There are many, many complaints across social media, blogs, and forums about teens being out of control on cruises with poor behavior and disrupting other guests.

The discussions on such behavior range from poor parenting to cruise lines not enforcing their own code of conduct with respect to disruptive teens. One recent Carnival Cruise Line guest, however, is sharing their experience that is just the opposite.

A cruiser on Reddit has shared an incident and how the cruise line reacted, as well as their own reactions to their 14-year-old son’s poor choices.

“My son is usually a rule follower but was with some friends he made on the cruise,” the poster explained. “They shook a machine in the arcade (the one with the coins and the sliding thing) and a boy he was with actually was successful in tipping the machine. That caused the coins to fall and jam the machine.”

Those coin sliding machines are a game of skill and fun for all ages on cruises. They’re easy to play and exciting to watch. It goes without saying, however, that tipping, shaking, or otherwise physically shifting the machine is not permitted.

“I was asleep when this happened and security brought him to the room and discussed briefly but I was half asleep and so she didn’t go on long,” the guest explained after the incident.

The poster noted that both parents had turned in early after a long day in port, and it wasn’t unusual to permit their son some independence during the day and early evening hours.

Because the ultimate decision on consequences for the teen’s poor behavior had to come after a thorough review of the incident and evaluating the damage to the machine, the parents and teen did not learn the outcome until the next morning.

Throughout the wait, the parent explained their perspective, a refreshing one for many cruise guests who may have been the victim of unruly teens in the past.

“He is grounded for at least the next month and his phone has already been taken and he’s not allowed out of me or his dad’s sight,” they said. “We really are not the type of parents to play. You mess up once, you’ll face consequences [because] the goal is to nip this type of behavior in the bud before the consequences get even larger.”

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This is a great change from many parents who seem to go the “boys will be boys” route while on a cruise vacation. Instead, these parents acted immediately to curb their son’s poor choices.

While waiting, other guests offered possibilities, including everything from a basic fine to paying for the damage to a possible ban from Carnival Cruise Line.

What Does the Code of Conduct Say?

Carnival’s official Code of Conduct is part of the legally binding ticket contract guests agree to when they book their sailing. It includes language such as “guest … agrees to abide by all shipboard rules and policies” and “any illegal activity or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.”

If guests violate the Code of Conduct, they may be confined to their stateroom, disembarked at the next port of call, banned from future Carnival sailings, and fined up to $500.

Additional penalties may be imposed for individual infractions, depending on the nature of the disturbance and what the investigation into an incident reveals.

The original poster did clarify that they were aboard Carnival Dream, which is homeported from Galveston, Texas. The most recent sailing, which lines up with the timing of the poster’s account, was the ship’s December 19 Christmas Cruise, an 8-night Bahamas voyage.

They did note that the next possible port was the homeport. Therefore, the incident must have happened toward the end of the sailing, when the 128,251-gross-ton ship would have had two full days at sea heading back to the Lone Star State.

Carnival Dream can welcome 3,646 guests at double occupancy. During holiday sailings, higher numbers of families, including teens and young children, are typically onboard.

What Were the Final Consequences?

The parent updated the Reddit conversation after learning of the consequences for their son’s poor behavior.

“We just were taken to security. $500 code of conduct fine plus 1/3 of the cost to repair,” they said.

In total, the fee will be $763.58. There are no criminal charges for the incident, nor will the teen or his family be banned from Carnival Cruise Line.

“Not happy to be paying money I don’t have to spend on this,” the poster explained, “but accepting of their decision [because] my son did do what he did.”

Many guests chimed in, noting that it seems a relatively fair outcome, especially knowing that teenagers often make poor choices.

“I’m so glad that it was a reasonable decision on behalf of Carnival and that you will be able to cruise again,” one guest responded. “In the meantime, everyone learned a tough lesson.”

The parent does note that their son will be paying them back “every penny” for the fines. Hopefully, other cruisers will learn from this shared experience and be sure their children are aware of the consequences for poor choices and disruptive behavior.

Carnival Issues Fine After Teen’s Arcade Incident as Parents Back Tough Action