15 Things You Must NEVER DO on Your Cruise Ship Balcony
One of the reasons to book a balcony cabin when you cruise is to allow you to have some outside space that’s ‘yours’. Nobody else will be out there - it’s your own personal space that you can enjoy throughout your cruise. It gives you the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle elsewhere around the ship, and it allows you to catch a glimpse of the port (or the sea) in the morning without even sorting your hair.
You might think that this sounds perfect but, before you get too excited, you should know that there are some things that you shouldn’t be doing out there, and I’m going to tell you what some of them are right here.
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Okay, let’s get started!
Cruise ship balconies aren’t always a private oasis away from prying eyes and ears…
1. You Must NEVER Climb, Sit or Stand on Cruise Ship Balcony Railings
This one might sound obvious, but you don’t need to search too far online to find photos and videos of people sitting and standing on cruise ship railings, including those found on private balconies.
All is takes is a simple loss of balance, and you could fall from the balcony, which is almost always a disastrous situation. Think about it - you’re high up. If you’re on deck 12 (for example) of the ship, you’re roughly 12 stories above the surface of the water below. You wouldn’t sit on a balcony railing on level 12 of an apartment building, would you?
Heights can be deceiving on cruise ships, but trust me - you’re high up out there!
Height-aside, if you were to go overboard, a full emergency stop of the ship would be required (which takes time) followed by a full search and rescue operation.
It’s not worth it - if there are more of you on the balcony than there are seats, just move to somewhere else to sit down - never risk sitting on the railings!
Always be careful around cruise ship railings and barriers…
2. Never Smoke on Your Cruise Ship Balcony!
Okay, this one comes with a huge caveat. You should never smoke on your cruise ship balcony, unless you’re cruising on a ship that allows passengers to smoke out there.
Smoking on cruise ships is usually restricted to very specific areas, for obvious reasons. The threat of fire on a cruise ship from smoking debris is so high, and fire is among the worst scenarios you could imagine while you’re ‘at sea’. You’ll usually find that smoking is permitted in an area of the Promenade Deck, the Top Deck, and also sometimes in the Casino (although this is becoming less common nowadays).
Some cruise lines also allow passengers to smoke on their private balconies, and they’ll provide ashtrays to facilitate this in the safest possible way.
I should stress - cruise lines that allow smoking on balconies are in the minority, but they do exist. If you’re in doubt, just check with your cruise line either before your cruise, or as soon as you get onboard the ship.
Smoking is often restricted to the open deck spaces, but some cruise lines allow it on passenger cabin balconies, too!
3. Never Go Out to Your Balcony Before Getting Dressed!
You’ve got your own private balcony, which means you can just pop outside as you arrive in to port without being seen, right? Well, not exactly…
Remember that, if your balcony wall is glass (most of them are), then that glass won’t be one-way. In other words, if you can see through it, there’s an incredibly high chance that the people ashore watching the ship will also be able to see through it.
Lots of people assume that there’s a degree of privacy on a cruise ship balcony due to the fact that there are so many of them. However, trust me - if you see something of interest on a balcony, you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it…!
It’s not just the general public ashore that you should be aware of. Some cruise ports have content creators who live stream the arrivals and departures of cruise ships. Some examples include Funchal (Madeira) and Southampton (England). If you’re arriving or departing from one of these ports by cruise ship, there’s a fair chance that your ship will be live-streamed online to thousands of people.
In that scenario, you probably don’t want to be filmed popping outside to check the weather in your underwear, do you? Here’s an example from one such YouTube channel - ‘Solent Ships’, which focusses on the Port of Southampton.
4. Never Use Your Balcony When You’re Told Not to!
Don’t worry - your cruise ship balcony will be available to you most of the time during your cruise, but there are a few situations that can arise that sometimes result in the closure of these areas.
First, bad weather. If there are high winds outside, heavy seas, or significant spray from the ocean, the decision will sometimes be made to close the outside deck spaces for safety reasons. This will often include the closure of guest balconies.
If this decision is made, the Captain or Cruise Director will usually make an announcement over the ship’s intercom, so don’t worry about not knowing if you can use it or not!
Second, medical evacuations. If one of your fellow passengers becomes seriously unwell at any point during the cruise, it may be necessary to perform a medical evacuation. These can take place either by sea or by air, but it’s likely that during this time you’ll be asked to avoid using your balcony. This is for a few reasons, but mostly due to possible wind if there’s a helicopter involved, and also for guest privacy at what would be a really difficult time.
It’s unlikely that your balcony will be ‘out of bounds’ during your cruise, but it is possible - don’t use it if you’re told not to!
Public deck spaces and balconies can be closed if required.
