Passport Changes You May Not Have Known Were Coming
There are some travel changes that feel dramatic.
This one feels more like someone quietly moved your favorite chair and didn’t tell you.
The U.S. State Department has ordered certain nonprofit public libraries to stop processing passport applications as official Passport Acceptance Facilities. This began rolling out in late 2025, and affected libraries were told their authorization would end in early 2026. The effective date most commonly cited is February 13, 2026.
If your local library offered passport appointments and suddenly stopped, this is likely why.
Let’s walk through what’s actually happening, who is affected, and what this means for blind and low vision travelers who have relied heavily on library services.
Cruise Perks You Didn’t Know Were Included (You Just Have to Ask)
There is a moment on almost every cruise when someone realizes they have been doing it wrong.
It usually happens quietly. Maybe you see a neighbor on their balcony, wrapped in a plush bathrobe, coffee in hand, ocean air rolling in like it was ordered specially for them. Or you overhear someone casually mention they had the dining room pack up dessert to take back to their cabin. Or you stumble into afternoon tea and wonder why no one told you this was a thing.
Here is the truth we have learned, cruise after cruise.
Cruise ships are full of perks that people assume cost extra. In reality, many of them are already included in your fare. They are not hidden. They are not secret. They are simply unadvertised.
And the key to unlocking them is surprisingly simple.
You just ask.
At Blind Travels, we love this kind of travel knowledge. Not because it makes us feel clever, but because it makes cruising easier, more comfortable, more fun, and more accessible for everyone. Whether this is your first cruise or your fifteenth, there is something here you probably did not know.
Let’s dig in.
Things You Should Not Bring on a Cruise Ship (Even Though They Seem Totally Fine)
Packing for a cruise feels deceptively simple.
You’re not hopping between hotels. You’re unpacking once. You’ve got a cabin, daily cleaning, food everywhere, and a floating city designed to make life easy. That’s exactly why people tend to get creative with what they bring, and exactly how perfectly normal items end up confiscated at the pier.
Cruise ship security isn’t trying to ruin your vacation. They’re trying to keep thousands of people safe in a self-contained environment where fire, power, food safety, and local laws matter more than convenience.
The tricky part is that many prohibited items don’t feel dangerous. Some feel clever. Some feel cozy. Some feel like things you’ve brought on every other vacation without issue.
Before your dream cruise turns into an awkward conversation with ship security, here are the things that seem harmless, but really aren’t, and what to bring instead.
Curtains, DIY Cabin Dividers, and Hanging Fabric
This one surprises people.
Bringing your own curtains, room dividers, or hanging fabric panels might feel like a smart way to create privacy or block light. On a cruise ship, it’s a safety problem. Anything hung in a cabin can interfere with fire suppression systems or block escape routes during an emergency.
Things Every Smart Cruiser Does on Embarkation Day
Embarkation day has a very specific sound.
Rolling suitcases rattling across metal thresholds. Crew members calling cheerful greetings while moving at double speed. Elevators chiming endlessly. Somewhere nearby, music is already playing and the smell of food drifts up from multiple directions at once. Everyone feels that same low-grade pressure: I should be doing something right now.
Smart cruisers feel it too. They just don’t let it run the day.
Embarkation day rewards people who slow down, make a few deliberate choices, and let everyone else sprint past them toward long lines and unnecessary stress. You don’t need to do everything on day one. You just need to do the right things.
Here’s how smart cruisers move through embarkation day, calmly, efficiently, and with their future selves in mind.
TSA Changes For 2026 Are Already Catching Travelers Off Guard
Air travel security is in the middle of a major transition, and if TSA screening feels inconsistent lately, you’re not imagining it. New technology, new staffing, and evolving enforcement rules are reshaping the airport experience, sometimes smoothly, sometimes not.
Here’s what’s changing, what’s confusing people the most, and how to get through security with fewer surprises in 2026.
1. TSA Is Hiring Fast, And Training Is Still Catching Up
Transportation Security Administration is hiring thousands of new officers nationwide. Long-term, this should mean shorter lines and faster screening.
Short-term, it means you’re more likely to encounter agents who are still learning the nuances of screening. That can lead to bags being checked even if they were packed the exact same way last year.
Cruise Buffet Mistakes Even Seasoned Cruisers Make (And How to Avoid Them)
Cruise ship buffets are one of the great paradoxes of vacation life. They promise freedom, variety, and the kind of casual abundance that feels illegal on land. They also quietly derail otherwise perfect cruises when approached without a plan.
This isn’t about rules. It’s about flow.
