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.
Airline rules are shifting fast, here’s what’s changing and how travelers can stay ahead of it
Air travel has always been a little like jazz. There’s a structure, a rhythm, and then a whole lot of improvisation when something goes sideways. Lately though, the airlines have been rewriting the sheet music while the band is already playing.
Dress codes are suddenly a thing again. Wheelchair services are under scrutiny. Longstanding perks are quietly evaporating. Seating systems are changing. Miles are getting harder to earn. WiFi, finally, is improving, but on wildly different timelines. Lounges are packed to the rafters and sometimes politely shut in your face.
If you travel blind or low vision, this isn’t just industry noise. These changes directly affect predictability, dignity, and how much mental energy it takes to get from your front door to your destination.
So let’s walk through what’s actually changing, what’s confirmed, what’s messy, and what it all means in real-world terms for BlindTravels readers.
Dress codes are back, and enforcement is inconsistent at best
Several airlines have tightened or clarified their appearance policies, most publicly Spirit Airlines, which updated its rules to explicitly prohibit see-through clothing and exposed private areas. While Spirit is the loudest about it, other airlines already had similar language buried in contracts of carriage and are now enforcing it more visibly.
That shift alone would have been notable, but it collided with social media in predictable fashion.
The Florida-bound pants incident
In early 2026, a passenger on a United Airlines flight bound for Florida reportedly removed his pants during boarding and remained in his underwear. Photos circulated online, and mainstream travel coverage picked it up shortly after. There is no evidence this was an organized protest, but it became a lightning rod moment in the larger conversation about dress codes, enforcement, and passenger behavior.
Why this matters if you’re blind or low vision
Dress code rules tend to rely on subjective words like “appropriate” or “offensive.” Subjectivity is where accessibility starts to wobble.
Lighting changes between home, rideshare, terminal, and jet bridge. Fabrics behave differently in bright airport lighting. A shirt that felt opaque at home can suddenly become “see-through” under terminal LEDs, and if you can’t easily verify that visually, you’re at the mercy of someone else’s judgment.
Practical travel move:
Carry one neutral, gate-safe layer in your personal item. A lightweight overshirt or zip hoodie can instantly solve a problem without turning it into a confrontation.
If you are stopped, simple language works best:
“I’m blind. I’m happy to adjust. Can you tell me what specifically needs changing?”
“Jetway Jesus,” wheelchair misuse claims, and the uncomfortable middle ground
The term “Jetway Jesus” has entered the travel lexicon, referring to passengers who request wheelchair assistance to board and then appear to walk off the plane on arrival. Major outlets, including business and travel press, have documented the frustration around this phenomenon.
Here’s the critical nuance.
Yes, some people abuse systems. That happens everywhere humans are involved. But many disabilities are non-visible, situational, or fluctuate. Someone may not be able to stand in a TSA line for 45 minutes but can walk a short distance later. Airlines are legally restricted from demanding proof, and those restrictions exist to protect disabled travelers, not inconvenience gate agents.
Why blind travelers should care deeply about this narrative
When staff are trained, formally or informally, to “watch for fakers,” the fallout rarely lands on the people gaming the system. It lands on people who actually need accommodations.
That can look like:
- extra questioning,
- visible skepticism,
- slower service,
- or a subtle shift from “how can I help?” to “prove it.”
If you’re blind and requesting assistance, you are not cutting corners. You are asking for safe navigation in a complex, fast-moving environment.
Language that holds the line without escalating:
“I’m blind and need assistance for safe boarding.”
“This is a standard accommodation request.”
Repeat calmly if needed. You do not owe a medical explanation.
Southwest changed its DNA, bags now cost real money
For decades, “bags fly free” was practically synonymous with Southwest Airlines. That era is over.
Most travelers now face:
- $35 for the first checked bag
- $45 for the second checked bag
Higher fare classes and elite status can still include free bags, but for many people, especially budget-conscious travelers, this is a meaningful shift.
