What items are not allowed on Princess Cruises?

What items are not allowed on Princess Cruises: Beverage rules

Understanding what items are not allowed on Princess Cruises helps passengers pack efficiently. Certain beverages and specific container sizes face restrictions or total bans. Overlooking these policies creates unnecessary delays during boarding security. Travelers should review the strict rules on permitted liquids to safeguard their vacation experience from avoidable stress.

Understanding the Princess Cruises Banned Items List

What items are not allowed on Princess Cruises? Prohibited items on cruise ships Princess include weapons, illegal drugs (including CBD), and fire hazards like clothing irons, steamers, and hot plates. You also cannot bring surge-protected power strips, drones for onboard use, or hard liquor like vodka and bourbon.

Packing for a cruise feels like preparing for a month-long expedition. You want to bring everything. But maritime safety rules are incredibly strict, and throwing the wrong item in your bag usually results in confiscation - or worse, denied boarding.

Many travelers expect obvious items like fireworks or weapons to be banned, but everyday electrical accessories can also cause problems at boarding. Surge-protected power strips are a common example because they are not suitable for cruise ship electrical systems.

The Fire Hazard Rule: Appliances and Electronics

Fire is the absolute greatest danger at sea. Because of this, heat-producing appliances are strictly banned across the entire fleet.

This means clothing irons, travel steamers, kettles, hot plates, and coffee makers must stay home. If you are worried about wrinkled formal wear, pack a wrinkle-release spray. Alternatively, use the self-service launderettes available on most Princess ships.

Surge Protectors vs. Regular Extension Cords

Here is the counterintuitive mistake I mentioned earlier: packing a standard surge protector. Most people assume they are being safe. Not quite.

Passenger-brought surge protectors pose ^[1] a fire risk on cruise ships due to incompatibility with the ships electrical system. This is why the Princess Cruises surge protector rule is enforced so aggressively by security teams.

A safer option is to bring a basic, non-surge-protected cruise power hub if you need extra outlets. Always check that the device does not include surge protection before packing it.

Hair Straighteners and Curling Irons

Are hair straighteners allowed on Princess Cruises? Yes. This trips up a lot of people.

Unlike whether are steamers allowed on Princess Cruises, curling irons, hair straighteners, and blow dryers are permitted. The ships electrical system can handle them safely. Just remember to unplug them immediately after use.

Princess Cruises Alcohol and Beverage Policy

The beverage policy causes endless confusion. You absolutely cannot bring liquor, spirits, or beer onboard.

However, adults of drinking age should know the Princess Cruises alcohol policy carry on allows one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per person on embarkation day. If you drink it in your stateroom, it is completely free. Bring it to a main dining room, and you will pay a 20 USD corkage fee. ^[2]

For non-alcoholic drinks, you can bring a maximum of 12 sealed cans or cartons per person. Each container must be 12 ounces or less. ^[4] Bottled water and plastic sodas are generally prohibited to reduce environmental waste.

Surprise Prohibited Items: CBD and Drones

Some rules feel stricter than passengers expect, especially around marijuana-related products. Medical marijuana and CBD oil may be legal in some places on land, but they are not treated as acceptable items under cruise policies.

Because ships travel in federal waters and enter foreign ports, all forms of marijuana and CBD are strictly prohibited, regardless of your local state laws or prescriptions. Bringing them can result in immediate disembarkation and legal trouble.

Drones are another tricky area. Can I bring a drone on Princess Cruises? Technically yes, but with massive restrictions. You absolutely cannot fly it on the ship. You also cannot fly it at Princess private destinations like Princess Cays. It must remain stored safely in your cabin until you reach a port that legally allows it.

How Princess Compares to Other Cruise Lines

Cruise line rules are not universal. What flies on Carnival might get confiscated on Princess. Here is how the prohibited items lists compare across the big three.

Princess Cruises

• Strictly limited to 12 cans/cartons of 12 ounces or less per person. No plastic bottles.
• Allowed onboard for port use only, but strictly banned from flight on the ship or at private islands.
• One 750ml bottle per adult on embarkation day.

Carnival Cruise Line

• Allows 12 cans/cartons per person, similar to Princess, but strictly enforces the no-plastic-bottles rule.
• Drones are allowed onboard for use in port, but must be held by the Chief Security Officer during the cruise.
• One 750ml bottle per adult on embarkation day.

Royal Caribbean

• Allows up to 12 standard cans, bottles, or cartons per stateroom, not per person.
• Allowed onboard but cannot be flown on the ship or at Perfect Day at CocoCay.
• Two 750ml bottles per stateroom on embarkation day.

The Photography Gear Confiscation

Mark, a photographer from Chicago, packed heavily for his 7-day Alaskan cruise. He needed to charge three camera batteries, a laptop, and his phone daily. Knowing cabin outlets are scarce, he packed his trusty surge-protected power strip.

When his suitcase failed to arrive at his stateroom by 8 PM, he had to visit the security office on deck 4. He was annoyed and confused, assuming they had lost his bag.

Security informed him that surge protectors are a massive fire hazard on ungrounded ship systems. They confiscated the strip immediately. He argued that it was an expensive, high-quality device, but the rules were non-negotiable. He was left with only two European outlets and one US outlet for all his gear.

The next morning, he spent 45 USD buying a cruise-approved, non-surge power hub at the ship's boutique. He learned that simply verifying the allowed items list could have saved him money and extreme frustration on his first night.