Carnival President, Christine Duffy, releases statement on the issue of inappropriate behavior on board its ships,

[staceyglow]

I noticed that there are two seatings for breakfast in the MDR, 6:30 am and 7:45 am. 

 

The people who complain that Seaday brunch closes at noon would be losing their minds. 

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I wouldn't be surprised.

 

Bringing it back to the topic at hand, I wonder what Carnival's reaction would be if Congress decided to make MJ legal.  Would they go, "Woo hoo!"  Would they breathe a sigh of relief?  Would they keep the same old rules?  Or would they clear some shelves and stock the newly legal merchandise in the gift shops?

Remember the ships are foreign flagged. If it was legalized in the USA should not really make a difference when it comes to will it be legal on cruise ships.

[Honolulu Blue]

42 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Remember the ships are foreign flagged. If it was legalized in the USA should not really make a difference when it comes to will it be legal on cruise ships.

In the video, Ms. Duffy didn't hide behind flag state, she hid behind U.S. federal law. 

 

Part of the reason why these ships are flagged in foreign countries is that they don't have a lot of rules. If a cruise line really wanted to legalize or decriminalize weed on board, I don't see too many stopping them. 

[EngIceDave]

Back to the original topic, rowdy guests and misbehavior.

 

They need to have the guts to give a WELL TRAINED security staff the ability to intervene more and to detain people, short and long periods.

 

In time, the message will get out, "No more f&^%ijng around on Carnival ships."

 

Talk is cheap, actions make a difference.

 

Security staff should be trained in conflict resolution and even mental health issues which can be exacerbated with alcohol.  Know when to be hands on and hands off and able to negotiate. More or less, a "peace officer" who's job it is to stop and resolve issues, and not look for other reasons to arrest you. Just make the peace.

 

 

[chengkp75]

16 hours ago, Denversail said:

5 more years and the cruises will have THC bars.

 

13 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I wouldn't be surprised.

 

Bringing it back to the topic at hand, I wonder what Carnival's reaction would be if Congress decided to make MJ legal.  Would they go, "Woo hoo!"  Would they breathe a sigh of relief?  Would they keep the same old rules?  Or would they clear some shelves and stock the newly legal merchandise in the gift shops?

 

11 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

If the US legalized weed on a Federal level, I could see Carnival selling wed tours of Jamaica, Mexico, etc. 

 

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Remember the ships are foreign flagged. If it was legalized in the USA should not really make a difference when it comes to will it be legal on cruise ships.

Yes, this is correct.  Federal law ends at the gangway, essentially, and flag state law takes jurisdiction.  Further, even countries where pot is legal, or decriminalized, do not allow pot on ships, as the IMO has regulated ships as zero tolerance, and the ships won't want the possibility of "cross contamination" between passengers and crew.  This is why the ticket contracts prohibit drug use, including cannabis.

26 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

In the video, Ms. Duffy didn't hide behind flag state, she hid behind U.S. federal law. 

 

Part of the reason why these ships are flagged in foreign countries is that they don't have a lot of rules. If a cruise line really wanted to legalize or decriminalize weed on board, I don't see too many stopping them. 

As far as Carnival is concerned, both Panama and Bahamas have pot as illegal, and Bahamas has a "craft industry" of busting tourists for pot possession, so, in fact, as long as those laws remain intact, the ships would not be allowed to legalize pot. 

[Bound4Bermuda]

We’re going on our first Carnival cruise this summer. We usually cruise Royal Caribbean out of NJ but getting a bit bored of the same few itineraries, and saw a unique itinerary (8-day eastern Caribbean) on the brand new Venezia for $2000 less than a similar RCI cruise. So I decided to put my pre-conceived, admittedly classist impressions of some Carnival patrons being rowdy, aggressive, party people aside and give it a chance. I probably should have read this board first to get up to speed on Carnival because it sounds like even the president is admitting they have a problem with guest behavior, so maybe there’s something to the negative reputation Carnival has. Did I make a mistake switching from RCI to Carnival?

[ninjacat123]

14 minutes ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

We’re going on our first Carnival cruise this summer. We usually cruise Royal Caribbean out of NJ but getting a bit bored of the same few itineraries, and saw a unique itinerary (8-day eastern Caribbean) on the brand new Venezia for $2000 less than a similar RCI cruise. So I decided to put my pre-conceived, admittedly classist impressions of some Carnival patrons being rowdy, aggressive, party people aside and give it a chance. I probably should have read this board first to get up to speed on Carnival because it sounds like even the president is admitting they have a problem with guest behavior, so maybe there’s something to the negative reputation Carnival has. Did I make a mistake switching from RCI to Carnival?