Why this hits blind travelers harder than average
Blind and low vision travelers often carry redundancy by necessity. Backup cane tips, tactile labels, extra chargers, guide dog gear, medications packed separately for safety. When bag fees rise, the pressure to jam everything into a carry-on increases, and carry-on space is already a competitive sport.
Practical move:
Treat your personal item like an accessibility lifeline. Anything that would genuinely derail your trip if lost belongs there, not in a checked bag.
Southwest is also ending open seating, and assigned seats are here
Another major shift at Southwest Airlines is the end of open seating. Flights departing on or after January 27, 2026 use assigned seating with zone-based boarding.
For some travelers, this reduces anxiety. For others, it simply changes the math.
Accessibility implications
Open seating had its own chaos, but it also allowed blind travelers to use consistent strategies, like finding the first available aisle or settling quickly with a guide dog before overhead bins filled.
Assigned seating introduces new variables:
- seat selection may cost extra,
- fare class matters more,
- last-minute changes can be harder to negotiate at the gate.
Smart booking habit:
When you select a seat, choose based on function, not prestige. Aisle access, proximity to the front, and space for a guide dog curl matter far more than row numbers.
American Airlines is cutting miles on Basic Economy
As of December 17, 2025, American Airlines no longer awards AAdvantage miles or Loyalty Points on Basic Economy tickets.
This is part of a broader industry trend, but it’s a particularly sharp cut.
Why miles still matter for accessibility
Frequent flyer status is not just about upgrades. It can mean:
- priority rebooking during disruptions,
- fewer fees,
- better seat options,
- more flexible customer service.
When earning pathways shrink, travelers with tighter budgets lose long-term stability, not just points.
Business class is being unbundled, and naming conventions are a mess
Airlines are experimenting with stripped-down premium fares, sometimes described informally as “basic business.” You get the physical seat, but fewer perks, less flexibility, and sometimes reduced benefits.
Delta Air Lines has been actively testing and refining fare families across cabins, reflecting a broader move toward selling the seat separately from the experience.
What’s consistent is inconsistency. Fare names vary wildly, and two tickets labeled “business” can have completely different rules.
Why this matters
For blind travelers, clarity is safety. If you don’t know whether your ticket allows seat changes, refunds, or miles, you’re booking blind in the worst possible way.
Five questions to check before purchasing any fare:
- Is a carry-on included?
- Can I choose my seat?
- Are changes allowed?
- Is any part refundable?
- Do I earn miles or points?
If the answer isn’t clearly yes, assume no.
WiFi is finally improving, just not all at once
This is one of the rare areas of genuinely good news.
- Delta Air Lines has offered free WiFi for SkyMiles members on many domestic flights since 2023, with ongoing expansion.
- United Airlines began rolling out Starlink-powered WiFi on regional aircraft in 2025, with fleet-wide expansion underway.
- American Airlines announced free WiFi for AAdvantage members starting in early 2026, with broad availability expected by spring.
- Southwest Airlines began offering free WiFi to Rapid Rewards members in October 2025.
- JetBlue continues to offer free Fly-Fi to all passengers.
Why WiFi is accessibility infrastructure
In-flight WiFi is not a luxury for blind travelers. It enables:
- accessible entertainment through personal devices,
- real-time rebooking during delays,
- communication with travel partners,
- access to airline apps when announcements are unclear or inaccessible.
Reliable WiFi reduces dependency on hurried verbal announcements and overstressed gate agents.
Lounges are crowded, Priority Pass is diluted, and backup plans matter
Airport lounges used to be a reliable refuge when connections fell apart. Increasingly, they’re full, restricted, or temporarily closed due to capacity.
Priority Pass access, now bundled with many premium credit cards, has diluted the experience. Lounges fill up, lines form, and turn-aways are common.
Why this matters if you miss a connection
Lounges once provided:
- quiet space,
- seating you could count on,
- staffed desks,
- a calmer environment for rebooking.
Now, counting on lounge access as your Plan A is risky.
Better strategy:
Assume the lounge may be unavailable. Use WiFi and the airline app to rebook first, then look for physical comfort and quiet second.
