Carnival Adjusts Minor Guest Policy In Potential Crackdown On Room Swapping & Drink Package Sharing

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Carnival Cruise Line has made some under-the-radar adjustments to its minor guest policy that come into effect for all cruises from 1st February 2025.

A group of joyful children racing towards the Waterworks aqua park on the deck of a Carnival Cruise ship, with clear blue skies above and the expansive ocean in the backdrop, highlighting the thrill and excitement of cruise ship activities for kids.

The policy changes the rules on where minors may stay on a Carnival cruise ship, in relation to their relative or guardian onboard.

The age for travel hasn’t changed – anyone who wishes to cruise with Carnival who is under the age of 21 must still travel with someone aged 25 or over who is a relative or guardian.

There are only two exceptions to this rule – where the guests are legally married, or where they are in active military service. In both cases, documentation must be provided as proof.

The policy changes impact where minor guests can be booked.

Previously for guests aged 12 and younger, they would be permitted to stay in a cabin next door to their guardian or directly across the hall, provided it was not a balcony cabin.

However, that will now change and guests aged 14 or younger must now be booked in either the same cabin as their guardian, or a connecting cabin. Next door cabins without a connecting door will no longer be allowed.

Guests aged 15 to 17 may be booked into a separate stateroom than their guardian but it must be no more than 3 staterooms away – previously this applied to guests aged 13 to 17.

The policy for guests aged 18 to 20 remains unchanged – they can be booked anywhere on the ship provided their booking is linked to that of their guardian onboard.

Many Carnival guests look to circumvent these rules by booking cabins where the parent or guardian is ‘booked’ with the minor, but then swapping rooms onboard.

Apparently, Carnival is looking to crack down on this behaviour and stop room swapping from happening, with cabin stewards instructed to look out for signs of it and report it where necessary.

There are several reasons why guests may look to break the rules, including parents who just want a child-free room where connecting cabins aren’t available, or they want a bit of private ‘adult’ time without the noises audible through a connecting door.

Another common reason is to break rules on drinks packages. According to Carnival’s policies, all guests in the same room must book the same drinks package to prevent drink sharing, although minors don’t need a package with alcohol.

Splitting a two-parent, two-child family into rooms of one adult and one child each would allow one adult to buy a drinks package and potentially share it with their partner, without the second adult paying for it.

While Carnival is clearly looking to maintain safe environments for all guests onboard, including minors, it wouldn’t be surprising if drinks package sharing was one of the motivators behind the policy change.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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