The Emergency Item Passengers May Not Realize Is Banned On Carnival Cruise Ships

If you're packing for a cruise, chances are you're thinking through what items you may or may not need on board in an emergency. The boat provides life vests, but will it have other necessities? Although it's not incredibly common to travel with emergency communication devices, the gadgets are actually banned on Carnival Cruise ships for good reason.

Emergency communications equipment more complex than your iPhone is probably banned on your Carnival ship, a cruise line that may not actually deserve the negative criticism it seems to get from travel enthusiasts. This includes everything from Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (or EPIRBs), internet equipment, satellite dishes or phones, and communications scanners. EPIRBs are brought to sea to signal for help from rescue authorities nearby via satellite. This is the device to have if you fear you may need to send out a distress signal while at sea, but it's probably not allowed (or necessary) on your ship. The average Joe likely won't bring these items on board with them; however, if you plan to live on a cruise ship full-time, need special equipment for a job, or are just super paranoid about getting lost at sea, this may be a problem.

Certain pieces of communication equipment are banned for good reason: they can interfere with the ship's tech. If you're concerned about communicating with other passengers while on your cruise, especially children who may be unsupervised, many cruise lines have apps now that you can message other members of your party through.

For the most part, it's safe to assume you can't bring EPIRBs on any cruise ship, as they may interfere with the ship's own safety equipment. However, you can bring a PLB (personal locator beacon) with you on most ships, an SOS device more commonly used by hikers. Walkie-talkies are a bit of a grey area. If not banned on cruise ships, they may not work well, given all of the other activity happening nearby. Carnival Cruises allows the devices; however, past cruise attendees say they don't work very well, and it's better to just purchase the ship's wifi package. This will allow you to communicate via Facebook, iMessage, and WhatsApp. Carnival also allows you to communicate with other passengers through their Carnival HUB App. The app can also be used for checking in, making dinner reservations, and purchasing wifi onboard. 

Bringing a banned item is a common cruise-packing mistake that could ruin your trip. Aside from SOS devices, CBD products are banned on Carnival Cruise ships, as ships follow federal laws over state laws. This item, whether recreational or medicinal, may be on your ideal list of what to pack for a cruise.  Similarly, beer and liquor cannot be brought onto a cruise ship with you; they need to be purchased on board from the cruise ship or in a port on your journey. Fearing fires on board, Carnival also bans irons, steamers, electric blankets, hot plates, and coffee makers. Avoid packing these items if you don't want them confiscated on board.