8 day cruises have a different dynamic from 4 to 5 day cruises.  Having said that, I have encountered no issues with the 5 day  Carnival cruises after Restart, and I have taken five, 5 day cruises from different ports. I hope you have a great cruise!!

Edited February 19, 2023 by ninjacat123

[Honolulu Blue]

37 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Federal law ends at the gangway, essentially, and flag state law takes jurisdiction.  Further, even countries where pot is legal, or decriminalized, do not allow pot on ships, as the IMO has regulated ships as zero tolerance, and the ships won't want the possibility of "cross contamination" between passengers and crew.  This is why the ticket contracts prohibit drug use, including cannabis.

 

As far as Carnival is concerned, both Panama and Bahamas have pot as illegal, and Bahamas has a "craft industry" of busting tourists for pot possession, so, in fact, as long as those laws remain intact, the ships would not be allowed to legalize pot. 

Noted, thank you.  I would just note that I have been surprised as how far the legalization movement has come in the past decade.  I'll be less surprised if it moves further still in the years and decades to come.

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

In the video, Ms. Duffy didn't hide behind flag state, she hid behind U.S. federal law. 

 

Part of the reason why these ships are flagged in foreign countries is that they don't have a lot of rules. If a cruise line really wanted to legalize or decriminalize weed on board, I don't see too many stopping them. 

 

Being foreign flagged has more to do with labor laws and taxes.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

We’re going on our first Carnival cruise this summer. We usually cruise Royal Caribbean out of NJ but getting a bit bored of the same few itineraries, and saw a unique itinerary (8-day eastern Caribbean) on the brand new Venezia for $2000 less than a similar RCI cruise. So I decided to put my pre-conceived, admittedly classist impressions of some Carnival patrons being rowdy, aggressive, party people aside and give it a chance. I probably should have read this board first to get up to speed on Carnival because it sounds like even the president is admitting they have a problem with guest behavior, so maybe there’s something to the negative reputation Carnival has. Did I make a mistake switching from RCI to Carnival?

All I can say is that I have been on over 20 Carnival cruises  out of many different ports and I have never smelled pot or witnessed agressive behavior.  Even if it is not happening on the vast majority of cruises, my guess is that Christine Duffy released this video to nip this problem in the bud.

 

As a general rule, longer cruises like your 8-dayer are more sedate than the weekend ships, anyway.  I am sure you will be fine.

[Palmetto Pilot]

22 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

All I can say is that I have been on over 20 Carnival cruises  out of many different ports and I have never smelled pot or witnessed aggressive behavior.  Even if it is not happening on the vast majority of cruises, my guess is that Christine Duffy released this video to nip this problem in the bud.

 

As a general rule, longer cruises like your 8-dayer are more sedate than the weekend ships, anyway.  I am sure you will be fine.

Consider yourself lucky then. This is a reactionary response. We just sailed on the MG the whole ship reeked of weed. Guy tried to fight people at the Brass Magnolia because someone sat in front of him. These are carnival passengers, and these are the passengers the message is for.

[pmms052999]

2 hours ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

We’re going on our first Carnival cruise this summer. We usually cruise Royal Caribbean out of NJ but getting a bit bored of the same few itineraries, and saw a unique itinerary (8-day eastern Caribbean) on the brand new Venezia for $2000 less than a similar RCI cruise. So I decided to put my pre-conceived, admittedly classist impressions of some Carnival patrons being rowdy, aggressive, party people aside and give it a chance. I probably should have read this board first to get up to speed on Carnival because it sounds like even the president is admitting they have a problem with guest behavior, so maybe there’s something to the negative reputation Carnival has. Did I make a mistake switching from RCI to Carnival?

The longer cruises tend to have a different clientele from what I've noticed.  There are so many people who cannot afford the longer cruises or even take that much time off of work.  Enjoy your trip!

[SRQbeachgirl]

There is another way for Carnival to curb bad behavior besides stronger security, and they have already hinted at it----higher prices. They have stated to their stockholders that they are too much of a value. Not only do the bottom-of-the-barrel prices undercut their earnings, the low rates also attract more customers who may not conduct themselves with appropriate social behavior. They needed to drop their prices after the reopening to get their ships up and running again, but that strategy may have served its usefulness.

[audcc77]

2 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

8 day cruises have a different dynamic from 4 to 5 day cruises.  Having said that, I have encountered no issues with the 5 day  Carnival cruises after Restart, and I have taken five, 5 day cruises from different ports. I hope you have a great cruise!!

I’m with you.
 

I took 7 cruises last year and 3 this year.  No Marijuana smoking or fighting.  

