, if you’re sailing with Royal Caribbean soon, it’s worth checking the latest policies before you board. A rule you remember from your last cruise may not work quite the same way now.