5. Never Throw Anything Overboard.
This one is so simple. If you’re thinking about throwing anything over the side of the ship, don’t do it. This includes EVERYTHING: cigarette ends, paper straw covers, your used Bingo card from the game you’ve just played, the napkin you’ve found in your pocket… You get the picture - everything!
Disposing of anything over the side of the ship isn’t just frowned upon - it will likely breach what’s known as your passenger contract with the cruise line. If you breach the conditions of this contract, you can be asked to leave the ship at the next port of call, and your onward travel will be entirely at your own expense…
Long story short - don’t throw anything off the ship - dispose of it in your cabin’s trash can.
Got something you’d like to dispose of? Use your cabin’s trash can - never throw it over the side of the ship!
6. Don’t Hang Laundry on the Balcony - It Could Go Overboard!
I know so many people who travel with string or wire, which they then use later in the cruise to act as a clothes line on the balcony. They wrap the wire around pillars or dividers on either side of their balcony, and then they hang their wet laundry (or swimsuits) on the line, much like what you would do at home.
My word of warning with this one is that it’s often windy on cruise ships when the ship is actively sailing, and those pegs that you use at home aren’t designed to withstand windy conditions like that. That could mean that your favourite t-shirt or jumper that’s hanging on your line is likely to end up in the ocean, which is never a good thing…
Most cruise ships will offer a retractable washing line in the cabin bathroom, which I often find perfect for hanging anything wet in my cabin. I find that clothes rarely dry fully outside anyway, so I prefer to hang items that need to dry in my shower enclosure overnight - that usually does the trick!
One final point on this is that, if you’re cruising in a warm climate, it can often be humid. Humid climates are incredibly difficult for drying clothes, so perhaps leave the wire at home, and be prepared to hang in your air conditioned cabin, if you really need to!
7. Don’t Have Loud Conversations on Your Balcony.
If you’re spending time on your balcony, you probably want to be listening to the noise of the waves, or maybe even enjoying the sounds coming from the port that you’re visiting. It’s highly likely that you don’t want to sit and listen to your neighbours talking about things like last night’s dinner at great volume, or telling each other stories about their home lives.
If you’re sharing your balcony space with someone, remember that your cabin mate isn’t far away - there’s no need to shout!
Cruise ship balconies don’t have any sound-proofing between them, meaning that sounds and noise will travel further than you might think!
8. Don’t Talk About Anything That You Wouldn’t Want Someone Else to Hear!
Following from the above point, it’s important to always remember that privacy is limited on a cruise ship balcony, particularly when it comes to audio.
The dividers on either side of the balcony will likely have gaps around the sides and at the bottom, allowing sound to pass through really easily. That means that, if there’s someone sitting out on their balcony a few doors along, they’re probably going to be able to hear what you’re talking about if you’re saying it loudly enough.
If you’ve got something to discuss that you don’t want aired publicly, just take that conversation inside your cabin - you’ll be far more private in there!
9. Don’t Play Loud Music on Your Balcony!
This one’s in a similar vain to point 7. Your neighbours don’t want to listen to your favourite song, nor do you want to sit and listen to theirs.
Most cruise ships will offer access to music and radio stations through the cabin TV, or through built-in speakers that play into the cabin, but these will never play onto the balcony. If you’d like to enjoy your music, just head inside your cabin and press play.
It’s worth adding that some cruise lines have now banned personal audio speakers of certain sizes on their ships. If you’re found bringing a speaker onboard any of their ships, it’ll likely be confiscated! To check the prohibited items for your specific cruise line, be sure to check out their website well in advance of sailing, and don’t get caught out!
There will be plenty of loud music at the onboard party venues - you don’t need to be playing it on your balcony, too!
10. Don’t Feed Wildlife from your Cruise Ship Balcony!
I can’t believe this one has made it onto the list, but I recently took a cruise in the Mediterranean and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw passengers feeding the sea birds out on deck, and also from their balconies!
There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t be feeding the wildlife when you cruise. For starters, it’s not natural. We don’t want to attract birds to the ships, as they’ll then create a high degree of nuisance onboard.
Second, if there are birds, then there’s going to be poop. Don’t put yourself (or your fellow passengers) at risk - leave the birds alone, and they also won’t bother you.
Also, it’s not just birds that we’re talking about here - don’t even think about throwing food from the ship into the ocean - the dolphins and the whales aren’t looking for your burger or French fries from the poolside!
Avoid feeding any wildlife on your cruise - you won’t be helping it long-term, and you risk injury to both you and them!
11. Don’t Leave Your Balcony Lights on When You’re Not Out There!
There are three main reasons why you shouldn’t leave your balcony lights on when you’re not out there benefitting from them.
