Royal Caribbean Cracks Down on Bluetooth Speakers
A Perfect Day at CocoCay – Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas – can quickly turn imperfect when a guest’s personal speaker ruins the mood.
This is why Royal Caribbean has now banned personal and Bluetooth speakers from CocoCay. Some are wondering if this is the cruise line’s way of inching toward a total ban onboard and at other private destinations as well.
“You’ll find music to set the soundtrack to your day playing throughout the island. But if you’d prefer to listen to your own selection of music, we ask that you please do so with personal headphones,” reads the Miami-based cruise line’s website.
This doesn’t mean that guests can’t listen to their own music or podcasts, but ensures that other visitors on the island don’t also have to hear it.
Some are also wondering if the ban will extend to another private Royal Caribbean destination, Labadee, Haiti, after an inconsiderate family had their speaker confiscated by a lifeguard.
“A large family comes down and sets up in the front row. Loads up the speaker and sets it to top volume. THEN they all head into the water as far as they could from their seats,” a cruiser, who visited Labadee recently, shared on Reddit.
A lifeguard came to investigate the noise, turned off the speaker, and took it back to the lifeguard stand – much to the ire of the family it belonged to.
“Finally he grabbed it. Turned it off. And put it down. The guy of the group starts screaming at the top of his lungs from waaaay out in the deep end. The lifeguard smiles. Grabs the speaker and brings it to the life guard shack,” the poster continued.
“The guy swims back and is yelling at the lifeguard – who is just smiling at the guy. Finally the lifeguard says no speakers. He can get it back when he leaves. Or if he wants it back now he can have security make sure he gets it back on board. The guy picked security and the entire family left,” his tale concluded.
While speakers are not officially banned from Labadee as of the time of publication, this was a situation where the family was blatantly disrespecting the other guests – prompting the employee to act.
Cruisers Encourage Widespread Ban
As of March 21, 2025, Bluetooth speakers are not on Royal Caribbean’s “prohibited items” list – although this doesn’t mean they won’t be added in the future.
It’s always important to check the current policies as your next sailing approaches, as these things are often in flux.
That said, proper etiquette is to keep portable speakers at a low volume in public spaces or to only use them on your private balcony or in your cruise cabin – such as a source of white noise to help guests’ sleep at night.
Even then, it’s important to be mindful of thin walls and other guests who may be trying to enjoy their own balconies.
But since showing this consideration for others has continued to prove difficult, Royal Caribbean fans don’t just welcome the ban on the island – but would be happy to see it expand to onboard the ships as well.
“It is just irritating when someone is listening to their music in public. I would welcome this ban,” one cruiser said.
“Please ban them everywhere. I have reached my limit with speakers being played constantly wherever I go. It wouldn’t be bad if they had any common sense as to the volume but they don’t,” another added.
Cruise Hive Discussion Boards: Banned Wireless Speakers
Similarly, many celebrated when Carnival Cruise Line decided to ban Bluetooth speakers in November of 2024.
At the time, Carnival said the purpose of the ban was not only for the enjoyment of other passengers, but also for safety reasons. For example, it might be difficult to hear public announcements in an emergency situation if someone’s speaker is blasting.
Anyone who tries to bring a Bluetooth speaker will see it confiscated and returned at the end of their voyage.