Cruise Ships Have Secret Jails Most Passengers Never See—Here’s What Can Get You Sent There, According to Crew

An empty holding cell.Credit: Benjamin Rondel/Getty ImagesCruise ships are basically floating cities. And like cities, they're home to restaurants, bars, medical facilities, entertainment venues, and even jails.

Ship jails are typically hidden away on a lower level deck so most passengers never see them. But not following the rules will land passengers there, said Jake, who works in communications and has been on ships for five years, as part of Travel + Leisure's YouTube series Travel Unfiltered.

"We are on a ship in the middle of the ocean," Jake said. "There are safety rules that you must adhere to."

One major rule: all items must stay on the ship at all times.

"Nothing goes overboard—not a banana peel, not a lampshade, not an item of clothing," Jake added. "Please keep everything inside the ship at all times."

Ty, a ship performer for two years, emphasized it was a "really big deal to not throw anything overboard" for safety reasons.

"People have thrown their sun chairs overboard, fighting over that," the singer said. "It actually sets sensors off on the ship when things go overboard because if it were a person, they'd want to know."

And when it comes to following the rules, the captain is the ultimate authority. "The captain is like the president on a ship, whatever the captain says goes," said Ty.

Fighting aside, it's also imperative guests follow safety rules on ships.

"We are here to help you. We're here to make your experience seamless and fun," said Nayilah, who has worked in the box office and as a performer for three years. "If you are a threat to someone and a threat to yourself, you will get kicked off this ship."

And after working on cruise ships for years, the crew have definitely collected some pretty memorable moments.

Joao, a sports manager for eight years, once discovered two drunk and naked guys at the top of a rock climbing wall in the wee hours of the morning—with no ropes, "just doing free climbing." Fellow crew member Gaby, a cruise singer for five years, recounted a time when another drunk man climbed up on the edge of the ship to recreate the famous pose from the movie "Titanic."

"He very easily could have gone overboard," Gaby said. "Thank God he didn't. But he got in big trouble. He was disembarked the next day."

Sometimes, the trouble starts long before the cruise. Jaye, a cruise director for four years, told T+L about the salacious drama that emerged on one family's trip when it was revealed a married man was having an affair with the wife's sister "and it all came out on the Lido deck at the buffet."

"So then they took the fight from the Lido deck to the casino, and then they were fighting on the promenade," Jaye said. "Do not bring your family drama on board the ship."

However, there are worse places to end up than the ship jail.

"The worst thing that could happen to any guest is you get into actual jail in a foreign country," Jaye noted. "We had a fight in Mexico, and 15 passengers had to get kicked off the ship and left in Mexico. I don't know if y'all know anything about the Mexican police, but they do not play … so don't do any misbehaving in the foreign ports."

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