First, power consumption. Every light bulb that’s ‘on’ around the ship is causing the ship itself to work a little harder to generate the power it needs. Okay, this isn’t going to be an issue with one or two tiny light bulbs, but imagine if everyone left their light on. This could result in THOUSANDS of lights being powered unnecessarily.
You wouldn’t leave thousands of lights powered on at home, would you?
Second, insects… This isn’t usually an issue if the ship’s actively sailing, but you could encounter insects if you leave your lights on when the ship is docked in port during the evening. I’ve taken multiple cruises where my ship has remained in port well into the evening - I even had one cruise sail away from Costa Rica around 10pm. By this point, it was dark outside, and bugs would be attracted to the lights of the ship, in the same way that they would be to a light in a street in the town. You’re far less likely to get bothered by any bugs or insects if your lights are off - it’s exactly the same as at home!
Third, common courtesy. If your next door neighbour is relaxing at the end of their evening, and trying to do some star-gazing, they’re not going to be thrilled if you’ve gone out for the night (or gone to bed) and left your balcony lights on. This will limit what they’re able to see, and for no reason other than the fact you forgot to turn it off…
Any lights on the ship while it’s docked in port could attract bugs and insects: keep yours off if you can!
12. Don’t Leave Your Balcony Door Open when You’re Not Using it!
If you’re new to cruising, then you won’t know this, but an open balcony door can create a ‘wind tunnel’ effect when the main door of the cabin is opened at the same time. This can mean that, if you’ve left your balcony door open, it can become incredibly difficult (and messy!) to re-enter your cabin at the end of the night.
There’s also a wildlife risk with this - you’ll have heard horror stories in the past of passengers returning to their cabins to find things like birds waiting for them, simply due to the fact that they left their balcony door open. I’ve also seen videos online of someone who returned to their cabin to find BATS in the room!
Wildlife aside, you’ll likely find that your air conditioning system will stop if you open the door to your balcony. This will mean that your cabin won’t be temperature regulated anymore, making it less comfortable to spend time in. I always recommend closing the door, even if you’re out on the balcony - that way, you’ll have a nice temperature-controlled cabin to re-enter when you’re done outside.
In the video below, you’ll see one situation where there were LOTS of birds in someone’s cabin onboard a Carnival cruise ship!
Not using your balcony? No problem - keep the door closed!
13. Don’t Take Furniture from Inside your Cabin onto Your Balcony.
Cruise ship balconies will typically come equipped with two chairs and a small table. Some lines will also provide you with two small foot-stools out there, but you won’t usually have more furniture than this.
Cruise ship balconies generally aren’t large, so additional furniture would be a tight squeeze. I’ve seen it in the past where people have removed their balcony furniture and have brought things like armchairs out from the inside of their cabin.
I’ve also seen passengers remove their balcony furniture and take their mattresses out onto the balcony to relax on, which is a huge ‘no-no’ for so many reasons!
Long story short - if there’s furniture inside your cabin, it’s intended to be INSIDE your cabin. If there’s furniture on your balcony, then it’s probably intended to be on your balcony. Don’t mix them up - you’re only going to get yourself into trouble!
If the furniture’s inside your cabin, keep it there - don’t take it out onto the balcony…
You might be surprised by how much furniture is already on your balcony. Here’s a Suite onboard Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady.
14. Don’t Decorate your Balcony with Anything that Could Blow or Fall Off!
Passengers often decorate their cabin or stateroom doors, but did you know that so many people also choose to decorate their balconies?
I’ve seen all sorts, from banners to stickers, and even lighting!
I crossed the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2 shortly before Christmas, and I noticed that quite a lot of balconies had things like tinsel wrapped around the railing. There were some that also had fairy lights hanging outside, which I did have to double-take at - I couldn’t believe people had space in their luggage to pack Christmas lights…!
These things are probably fine if they stay on the ship, but remember that you can face tough weather when you’re ‘at sea’. That tinsel that’s wrapped around your railing probably isn’t designed for much more than hanging on a Christmas tree inside a home, never mind the gale-force winds that you’re testing it with in the middle of the ocean.
Be careful with what decorating you do outside your cabin - if it goes overboard, it’s as bad as littering. I’d ask yourself the question - do you really need to be doing it?
15. Never Do Anything on Your Cruise Ship Balcony That You Wouldn’t want Other People to See…
I don’t think I need to say any more on this one - I’ll leave you to think about it. We’ve covered so many different things in this post, but in short… If you don’t want someone else to see what you’re doing, then don’t do it out on your cruise ship balcony!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. If you have, remember not to keep it to yourself - please share it with anyone you know who might find it useful. If you’d like to check out another of my posts, you’ll find all of my cruise tips here, or by using the menu at the top of the page.
Next, come and check me out over on YouTube! In the video below, I share with you 10 things that you must never do at a cruise ship buffet - enjoy, and happy cruising!