Royal Caribbean Prohibited Items: The Complete Packing Rules

Royal Caribbean's embarkation scanners are strict and consistent. Most denied-boarding stories trace to a few specific mistakes — beer in checked luggage, a surge-protected power strip, an iron tucked into a suitcase. Royal's rules around alcohol are also tighter than Carnival's: one bottle of wine per drinking-age guest, no exceptions, and any port-purchased liquor is held by ship security and returned at the end of the cruise. This guide is the quick reference, drawn from Royal's own FAQ pages.

At a Glance

What You Can Bring

Wine and Champagne

Each drinking-age guest may bring one sealed 750-ml glass bottle of wine or champagne in carry-on at embarkation only. Boxed wine and any other container are not permitted. Consume in your stateroom for free; opening a bottle in any public venue triggers a $15 corkage fee. On consecutive sailings (back-to-back cruises), Royal stores extra bottles and releases one per voyage on the first day. Liquor purchased onboard or in port is held by ship security and returned on the last night of the cruise.

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Up to 12 standard cans, bottles, or cartons (each up to 17 oz / 500 ml) per stateroom — sealed and unopened. Includes water, soda, juice, and energy drinks. Milk and distilled water for infant, medical, or dietary use are not counted against this limit.

Food

Non-perishable, prepackaged food in limited quantities. Baby food, formula, and items required for special diets are accepted. Homemade food, perishables, fresh produce, and meats are not allowed at U.S. embarkation under federal customs rules.

Medications and Medical Equipment

Keep prescription and OTC medications in original containers in your hand luggage. CPAP machines, portable oxygen, dialysis supplies, sharps containers, syringes, and even an extension cord for medical use are all available — submit Royal's Guest Special Needs Form at least 30 days before sailing (60 days for sign-language interpreters). Contact: 866-592-7225 or [email protected].

Electronics and Personal Grooming

Phones, laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras, and chargers are fine. Curling irons, flat irons (hair straighteners), and electric shavers are permitted. Personal hair dryers are technically allowed but Royal notes some specifications may be refused — every stateroom already has a hair dryer, so leave yours home. Smart glasses are allowed but cannot be used in casinos, spas, restrooms, locker rooms, medical facilities, or anywhere with a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Mobility and Accessibility

Strollers, wheelchairs, and personal mobility scooters are welcome and must be stored and recharged in the stateroom. Standard cabin doorways are 23 inches; accessible cabins are 32–34 inches with a 5-foot turning radius. For devices wider than 32 inches, contact the Access Department before booking. Submit the Guest Special Needs Form 30 days out.

Sports Gear and Snorkel Equipment

Personal snorkel gear is allowed — bring it for shore excursions and CocoCay. Golf clubs and fishing equipment may be brought but cannot be used onboard, only in port. Roller blades, skateboards, surfboards, and bicycles "may not be utilized onboard," meaning they are effectively not permitted as cruise gear.

Coolers

Royal Caribbean does not publish a specific cooler size cap. Soft-sided personal coolers for the 12-can beverage allowance are commonly accepted; oversized hard-sided coolers are typically refused at security.

What's Prohibited

Hard Liquor and Beer

No spirits or beer of any kind may be brought aboard, including at ports of call. Liquor purchased ashore or in onboard duty-free shops is held by ship security and returned on the last night. Wine or champagne over the one-bottle-per-adult embarkation allowance is also stored and returned at the end of the cruise.

Irons and Clothing Steamers

No exceptions. Royal explicitly bans both clothing irons and garment steamers — handheld and full-size — as a fire hazard. Self-service launderettes with irons and ironing boards are available on most ships, and Royal offers paid valet pressing for formal nights.

Cannabis and CBD

All cannabis products — including medical marijuana, regardless of state law or doctor's authorization — and all CBD products, including hemp-derived CBD, are prohibited. Possession can result in immediate disembarkation or denial of boarding with no refund.

Open Flame and Fire Hazards

Candles, incense, gas torches, hookahs, sparklers, fireworks, flares, flammable liquids, propane tanks, and any item with an open flame or pilot light are prohibited.

Weapons and Sharp Items

All firearms (including replicas, gun parts, and ammunition), tasers and stun devices, mace, pepper spray, martial arts and self-defense weapons, knives, and tools or scissors with blades over 7 inches are prohibited. Small grooming scissors, nail files, and cuticle tools are explicit exceptions.