The takeaway for blind and low vision travelers
None of these changes mean you shouldn’t fly. They do mean flying now rewards preparation more than ever.
Know your fare. Save your confirmations. Pack with intention. Ask for what you need without apology. And remember that accessibility is not a courtesy, it’s a right, even when the rules keep changing.
If the airlines insist on improvising, we’ll keep traveling with a plan.
See you at the gate!
Ted and Fauna
Movement through unfamiliar places reminds us that curiosity is a powerful form of courage.
About the author
Ted Tahquechi is a blind photographer, travel influencer, disability advocate and photo educator based in Denver, Colorado. You can see more of Ted’s work at www.tahquechi.com
Ted operates Blind Travels, a travel blog designed specifically to empower blind and visually impaired travelers. https://www.blindtravels.com/
Ted’s body-positive Landscapes of the Body project has been shown all over the world, learn more about this intriguing collection of photographic work at: https://www.bodyscapes.photography/
Ted created games for Atari, Accolade and Mattel Toys and often speaks at Retro Game Cons, find out where he will be speaking next: https://retrogamegurus.com/ted
Questions or comments? Feel free to email Ted at: nedskee@tahquechi.com
Instagram: @nedskee
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nedskee.bsky.social
Twitter: @nedskee
Did You Know Some USB Ports Offer Power?
A Field Guide for Blind and Low Vision Users Who Plug Things In by Feel
If you are blind or low vision, there is a good chance you have plugged a USB cable into a device based on shape, location, and muscle memory, not color, icons, or tiny printed labels. You line up the rectangle, rotate once or twice, maybe mutter something friendly under your breath, and hope the device on the other end does what it is supposed to do.
Here is the quiet truth many of us never get told.
Not all USB ports behave the same way.
Some offer power all the time.
Some offer power only sometimes.
Some barely offer power at all.
And no, you are not expected to know this by touch alone.
Let’s walk through what actually matters, what does not, and whether you should be worried about damaging your gear.
Short answer up front, because anxiety loves ambiguity.
You are very unlikely to damage your equipment by plugging it into the “wrong” USB port.
USB was designed to protect you from exactly that.
Now let’s slow down and explain why.
The moment I realized USB ports were not all equal
For years, I assumed USB was USB.
If something charged, great.
If it did not, I assumed the cable was bad, or the device was tired, or the universe needed a coffee.
Then I noticed something odd.
Sometimes my phone charged overnight with the laptop closed.
Sometimes it did not.
Same cable. Same device. Same laptop.
The difference was not what I plugged in.
It was where I plugged it in.
That was the day I learned that some USB ports quietly keep delivering power, even when everything else is asleep.
What “powered” and “non-powered” USB ports actually mean
Powered USB ports
These ports supply power even when the computer is asleep or turned off.
They are often used for:
- Charging phones
- Charging headphones
- Powering small devices overnight
- Accessibility gear that needs constant power
From a blind user’s perspective, they feel exactly like every other USB port.
No tactile cue.
No audible cue.
No obvious difference.
They just quietly work longer.
Non-powered or standard USB ports
These ports only supply power when the computer is awake.
They are great for:
- Keyboards
- Mice
- Flash drives
- Devices that do not need constant power
Plugging a charger into one of these is not dangerous. It just might not do anything if the computer is asleep.
The big concern everyone asks first
“Can I damage my device if I plug it into the wrong port?”
This is the most important part of this guide.
No, in normal modern use, you are extremely unlikely to damage a device by plugging it into a powered or non-powered USB port.
Here is why.
USB power is negotiated. It is not forced.
- The port announces what it can provide
- The device asks for what it needs
- Power flows only at the level both agree on
A powered port does not shove extra electricity into your device like a fire hose.
Your device only takes what it is designed to handle.
This is why:
- A flash drive does not explode when plugged into a high-power port
- A keyboard works everywhere
- A phone charges safely from many different sources
USB was designed specifically to avoid this problem.
The other side of the question
“What if my device expects power and the port does not provide enough?”
This is where things can feel broken without actually being broken.
