Bringing Water or Soda on a Cruise Ship (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and More)

Interested in cruise line rules about bringing water, soda, and other non-alcoholic beverages aboard? Most people look forward to a cruise’s adult libations — an umbrella drink in one hand can mysteriously put anyone in a better mood. But that doesn’t mean you only want to drink booze for a week.

While water, juice, and tea are usually free on a cruise, you often have to go to the ship’s restaurants to get them. Meanwhile, non-alcoholic drinks like sodas cost extra (usually around $3 per serving), so bringing those on with you when allowed can actually save you a decent amount.

Plus, you might have a favorite non-alcoholic drink that the cruise doesn’t normally serve, and it’s always nice to have some water with you in the cabin instead of having to head to the buffet or a bar just to get a glass to drink.

So can you bring water, soda or other drinks on your cruise? The answer depends on which line you sail, but in many cases it is allowed.

Below, we’ve researched the policies for each major cruise line to give you everything you need to know.

Carnival Cruise Lines Drink Policy

Carnival is fairly liberal with their beverage policy. According to their website, “On embarkation day, a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, energy drinks, juice, and milk), packaged in cans or cartons, may be brought on board and must be in the guest’s carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less, per person.”

Given that most people sail with two people to a room, that means you can bring 24 cans/cartons of anything you want as long as it’s non-alcoholic. Just be sure that it is not in a bottle.

With the prices of beverages on the cruise (around $3 per non-alcoholic drink), that can save you a lot of money.

One tip: If you want to have water to drink, it’s harder to find in cans or cartons, and Carnival doesn’t allow bottles to be brought aboard. In that case, you can order a 12-pack of bottled water to be delivered to your cabin for about $10. That’s much easier than carrying it on with you.

• Carnival policy: 12 cans/cartons (12 ounces or less) per person are allowed. Source.

Royal Caribbean Drink Policy

Royal Caribbean allows passengers to bring on some non-alcoholic drinks when embarking.

Their site says “Guests may also bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom. Milk and distilled water brought on for infant, medical, or dietary use are permitted.”

One thing to note is that unlike Carnival, that means Royal Caribbean allows bottles and slightly larger containers.

• Royal Caribbean policy: 12 cans/cartons/bottles (17 ounces or less) per cabin are allowed. Source.

Princess Cruises Drink Policy 

While finding the drink policy for Princess is a bit of a hunt, it is buried within the passenger contract. In this case, the cruise lines says that: 

“A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day, only if carried on in Guests’ hand luggage (not in checked luggage). A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding.”

The cruise line also specifically says that drinks in bottles are not allowed.

• Princess policy: Passengers can bring up to 12 cans/cartons of non-alcoholic beverages. Drinks packaged in bottles aren’t allowed. Source.

Norwegian Cruise Lines Drink Policy

Norwegian is one of the few cruise lines that doesn’t allow you to bring your own drinks onto the ship.

According to the website: “Effective for sailings July 15, 2016 and beyond, guests are prohibited from bringing any beverages — including liquor, beer and non-alcoholic drinks such as water, soda and juices — on board either as carry-on or checked luggage.”

The only exception is that purified or distilled water in sealed containers for medical devices like CPAPs or baby formula are OK.

Unfortunately, that means you’ll have to leave your soda at home.

• Norwegian Cruise Line policy: No beverages are allowed to be brought aboard. Source.

Disney Cruises Drink Policy

Disney doesn’t specifically point out non-alcoholic beverages as not being allowed on their website, but they also aren’t mentioned them as being prohibited either.

One thing to know is that soda and water are available on the ship at no charge if you get them from the beverage stations on board (one of the few cruise lines with free soda), Still, many people want to bring their own favorite beverage.

In that case, reports are that you can bring your own, but soda and water should be unopened and brought in your carry-on luggage, NOT in your checked suitcases. We haven’t found any specific limits on how much you can bring aboard, but we would suggest being reasonable and only bring a case or less.

• Disney Cruise Line policy: Non-alcoholic beverages (including soda) are provided on the ship. There is no mention of them being prohibited when boarding. Source.

Celebrity Cruises Drink Policy

As a sister cruise line to Royal Caribbean (they are owned by the same parent company), you would think that Celebrity would have a similar beverage policy. However, of all the cruise lines, we had the most issue finding any mention of bringing on non-alcoholic drinks on Celebrity. This includes searching the website and ticket contract.

That said, we called the cruise line and were told that non-alcoholic drinks are allowed as part of your carry-on luggage. The agent told us we could “bring as much as you can carry.” There were no restrictions mentioned (such as bottles versus cans or drink size).

• Celebrity Cruises policy: While not specifically mentioned online, a phone call to the cruise line told us that non-alcoholic beverages are allowed to be brought on at embarkation.

MSC Cruises Drink Policy

MSC is a global cruise line, and it’s ramping up quickly in the United States. According to their list of “Items Forbidden Onboard,” guests are not allowed to bring drinks on with them when boarding:

“In the interest of health and safety, beverages and food (including partially eaten or home cooked items) may not be brought on board either. Exception: dry, packaged and commercially produced foods.”

• MSC Cruises policy: Beverages are mentioned under “Items Forbidden Onboard” so you should leave them at home. Source.

Can I Bring Water for Medical Use or Milk for Baby Formula?

Some need to bring on water for medical purposes, such as use of distilled water to use with a CPAP at night or milk to mix with baby formula.

If you want to bring something for a medical purpose, it’s a good idea to call the cruise line before your trip and ask about their policy. Obviously, if they allow you to bring on water as a general rule, then it won’t be an issue. If they don’t allow you to bring beverages, then you might find they make an exception for medical use, or they can supply what you need on the ship, saving you the hassle of having to carry it yourself.

What Happens if I Bring Water/Soda and It’s Not Allowed?

So what will happen if you bring on a non-alcoholic drink and it’s not allowed? For instance, some cruise lines have specific rules regarding container size or type. 

Don’t worry, you won’t be denied boarding. If you bring a non-alcoholic beverage that’s not allowed, at worst, the security staff may confiscate it. There’s also a chance that they don’t even notice the drinks or care.

We’d still suggest following the guidelines set out by the cruise line, just to make things as easy as possible.

How Strict Are the Cruise Lines on Their Policies?

It’s important to know that screening for liquids isn’t normally done by the cruise line itself, but by the private security contractors at the port. We’ve found that the leniency can vary. We’ve personally been on cruise lines where the official policy is that drinks aren’t allowed to be brought on the ship, but noticed passengers bringing them anyway.

We’d advise you to follow the line’s policy, but if you want to risk it, you can always try to bring on some drinks. At worst, they will be taken away, which may cost you a few dollars.

 For more on what sort of alcoholic drinks you can bring on a ship, visit this link.

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