Royal Caribbean adds new ban on popular device
Royal Caribbean is following Carnival in establishing a ban on a common, and controversial, travel item.
Royal Caribbean passengers who love a quiet, relaxing beach day will be very happy to learn of a new ban the cruise line is implementing that’s sure to improve the passenger experience.
For some people, there’s nothing worse than finding a perfect spot at the beach or by a pool — only to have someone sit down next to you and ruin your relaxation.
Related: Royal Caribbean passengers want more of one type of entertainment
For cruisers looking for serenity on Royal Caribbean’s private island in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, avoiding one common beach day nuisance just got a lot easier, thanks to a new cruise line ban.
To be clear, the new ban appears to only apply to CocoCay at this time, but it could be a step toward a new fleetwide cruise line rule that many passengers would welcome. The move would prevent cruise passengers from killing a relaxing atmosphere by doing one annoying thing in public spaces — playing their own music.
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Royal Caribbean bans personal speakers from Perfect Day at CocoCay
Royal Caribbean is now banning personal speakers from its private island in The Bahamas, according to RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com, an unofficial fan blog not affiliated with the cruise line.
Passengers sailing to Perfect Day at CocoCay on board Icon of the Seas recently received an onboard notice that stated that along with glass bottles, personal speakers are not permitted on the private island.
While glass bottles are prohibited for safety reasons, personal speakers may be banned because they can be disruptive in public places. Royal Caribbean does not ban personal speakers from its cruise ship public spaces, however. At least not yet.
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Late last year, Carnival Cruise Line was applauded by many passengers when it introduced a ban on all types of speakers on board its cruise ships. Many passengers say it’s annoying to listen other passengers’ music playing from these devices in public areas.
Although Carnival’s brand ambassador received a great deal of passenger feedback about this nuisance leading up to the ban, Carnival didn’t prohibit speakers specifically for this reason. The cruise line banned them due to safety concerns.
For safety reasons, the cruise line needs to make sure that all passengers and crew members can hear public announcements and personal speakers can get in the way of that. If passengers are listening to music or watching shows/movies on personal devices in public spaces, Carnival requires them to use earphones.
Royal Caribbean passengers want speaker ban in cruise ship spaces
After Carnival introduced its speaker ban, many Royal Caribbean passengers hoped their cruise line of choice would follow suit.
In the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit, a number of passengers have expressed their frustration with cruisers using personal speakers in public spaces.
“Can't stand other people's Bluetooth speakers,” snowrider0693 wrote. “It's fine if it's quiet but when people have them cranked and you're just trying to relax. It's obnoxious.”
Passengers have made it clear that they would support a full-scale speaker ban on board Royal Caribbean ships too.
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“Hope so. Nothing worse than finally finding a (relatively) quiet part of the boat only to have some idiot plop down next to you at full volume,” NYnewbiehomeowner wrote in a Reddit thread that speculated whether Royal Caribbean would follow Carnival’s lead on speakers.
“Like someone else said, cabins only, would be fine,” NYnewbiehomeowner continued. “Unfortunately, people confuse being on vacation with being in their backyard. Enjoy yourself but respect your fellow passengers.”
In the thread, cruisers also noted that personal speakers have been a source of irritation at both of the cruise line’s private destinations, Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee.
It’s not yet clear whether the new CocoCay speaker ban will carry over to Labadee, but passengers will surely welcome it if it does.
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