If a port cannot supply enough power, you might notice:
- Slow charging
- No charging at all
- Devices disconnecting randomly
- External drives clicking or dropping offline
- Audio interfaces acting haunted
This is not damage.
This is the device politely saying, “I need more juice.”
Nothing permanent happens. You unplug it, try a different port, and life continues.
The real risks, honestly
If something does go wrong, it is almost never because you chose the wrong port by feel.
The usual culprits are:
- Cheap cables
- Worn cables
- Non-compliant USB-C cables
- Cheap hubs
- Mystery chargers from hotel nightstands
If something gets warm that should not, the first thing to replace is the cable.
Always the cable.
Why this matters more for blind and low vision users
Sighted users get a visual hint system:
- Colored ports
- Tiny lightning icons
- Printed labels
- Marketing diagrams
Blind users get:
- A rectangle
- A rectangle
- Another rectangle
When you are identifying ports by touch, there is no accessible way to know:
- Which port stays powered
- Which port charges faster
- Which port shuts off when the laptop sleeps
That means blind users rely on:
- Trial and error
- Memory
- Consistency
- Context clues like location near the hinge or power jack
And that is not a failure on our part. That is a design gap.
Do companies need to make USB ports accessible?
Here is the honest answer.
Is it legally required?
In most cases, no.
USB port accessibility is rarely addressed explicitly in regulations.
Is it practically important?
Absolutely.
A simple tactile marker, notch pattern, or consistent port grouping would:
- Reduce frustration
- Reduce device misdiagnosis
- Reduce unnecessary support calls
- Improve independence
Even something as basic as:
- Powered ports always grouped together
- A raised dot near always-on ports
- A consistent layout across models
Would be a meaningful improvement.
This is not about special treatment.
It is about predictability.
Accessibility often lives or dies on consistency.
How I approach USB ports now
Here is the personal field-tested method.
- If a device needs charging overnight, I test ports once and remember the location
- If something charges slowly, I switch ports before switching cables
- If a device disconnects randomly, I assume power, not failure
- I avoid unpowered hubs for anything important
- I label cables, not ports, because I can control that
Once you know powered ports exist, frustration turns into troubleshooting.
That alone is empowering.
A note about touch-based plugging
Blind users are not careless when plugging things in.
We are methodical.
We:
- Align edges
- Confirm orientation
- Apply minimal pressure
- Adjust deliberately
Feeling ports is not reckless. It is skilled.
Design just has not caught up yet.
Legal and personal disclaimer
This article is provided for general educational purposes only.
I am sharing personal experience and publicly available information to help blind and low vision users better understand USB behavior. I am not responsible for damage, data loss, device failure, overheating, or emotional distress caused by plugging devices into USB ports, powered or otherwise.
If you plug something in and it does something weird, unplug it.
If it still does something weird, blame the cable.
If it still does something weird after that, the device is having a day.
Final takeaway
You are not breaking your gear.
You are not missing secret knowledge.
You are not doing anything wrong.
USB ports are smarter than they look, even when you cannot see them.
The real accessibility gap is not danger.
It is information.
Once you have that, the ports stop feeling mysterious and start feeling manageable.
See you at the gate.
Ted and Fauna
When Traveling, confidence is not knowing everything will work, it is knowing you can adapt when it does not.
About the author
Ted Tahquechi is a blind photographer, travel influencer, disability advocate and photo educator based in Denver, Colorado. You can see more of Ted’s work at www.tahquechi.com
Ted operates Blind Travels, a travel blog designed specifically to empower blind and visually impaired travelers. https://www.blindtravels.com/
Ted’s body-positive Landscapes of the Body project has been shown all over the world, learn more about this intriguing collection of photographic work at: https://www.bodyscapes.photography/
Ted created games for Atari, Accolade and Mattel Toys and often speaks at Retro Game Cons, find out where he will be speaking next: https://retrogamegurus.com/ted
Questions or comments? Feel free to email Ted at: nedskee@tahquechi.com
Instagram: @nedskee
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nedskee.bsky.social
Twitter: @nedskee