If you’ve ever walked out of the buffet feeling uncomfortably full, oddly unsatisfied, or slightly annoyed at humanity, you’ve already met the problem. The buffet rewards people who move with intention and punishes those who treat it like a competitive sport.
Before we dive in, quick note for our blind and low vision readers. We have a dedicated guide with strategies specifically designed for navigating buffet lines, stations, and seating with confidence. That article is linked below and pairs perfectly with what you’re about to read.
This guide is for everyone. New cruisers. Experienced cruisers. People who “don’t usually do the buffet” but somehow end up there every day anyway.
Let’s fix the mistakes quietly ruining good meals at sea.
Cruise Line Extras: Which Ones Are Worth It and Which Aren’t
We pulled out of Aruba before sunrise, the horizon glowing like a promise. On the balcony, coffee in hand with a warm danish on a small plate, the ocean breathing gently below. That quiet, lazy start to the day is one of the reasons we choose Royal Caribbean over others. It’s not just that the ship is great, it’s that something as simple and lovely as free continental breakfast delivered to your room is actually included. Pastries, fruit, coffee and juice can arrive without a cent extra charged, and it sets the tone for the whole trip. It’s easy to forget how big that small thing feels once you’ve experienced it. (Royal Caribbean Blog)
And then there’s everything else the cruise lines try to sell you. Some things are delightful, some are worth doing once in a lifetime, but many fall into the category of optional luxuries you don’t need to have a great time. The trick is knowing what actually adds value for your kind of traveler and what just adds to your bill.
The Drinks Package: Float Your Boat or Sink Your Budget
Almost every major cruise line sells a version of a “drink package.” This lets you pay a flat daily fee for unlimited beverages from bars, lounges and sometimes specialty coffee stops. It feels smart at first glance, like you’re buying peace of mind. (The Points Guy)
10 Essential Items to Bring on Your Next Cruise
Plus 10 bonus things that quietly turn a good cruise into a great one
Even if you have cruised a million times, every sailing has that moment. You are standing in your cabin, suitcase open, ocean humming just outside the hull, and you realize you forgot the thing. Not a catastrophe. Just enough of an annoyance to haunt you the rest of the week.
Cruises are funny like that. They are wonderfully all-inclusive until they very much are not.
This is not a panic checklist or a “you must do this or else” article. Think of it as a dockside story from someone who has learned, sometimes the hard way, which small items punch way above their weight once you are floating between ports.
We will start with ten true essentials, the things people forget most often, followed by ten bonus items that make your cruise experience smoother, comfier, and occasionally downright delightful.
The 10 Essentials People Forget (Until They Really Wish They Hadn’t)
Royal Caribbean and Extension Plugs, What Changed, What’s Allowed, and What Won’t Make It Past Security
If you have ever stood in a cruise cabin holding a phone, a braille display, a power bank, and the sudden realization that there are exactly two usable outlets in the room, you already understand why this topic keeps coming up.
Over the last year or so, confusion has spiked around what Royal Caribbean International allows when it comes to extension plugs, power strips, and USB chargers. Travelers are buying gear labeled “cruise approved,” packing carefully, and then watching security quietly confiscate items at embarkation. No drama, no argument, just a polite “you won’t be getting this back until the end of the cruise.”
This article exists to stop that from happening.
Not because Royal Caribbean is being unreasonable, but because the language around these devices is imprecise, enforcement varies, and the difference between “allowed” and “not allowed” is smaller than most people realize.
Let’s slow this down and make it clear.
When Airlines Tell You How to Get Between Gates, Blind Travelers Should Be Next
Picture the classic connection sprint.
You land, the seatbelt sign dings off, and the cabin turns into a polite-but-competitive sport. Overhead bins pop open like toaster ovens. Somebody in 12C is already standing even though the door is still closed (a tradition as old as aviation itself). Your phone buzzes with a new gate. It is inevitably at the far end of the airport, past a food court, a moving walkway that is not moving, and a hallway that smells faintly of Cinnabon and existential dread.
Now imagine your airline’s app calmly says:
- Here’s your next gate.
- Here’s the walking route.
- Here’s the average walk time.
- Here’s how long you actually have.
- Bonus: “We may hold the plane for you,” if the math works.
That is not just convenience. That is the beginning of something bigger.
Because once airlines get good at guiding anyone through an airport, blind and low vision travelers are right there on the edge of benefiting too, if the feature is built accessibly and thoughtfully from day one. And if an airline becomes the brand that reliably helps blind travelers navigate independently between gates, that is not a small perk. That is loyalty-changing, habit-forming, “I’ll route my whole trip through your hubs” territory.
Let’s talk about two big moves in this direction: United’s ConnectionSaver connection guidance, and American’s AI-based Connect Assist flight-hold decisions.