🤷‍♀️
 

I was threatened at the elevator on the MG when some guy jumped the line in front of everyone to disembark though. 😳. That was weird.   He asked if I wanted to “know” him.  😂

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, Palmetto Pilot said:

Consider yourself lucky then. This is a reactionary response.

 

Oh, I am sure it's a reactionary response.  I am not denying that it is happening.  But I don't think it happens on the majority of cruises, especially on the longer ones.  I believe that was the concern of the poster I was responding to.

[geovet]

Just off the Magic and was impressed by the sniffer dog at embark.  People lined up on a wall and all people and bags were check before allowed on board.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Hopefully, this is an 'line in the sand' effort on Carnival's commitment to change the reputation of their cruise brand.  Wholesome fun welcome, but trashy actions are not.

[Elaine5715]

7 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Noted, thank you.  I would just note that I have been surprised as how far the legalization movement has come in the past decade.  I'll be less surprised if it moves further still in the years and decades to come.

There is billions of lobbyists dollars in play.  

[sanmarcosman]

11 hours ago, staceyglow said:

The people who complain that Seaday brunch closes at noon would be losing their minds. 

Because they have the munchies?

[Incognito1]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:53 PM, Denversail said:

5 more years and the cruises will have THC bars.

Doubtful.  Which cruise line would want to be the first to offer that?  You can imagine what their passenger makeup would become.

[Incognito1]

10 hours ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

. Did I make a mistake switching from RCI to Carnival?

You should be fine on an 8-day cruise.  I think most of the problems are the short ones to the Caribbean and/or Spring Break pukefests.

 

[simplelife]

On 2/17/2023 at 2:20 PM, Eli_6 said:

I have not encountered the marijuana smoking everyone else has (maybe the cruises I have gone on), but I have encountered plenty of VERY rude people.  Blatantly cutting in line, making nasty/rude comments out-of-the-blue, rushing to the elevator to cut off the elderly/mobility impaired who had been waiting longer than them, etc. I could go on and on. I have a hard time not saying something when I witness these behaviors, but I have learned (the hard way) that the sort of people who behave in these ways are also the sort of people who get very aggressive and nasty if called out so it is best just to ignore.  I also feel like these bad behaviors have been substantially worse since the restart. It seems like people forgot how to act and be respectful during the shutdown.  Or maybe everyone is just extra stressed out in this world we live in.  

It's bullying, plain and simple. The bullies rely on the polite acceptance, passive silence, or even fear from others as a subtle form of intimidation. The more their behavior goes unchallenged, the more it proliferates. The seemingly simple answer is that the targets should react with more assertiveness, but in today's volatile society this is not always the wise choice. It is up to those in charge to set the tone of civility and use their authority as needed to enforce it.

[nascartim]

On my recent MG cruise, a friend of mine got a bit tipsy while in San Juan port. He happened to have lost his voice that day, which we noticed was going away the day before. Anyway, he was swaying a little while getting back on board. Security asked if he was ok, which he nodded that he was, I'm sure his wife told them he lost his voice, but not because of drinking,  but they probably didn't buy that story, even though it was true. But as long as his wife was taking care of him they let him carry on. The next day he couldn't use his s&s card so went to guest services, they told him security needed to speak to him. He went into a back room w/a member of security.  He came out about 10-15 mins later and told us what happened. He had to write an apology paragraph promising not to be drunk again. Lol, reminds me of 5th grade. But, that was the end of it. We frequently go on Paradise and see drunk people all the time. My friend did not cause any trouble w/anyone or raise his voice to anyone(he couldn't even talk).

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, nascartim said:

On my recent MG cruise, a friend of mine got a bit tipsy while in San Juan port. He happened to have lost his voice that day, which we noticed was going away the day before. Anyway, he was swaying a little while getting back on board. Security asked if he was ok, which he nodded that he was, I'm sure his wife told them he lost his voice, but not because of drinking,  but they probably didn't buy that story, even though it was true. But as long as his wife was taking care of him they let him carry on. The next day he couldn't use his s&s card so went to guest services, they told him security needed to speak to him. He went into a back room w/a member of security.  He came out about 10-15 mins later and told us what happened. He had to write an apology paragraph promising not to be drunk again. Lol, reminds me of 5th grade. But, that was the end of it. We frequently go on Paradise and see drunk people all the time. My friend did not cause any trouble w/anyone or raise his voice to anyone(he couldn't even talk).

Wow, that is bizarre!  Maybe security was having him write it down in case there were any future issues with your friend.  Sounds strange.

[nascartim]

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Wow, that is bizarre!  Maybe security was having him write it down in case there were any future issues with your friend.  Sounds strange.

That could be true, any future problems and he was forewarned. If he had caused any other problems than maybe he would get fined. I guess they need to give out warnings first.