Can You Bring A Swiss Army Knife On A Cruise Ship?

When we think about rigorous, thorough security for travel, we immediately go to all of our unfortunate experiences dealing with the TSA at airports. There is so much you have to remember about what is allowed in a carry-on bag, what you need to put in checked luggage, and what is banned altogether on a flight. For example, if you want to bring your Swiss army knife on a airplane, you will have to put it in your checked luggage, as having a knife readily available to you on the plane is definitely forbidden. Having that separation between carry-on and checked baggage is fine for a few hours on a plane, but other forms of travel aren't as quick, such as cruise ships.

Cruise ships are simultaneously your vacation and your mode of travel. You are in a confined space with many other people, but you are allowed to have access to everything you brought along with you. Your carry-on baggage is the exact same as your checked luggage on a cruise ship. So, let's come back to the Swiss army knife. For the cruise ship industry, there is no TSA equivalent, and the policies for what you are and are not allowed to bring on a ship are determined by the actual cruise line itself. No two companies operate the same way, and because of this, what you can bring on board varies wildly. This is indeed the case with the Swiss army knife. Some cruise lines let you have it, and others don't.

The ability to bring a Swiss army knife on board a cruise ship does depend on which cruise line you are on, but the majority do not permit them. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Mediterranean Shipping Company Cruises (better known as MSC Cruises for short) all forbid knives of any kind on their ships. The rare exception can be made with Royal Caribbean and Carnival for diving knives, but those need to be held in custody by the ship's crew. The idea of carrying around a blade of any kind around the ship is strictly prohibited, even if it is a tiny blade.

If your Swiss army knife is small enough, there are certain cruise lines that will let you bring it on board. Norwegian Cruise Line does allow knives, but they must be less than four inches or 10.6 cm in length. Even though these knives don't seem very big, there are some larger Swiss army knives out there that exceed the 4-inch limit, so you just need to be mindful about what kind of knife you have. Princess Cruise Line and Holland America Line are even stricter with their blade length limits, capping things at just 2.5 inches or 6.35 cm. Both companies also have a limit on the width of the blade at a half-inch or 1.25 cm. Obviously, if you need a Swiss army knife on these ships, it has to be quite small. If you want to avoid any headaches about whether or not your knife will meet the standards of a cruise ship, just leave it at home.