Carnival and Royal Caribbean often confuse their customers because some written rules apply while others seem like suggestions, not actual rules. It can also be confusing as both cruise lines seem to have different policies on different ships and perhaps even on different voyages on the same ship.
Main Dining Room (MDR) dress codes can be a source of confusion for passengers. Both cruise lines, for example, technically (in their written policies) do not allow men to wear shorts on MDR and both require adult men to wear a collared shirt.
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It is an unspoken “rule” that the first night on any cruise is an exception because luggage may not have arrived and passengers literally have nothing to change into. However, once you take shelter on the second night, dress codes are supposed to be enforced.
The problem is that neither Royal Caribbean RCL nor Carnival generally enforce any MDR dress code, other than not allowing swimsuits. In general, both cruise lines probably don’t want to fight with their passengers, and turning people away because they are dressed too casually creates a customer service nightmare.
The problem is that not all ships of any of the cruise lines have a strict dining room dress code policy: “as long as it doesn’t hurt others, we’ll look the other way.” At times, on both Carnival Cruise Line CClL and Royal Caribbean ships, dress codes will be strictly enforced and men will not be allowed to wear hats or open-toed shoes.
It’s as confusing as both cruise lines have rules about not “storing” chairs near the pool by leaving your stuff on top. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival have policies prohibiting the practice and signs telling you where your things will be stored if you decide to leave them on a chair and then disappear.
No cruise line actually enforces seating policies, because it’s too laborious to track whether someone has been gone for hours or just gone to the bathroom or out for a drink.
So you can forgive passengers on both cruise lines for sometimes breaking rules that are actually hard and fast. At least one of those rules, which some passengers ignore, is a health and safety issue.
That’s why Carnival brand ambassador John Heald shared an important message about a rule passengers shouldn’t ignore on his social media page.
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Image source: Carnival
Carnival Cruise Line Shares Key Buffet Rule
At any buffet, not just cruise ships, you’re likely to see some people make terrible decisions. There are always people who opt to use their hands instead of the provided tongs and people who don’t seem to realize that you can come back as many times as you want, so they mix baked beans and dessert on the same plate.
Of course, there are people who duck their heads under sneeze guards and people who don’t respect how queues work. However, some buffet-goers break a key rule, perhaps because they think they are doing the right thing.
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“As it seems to be a topic of conversation today, I would like to ask you this. If you go back to the buffet or a restaurant on Lido for a second order, you always get a new dish, right?” Heald posted.
“I absolutely always and always get a clean cup to drink from every time,” Patsy Crump posted in response to Heald’s question.
In reality, eating a new dish is the norm, and in a survey Heald published, 99% of his followers noted that this was the case. That other 1% may not be consciously breaking the rules, they might think they are doing something environmentally friendly.
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Passengers also cannot refill the same glass or cup at beverage stations. That includes those at the buffet and elsewhere on the ship. The cup/glass rule is actually posted at most drink stations, while the plate rule, which is in fact a rule, is not posted anywhere.
