What are the nine worst packing mistakes that cruisers can and do make that could
also get them into a lot of trouble? I'm Gary Bembridge and this is another of my
tips for travellers. There are 9 packing mistakes that could end up
getting you into a lot of trouble, starting with this one: Drugs.
Bringing on board drugs could get you into a lot of trouble. Now, there's the
obvious ones which are illegal drugs, and people have been caught on cruises ships
surprisingly often, for example even in the last year there was a couple aged 71 and
72 called Roger and Sue Clark, some pensioners from the UK that were
arrested in Lisbon carrying many kilograms /20 pounds of cocaine. They got
up to eight years in prison. Also in the same year two men were arrested trying to
bring drugs on board the Allure of the Seas in Miami, and there's another famous
case where a group of girls who were known as the "Instagram cruise drug babes" were
arrested in Sydney trying to smuggle drugs on to Princess Cruises.
It's obvious, of course, bringing on board illegal drugs is a big issue
however you also need to be extremely careful with prescription, or even
over-the-counter drugs, because in some places you're cruising to you you might
find that they're also illegal. For example if you're cruising into
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, there's a lot of drugs which you can get in the West
are illegal, like any drugs with codeine. Even simple
drugs like Tylenol Arthritis relief is illegal in that country and can get you in a
lot of trouble. A gentleman was arrested and held in
prison for many months for trying to bring Temazepam
into the United Arab Emirates. In Japan there's also lots of restrictions as
well. Even Sudafed for example you have an issue bringing into Japan. So,
very importantly if you are going on a cruise and you have even OTC drugs, you
know drugs you buy over the counter, check that you can
bring those into the country especially if disembarking there, and if you have a
prescription drug that you're taking with you my big tip is keep it in
the original packaging, so they can see your name, and ideally also have a copy
of your prescription or a letter from your doctor. Be careful as even those
simple drugs you bring on board could get you into a lot of trouble.
The second area that could get you into a lot of trouble if you pack them are
remote control devices and things that can be launched off a ship. Even
simple balloons are no longer allowed on most cruise lines! You can't bring
balloons on board because the concern that you'll release those balloons off a
ship and it will endanger marine life. If you want to bring a drone on a cruise,
you pretty much excluded by all cruise lines. I've tried many times to get
drones on board and very few cruise lines will even
let you bring them on board. Some cruise lines will let you hand them over to
security and they will let you get it when you get on and off the ship, but pretty much
every single cruise ship will ban drones. They ban also things like
remote-controlled aircraft. At the time of recording, Royal Caribbean and
Carnival are the only ones that will let you bring drones on board and normally keep
them with security and they will let you use them when you head off on a port.
I've tried many times with cruise lines to bring my drone onboard and even with
lots of guarantees and working with the PR teams, it is refused and what will
happen is you'll find it's confiscated and you'll only get it back at the
end of the cruise. The third area that could cause our problems for you is not
packing for the dress code. Depending on the cruise you go on, they will have
different restrictions. If you're heading, for example, on a very formal
cruise like on Cunard , Princess and Holland America they
have formal nights where they require gentlemen to wear jackets
normally with a tie or a tuxedo and they'll require ladies to wear very elegant
gowns and you can't get into any of the key dining venues without that dress
code. Some cruise lines will not let you go into the public areas,
they won't even let you go watch the show or go to the casino or whatever, if
you're not in the dress code. So, really importantly make sure that you've packed
for the dress code, of course the converse is true if you're going on a
nice relaxed cruise you don't wanna be bringing all your fancy gear because you
may not get a chance to wear it. Understand if there's
any other restrictions, so for example, one or two Cruise Lines have banned
fancy dress after they had a whole of problems with
inappropriate fancy dress and some cruise lines are really strict around fancy
dress and clothing, particular with slogans, and they will only let you bring on
fancy dress relevant to a particular theme and those
themes tend to be fairly innocuous like "white night party" or "red, white and blue".
You may not be able to bring that fancy dress and, depending
where you're going, don't pack camouflage gear as some islands
particular even in the Caribbean will not let you wear camouflage gear outside
about. If you or your kids have
things like those shoes with little wheels on most cruise lines also don't
allow those. When you're packing have a think around the dress code and
check if your particular cruise line has any quirks around what you can
wear. For example some cruise lines will let you wear jeans to dinner if
they're dark smart jeans but won't let you wear faded or ripped jeans, so that's
something important to bear in mind. Another really big
packing mistake that I have seen a lot of people make, is packing valuables
and things that they really don't want to lose in their check-in bags. Make sure
that you keep all of those in your carry-on bags. I've had people contacted
me talking about how they've had really valuable stuff in their check on
bags which either have gone missing or have been damaged, and then they've had no
recourse for those. So, really important things like your passports, medications,
if you've got camera equipment, laptops smartphones and anything that is valuable
like your precious jewels if you're taking those for some reason on a cruise
with you, it's a really important if you have anything valuable whether it's even
sentimental value to keep that with you in your carry-on bags, do not put it in the
bags that you hand in. Another important no-no when it comes to packing
is to pack anything that has an open flame or is flammable. You can't bring
fireworks or anything like that, you can't bring candles, you can't bring
incense burners and anything with live flames are not allowed on a cruise ship.
