Living on a cruise ship is a lot like living in an apartment building or a college dorm. Your actions impact the people around you, and vice versa. However, with the thin walls and shared systems on a cruise ship, the stakes are a bit higher. Imagine hearing a crying baby, loud arguments, or, shall we say, enthusiastic nighttime activities from your neighbors. Noise travels easily between cabins, making it essential to practice good manners.
Cruise lines like Carnival have rules in place to ensure safety and courtesy. For instance, you can’t smoke on your balcony because it’s a fire hazard and just plain rude. Similarly, wearing clothes on your balcony is a must. No one wants to see you in your birthday suit, especially since balconies aren’t entirely private.
But let’s talk about the one etiquette rule that’s causing waves (pun intended): bathroom etiquette. Specifically, what you can and can’t flush down those oh-so-sensitive cruise ship toilets.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Cruise Ship Toilets
Cruise lines work hard to educate passengers about what not to flush. Royal Caribbean, for example, has a video on its house channel listing items that should never meet the inside of a toilet. This list includes things most of us would never dream of flushing, like keys and produce. The fact that such a video exists suggests that almost anything has been flushed down a Royal Caribbean toilet at some point. And here’s the kicker: one clogged toilet can disrupt the plumbing for an entire section of the ship.
Carnival’s Wet Wipes Woes
Recently, Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, took to Facebook to share a rather amusing but serious warning about a common culprit: wet wipes.
Heald’s story starts on a plane, where he noticed the woman next to him using wet wipes to clean everything in sight. This sparked a memory, prompting him to share a crucial piece of advice: do not flush wet wipes down the toilet on a cruise ship.
He humorously relayed a message from Luigi, Carnival’s senior fleet plumber, who has a special kind of loathing for wet wipes. Despite clear signage, people still flush them, causing major problems.
“Luigi has to don a long glove and shove his arm up a pipe full of the devil’s dumplings to fix the issue,” Heald explained. If the clog isn’t caught quickly, it can lead to multiple toilets not flushing and, even worse, overflowing. Imagine that disaster making its way to social media!
Why It’s a Big Deal
You might wonder why cruise ships have such sensitive plumbing. It’s because the toilet systems on ships work differently from those on land. They use a vacuum system that’s efficient but can’t handle non-dissolvable items. This means that even though you might be able to flush wet wipes at home, doing so on a cruise ship can wreak havoc.
A clogged toilet doesn’t just affect you; it can cause inconvenience for many passengers and a huge headache for the ship’s maintenance crew. Picture this: you’re on a dream vacation, but suddenly, you’re dealing with toilet issues because someone couldn’t resist flushing a wet wipe. Not exactly the Instagrammable moment you were hoping for.
How to Be a Considerate Cruiser
So, what’s a responsible cruiser to do? Here are some tips to keep the ship’s plumbing (and Luigi’s sanity) intact:
- Read and follow the signs: Cruise lines place signs in every cabin and bathroom reminding you what not to flush. Pay attention to them!
- Dispose of wet wipes properly: Use the sanitary bags provided in your stateroom. If you run out, ask your stateroom attendant for more.
- Be mindful of what you flush: Stick to toilet paper and human waste. Anything else should go in the trash.
- Communicate with your stateroom attendant: If you have any doubts or need to dispose of something unusual, ask your stateroom attendant for guidance.
The Bottom Line
Cruise ships offer a unique vacation experience, but they come with their own set of rules and quirks. Following bathroom etiquette might not seem like a big deal, but it can make a huge difference in keeping the ship running smoothly and everyone on board happy.
Next time you’re cruising, remember Luigi and his long glove, and think twice before flushing anything other than toilet paper. Your fellow passengers (and the ship’s plumbers) will thank you!
So, pack those wet wipes if you must, but be sure to dispose of them properly. After all, nobody wants to be the reason a whole section of the ship ends up knee-deep in the “devil’s dumplings.”
This concludes our journey through the not-so-glamorous but incredibly important topic of cruise ship toilet etiquette. Happy cruising and remember: what goes down, should only be toilet paper and what naturally follows!
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