Hoverboards and Wheeled Devices

Hoverboards are explicitly banned. Motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs, and similar conveyances are prohibited. Bicycles, surfboards, skateboards, and roller blades may be brought aboard but cannot be used onboard, which makes them effectively impractical to pack.

Heating Appliances

Coffee makers, kettles, hot plates, immersion heaters, electric kettles, water heaters, and rice cookers are all prohibited under Royal's rule against "electrical items not designed for personal grooming."

Surge-Protected Power Strips and Extension Cords

Royal explicitly prohibits all extension cords, power strips, multi-plug outlets, power boards, and surge-protected power boards. There is no allowance for non-surge versions either — all extension cords are banned. Look for travel-sized USB-only multi-port chargers as the workaround. The only exception is a medical-use extension cord requested via the Special Needs Form.

Gray Area — Bring It But Check First

Service Animals

Trained service animals are permitted; emotional support animals are explicitly not recognized. Notify Royal at the time of booking. UK and EU itineraries require a pet passport with rabies vaccination and tapeworm treatment 24–120 hours before UK arrival. Carry copies of all vaccination records and leave a copy at Guest Relations. The guest is responsible for all port-of-call documentation and fees.

Drones

Drones may be brought aboard for personal use only and must remain stored in the stateroom for the entire voyage — they cannot be operated onboard, at Perfect Day at CocoCay, or at Labadee. Operating a drone onboard results in confiscation until end of cruise and possible disembarkation at the guest's expense.

Vapes and E-Cigarettes

Vapes, e-cigarettes, and mods can be brought aboard but are treated identically to cigarettes for usage. Permitted only in designated outdoor smoking areas (typically starboard side). Smoking or vaping in any stateroom or on any stateroom balcony triggers a $250 cleaning fee on the SeaPass account, with possible further action.

Distilled Water for CPAP

Permitted as a carve-out from the 12-can beverage limit. Royal will also deliver distilled water to your stateroom on request — submit the Special Needs Form at least 30 days before sailing.

Outside Cakes and Decorations

Royal does not specifically address outside birthday cakes; under their food rule, only non-perishable prepackaged food is officially allowed, so a perishable bakery cake falls outside the policy. Royal Gifts sells birthday packages with cakes, balloons, door magnets, and ceiling decor — typically the cleanest path. Helium balloons are commonly tolerated; candles and open flames are not.

Dive Knives

Recreational dive knives must be declared at boarding and are held by ship Security. They're released for shore use only and returned on the final morning.

What Happens at the Scanner

All luggage passes through security scanning at embarkation. When something prohibited is detected:

• Your bag is pulled aside for hand inspection, which delays luggage delivery to your stateroom.

• Wine over the one-bottle limit, port-purchased liquor, and onboard duty-free liquor are stored and returned at the end of the cruise.

• Banned items like irons, steamers, surge protectors, hoverboards, and candles are typically confiscated and discarded — Royal does not return them at debarkation.

• Cannabis or CBD discovery results in immediate disembarkation or denial of boarding with no refund and possible referral to law enforcement.

• Smoking or vaping in any stateroom or on any balcony is a $250 charge per incident on your SeaPass account, with possible further action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

All policies above are drawn from Royal Caribbean's published help pages. For the latest rules, including any updates after this guide was written:

• Royal Caribbean prohibited items — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/prohibited-items-onboard-policy

• Royal Caribbean alcohol policy — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-alcohol-guest-policy

• Royal Caribbean food and drink policy — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy

• Royal Caribbean smoking and vaping policy — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-smoking-policy

• Royal Caribbean drones policy — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-guests-bring-drones-onboard

• Royal Caribbean service animal policy — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-service-animal-policy

• Royal Caribbean Guest Special Needs Form — https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs

Plan Your Royal Caribbean Cruise with Pride Travelers

Royal Caribbean has the deepest itinerary catalog in the industry — Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alaska, Asia, and the largest ships afloat. We help travelers pick the right ship, the right cabin category, and the right week of the year, and we walk you through the embarkation-day rules so the only baggage hold-up you experience is your own forgotten passport.

Whether you're booking a long-weekend Bahamas run on Allure or a 14-night Mediterranean voyage on Wonder, we'll get you on board with what you need and without what you don't.