Fire is the thing that captains and crew fear more than
anything else. It is the most dangerous thing to happen at sea so all live
flames are banned. For example you might have seen in a restaurant they
have tea lights with battery-operated fake flames and things like that to avoid having live flames. The
only time you'll ever see live flames is if you're on one of those
cruises where they do some flambe like for
crepe suzettes or duck at your table, and then it is really
strictly controlled with a fire blanket and fire extinguishers and all that kind
of stuff. Anything that's even vaguely flammable do not pack in your bags. Next
tip is also a linked to that you can't bring on pretty much any
anything that has some sort of heating element to it, so you find whilst
most cruise lines will let you bring on board hair dryers, and some
of them might even let you bring on curling tongs but not all of them, but
you can't bring on things like irons, travel irons, kettles, coffee makers
hot plates or anything bizarre like that which has a heating element you
cannot bring that on board. Also if you are traveling with kids,
particularly young kids and you need a bottle steriliser or a bottle warmer,
check if your Cruise Line lets you bring that. Disney does not
allow parents to bring on sterilisers and bottle warmers and they require you to
work with your cabin steward or you can talk to guest relations and they
will give you some equipment, but you can't bring your own on board.
Anything that's got a heating element don't bring on board because they will
check for it and screen for that and will confiscate it. Even if
you're heading off on a celebratory cruise, particularly Christmas
or something like that, you can't even bring those light strings like
Christmas lights and things like that they will not let you bring on board. The
next packing mistake is around packing anything that is, or could be perceived
as being some kind of weapon or could be used as a weapon. This is very important
because all though there's the obvious things you can't bring like shotguns and
pistols or long knives with you, there's a bunch of
things that you might end up bringing on board that could get you into trouble
without realising it. For example, you can't bring on board replicas so if your
kids have play replica guns you probably will find those are not
allowed. There's also lots of restrictions on
self-defense equipment, so if you perhaps want to bring some handcuffs with you
for whatever reason or pepper spray and those kind of things, you can't bring
those with you. Surprisingly you also can't bring along things that
are sports equipment that could be used as weapons, so you can't
bring things like cricket bats and baseball bats or anything that looks like a club.
You'll find that cruise lines will not let you bring that on board and if
they find that in your luggage they will take it out, confiscate it
and give it to you at the end of the cruise. When it comes to knives
and sharp objects, most of the rules said you can't bring any knife that is longer
than four inches long (10 centimetres), the only
exception to that are those old-fashioned safety razors but again if
you are bringing on board you might find you have some difficulties. Anything
that's perceived as or could be a weapon is restricted and would be a big mistake
to pack. Another big packing mistake is bringing too much alcohol with you.
I have done a video where I talk about the great lengths that people
will go to to smuggle booze on board. Most cruise liners will allow you to
bring either one or two bottles of wine or champagne on board
with you per person within your luggage, and anything over that they will clamp down
on and take it away. If you're out on an excursion and you go to
a winery or you just buy some alcohol, spirits, wine ,champagne or whatever,
when you come back on board the cruise line will take that away from you and
they'll hold it till the end of the cruise. When you're
packing you need to be careful about how much booze you bring on board.
Some cruise lines even restrict things like water, sodas and that kind of
stuff, so make sure you really understand what you are allowed to pack so you
don't get into trouble. My next tip is around the whole area of musical
equipment and instruments. Pretty much every single Cruise Line will allow you
to bring onboard a musical instrument, and you are allowed to play that unless
they get complaints. You can bring onboard musical instruments and
play those in your cabin. Don't play them out on deck ! I've been on cruises where people
do this and that's really annoying and it's certainly one way that's going to
irritate other passengers! When it comes to things like things playing music,
you'll find that pretty much every single Cruise Line will not let you pack
and bring big Boom Boxes. They will let you bring onboard smaller musical
devices which they ask that you only play with in your cabin. You cannot
play your own music out on deck and need to use earphones. The rules
says play within your cabin and again if you get complaints from your
neighbors it will be taken away from you. I've done a video about music
being played on balconies and music being played on balconies is not something
that cruise lines will encourage or in fact if you get complaints you will find
your equipment will be taken away from you. When packing for a cruise it is important
that you avoid these mistakes so you don't get yourself into a pickle and
into trouble. These are the nine mistakes that I have seen people make all the
time and they some of them are quite easy to make. I hope you found that helpful.
I have many more videos of cruise tips so why don't you watch another one of
those right now?