Cruise lines enforce strict rules against climbing on railings

Royal Caribbean’s guest-conduct policy strictly prohibits passengers from sitting, standing, jumping, lying or climbing on or across exterior or interior railings and other protective barriers. Norwegian Cruise Line has the same railing policy, according to the report. Carnival Cruise Line does not specifically address railings in the cited policy but reserves the right to ban guests for unsafe conduct.

In 2019, a woman aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas stood on a railing for a photograph, the report said. A witness alerted crew members after believing she might be preparing to jump. Royal Caribbean subsequently banned the woman for life.

In a separate incident, a person jumped into the ocean from an 11th-floor balcony on another Royal Caribbean ship while a friend recorded the act and later posted it on Instagram, according to the report. The person was injured, and he and his group were removed from the vessel and received lifetime bans.

The report also described a 2025 Disney cruise incident in which a young girl posing on a porthole railing for a photograph fell overboard. Her father jumped into the water to rescue her. Both were injured, while the girl’s mother did not face criminal charges.