One recent cruise passenger did not get the sympathy they were hoping for when they sent John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s official ambassador, a message on his Facebook page.
The unidentified guest, whom Heald referred to only as “V” to protect their privacy, wrote to the cruise personality because they were told not to feed the seagulls from their cabin’s balcony during a recent Alaska sailing onboard Carnival Luminosa.
“On our cruise on the Luminosa around Alaska and while on our own personal balcony me and my husband were throwing some leftover bread from room service in the air for the seagulls to eat,” wrote V.
“Some busy body reported us. We had someone from security knock on our door and humiliate us by telling us like we were school kids. Seagulls are Gods creatures. I like them, they don’t cause any bother…,” continued the disgruntled passenger.
However, Heald actually had several reasons for why the passengers weren’t allowed to be feeding the birds in the first place – as innocent as the activity may seem.
“I am sure the security team member did not humiliate you but was doing his job to kindly ask you not to feed the birds. I know our wonderful naturalist on board will make announcements not to feed them. When you have dozens of birds attracted to the ship they can make a huge mess as they drop massive dollops of poo all over the ship,” replied Heald.
Additionally, Carnival’s Items Overboard Policy states that “guests are liable for any illegal dumping or pollution of any kind, including discharge of any item into the ocean and/or waterways.” Passengers who don’t follow the policy risk a $500 charge at best to early disembarkation at worst.
“There are of course strict environmental reasons as well. Throwing anything overboard is forbidden and so that includes feeding them,” continued Carnival’s brand ambassador.
It can also be dangerous to feed the local wildlife, as it may encourage them to stop hunting, foraging, or scavenging as they normally would – changing these life-sustaining behaviors and preventing them from getting the nutrients they need to survive.
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It’s unclear which specific sailing the guest took, but the 2,826-passenger vessel is in the middle of many 7-night Alaska cruises based out of Seattle, Washington.
The Spirit-class ship is consistently calling on Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria, British Columbia – with the aforementioned bird feeding incident unfolding while the 92,720-gross ton ship was docked in Ketchikan.
Carnival Cracks Down On Multiple Policies
Carnival might be known as the party cruise line, but that doesn’t mean the brand isn’t afraid to enforce some ground rules. While the cruise line’s recent crack down on multiple policies may seem harsh, these rules are put in place to keep all guests safe and happy.
Earlier this year, the cruise line put measures in place to prevent unauthorized gambling – as no for-cash gambling is outside to take place outside of the casino on any of its 27 ships.
This issue came to light after passengers onboard Carnival Luminosa were caught playing a popular dice game called Left-Center-Right on the ship’s lido desk, with a large number of guests betting on the results of the game.
In February, Carnival also took steps to crack down on its infamous “chair hogging” problem.
One of the biggest guest complaints across the fleet was that it was difficult for guests to secure loungers by the pool because other passengers were saving seats, sometimes for hours at a time, without actually using the chairs.
In response, Carnival is taking steps to enforce its no-saving-chairs policy, which it has dubbed “chairing is caring.”
Crew members are now supposed to place sticker notifications on empty chairs that appear reserved, and to remove any items on those chairs after 40 minutes to allow other cruisers to use the chairs if the guest does not return in the allotted time frame.
“We stopped by at _____ and found this chair empty,” the stickers read. “Hope you’re having a great time… but for the benefit of all we limit how long chairs can be left unattended. At _____ we’ll move your stuff to the towel hut for safekeeping.”
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Most recently, Carnival made headlines for bringing down the hammer on a guest who was trying to cheat the system by tampering with the water bottles in her stateroom to avoid paying for them.
The passenger went viral on TikTok after revealing how she refilled the water bottles with water from the bathroom sink – which is not suitable for drinking – and then resealed the water bottles. She has now been banned from Carnival – and all of its sister brands – for her actions.
