If you plan to smoke marijuana or ingest cannabis in any form on your cruise vacation, there are a bunch of rules you should know.
Most importantly, cruise ships operate under federal jurisdiction. While you may light up legally in some states — and some countries — it’s illegal to have cannabis on a cruise ship, so you cannot get high on the high seas.
Does that mean you can’t smoke marijuana on your cruise vacation? Not exactly. It depends on where you are cruising.
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Cruise ships visit some states where private use of cannabis is legal, including Alaska, California, Washington, Maine, Massachusetts and New York. Additionally, Amsterdam is a popular stop on many Europe cruise itineraries. You might have an opportunity to indulge on land, but that does not mean you can walk right off the ship and light up.
Marijuana rules on cruise ships
It’s important to know the cruise ship rules because violations come with stiff penalties, as every cruise passenger who has been caught has learned.
If you do smoke, say, on your cabin balcony, it might be your fellow cruise passengers who rat you out. The crew is also trained to spot and report any illegal drugs.
That’s when the fun ends. Under the cruise contract you sign to board a ship, cruise lines have the right to search your room, throw you off the ship and turn you over to local authorities for any violations. From there, you could face fines and possible jail time. Your cruise vacation will come to an abrupt halt.
But is CBD allowed on cruise ships?
Cruise lines say very clearly that cannabis in any form is not allowed on board. It doesn’t matter that medical marijuana is allowed in Florida or that you have a marijuana medical card. You can’t bring pot or edibles — including those containing CBD — onto a cruise ship.
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Virgin Voyages, for instance, specifies that “all illegal drugs, non-prescribed controlled substances, medically prescribed marijuana or synthetic marijuana and CBD products are prohibited.” You’ll find something similar on every other cruise line website.
As you board your cruise at the pier, you might notice customs or security officials with dogs. Among their duties is sniffing out drugs in carry-on baggage. Cruise lines also have technological means to find drugs in checked bags, though they don’t publicly talk about that.
What happens if you ‘forget’ marijuana is illegal on your cruise ship and get caught?
Consider the case of a Pennsylvania woman who, in 2018, was found by customs officers to have two bags of pot in her purse as she boarded Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas in Bermuda. A subsequent search of her cabin found pipes, other paraphernalia and cannabis oil. She was arrested by Bermuda authorities and held in custody before pleading guilty to four counts of drug possession. She was fined $4,000, which she had to pay on the spot, and was then sent home — no cruise for her. The authorities did not accept her excuse that she didn’t realize the items were in her bags.
More recently, in 2023, a nurse from Texas was banned for life from sailing with Carnival Cruise Line after port officials found CBD gummies in her luggage.
If you think you can cheat the system, consider that drug trafficking is among the possible charges for bringing marijuana into international waters.
Pot in port
Ports of call might have looser rules. For instance, despite efforts by Femke Halsema, Amsterdam’s mayor, to ban tourists from the city’s famous “coffee shops,” you may still legally light up in these cafelike establishments. Menus typically feature loose grass, prerolled joints, hashish and some edibles, such as muffins, cookies, cupcakes and brownies. Some shops have added loaded gelato. Just remember: No takeout is allowed.
As part of your ocean or river cruise from Amsterdam, you might consider exploring the scene on a ganja walking tour. This and similar tours include snacks.
Despite the common belief that Jamaica is a pot free-for-all, smoking in public is illegal. Although violations are punishable by a fine, it’s usually not much — 500 Jamaican dollars, which is about $3. To legally explore the scene, you might want to book a marijuana tour, where you visit a private weed-growing plantation and sip ganja tea while enjoying ganja cake.
High in Alaska
Alaska has been at the forefront of a movement in the U.S. to provide places where tourists and locals can light up socially.
Marijuana was legalized in Alaska for private use in 2014. Shops selling locally grown weed (and, in some cases, edibles) for adults ages 21 and older opened around the state, including in the cruise ports of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. However, the product was limited to use in private, leaving cruisers out of the picture.
After a drawn-out debate and after putting strict rules in place, Alaska’s Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office approved two venues for on-site consumption in August 2021. These are among the first places in the nation approved to cater to locals and tourists.
Related: Alaska cruise guide: Best itineraries, planning tips and things to do
The on-site consumption rules say that you may buy raw or edible (containing up to 10 milligrams of THC) cannabis products for on-site use — in a lounge behind a secured door or in a separate building.
Consumption lounges are popping up all over Alaska, including in Ketchikan, Juneau and Fairbanks, but they aren’t always within walking distance of the cruise ports.
It is still illegal for tourists to take the products off-site. Alaska law bans consuming marijuana in public view, including while walking down the street or in city parks. If you’re caught, you might be fined. It’s also illegal to light up in any U.S. national park — and for much of your cruise in the Inside Passage in southeast Alaska, you are in national parkland.
Don’t even try to bring your purchases back onto your cruise ship.
Post-cruise cannabis
One way to ensure the opportunity to smoke on your cruise vacation is to do a pre- or post-cruise stay at a cannabis-friendly hotel, assuming you are in a port city where pot is legal. A Google search will produce results.
For those sailing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, check out Eaze, a leading California cannabis delivery service that delivers to certain hotels.
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