Cruise Guest Turns Balcony Into Bedroom and the Internet Reacts

Every now and then, cruisers get rather, umm, creative, when it comes to their cabin set ups.

In the past, we’ve seen Carnival cruisers go viral for dragging a lounge chair from the Lido deck to their interior cabin and another woman was scrutinized for moving her bed to her balcony on a chilly Antarctica cruise.

And once again, another cruise guest is going viral for moving what looks like a rollaway bed onto her cruise cabin’s private balcony.

A short clip was taken from another cruise ship that was docked next to the vessel as the passenger comfortably snoozed under a white comforter.

She even has a book on her lap and a make-shift nightstand set up on a chair, showing she made this decision for the long haul.

The ship she was onboard hasn’t been specified, but it was a Royal Caribbean ship that was docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.

“Why do y’all do this,” the original TikTok asked in white text over the short video clip.

Some scrutiny is valid, as most cruise lines actually do not allow guests to relocate their beds to their balconies for safety reasons.

First, sleeping on the balcony increases the risk of a passenger falling or slipping, especially if the vessel encounters rough seas or there is an unexpected change in weather.

Next, all entrances and exits to the cruise cabin need to be kept clear in the unlikely event of an emergency.

If this guest and her companions had to evacuate their cabin by means of their balcony, the bed would create a dangerous obstruction.

And while safety is the key concern here, long-term exposure to the salty ocean air can damage bedding and mattresses, potentially even leading to mold.

An Invasion of Privacy

You would likely expect that safety would be the top concern among onlookers, but the bigger sticking point was actually that many felt the snoozing cruiser was the victim of an unforgivable invasion of privacy.

Other cruise fans didn’t like that she was filmed without consent and that she was being judged for moving her bed.

One TikToker, who goes by @cartelmarcel on the platform, reacted to the surprisingly controversial video. He captioned the clip with “let people love their life lol.”

The TikToker’s video received over 2,400 comments, with most judging the cameraperson and original poster of the video more than the snoozing passenger.

“They thought it was weird to roll a bed onto a balcony but not weird to record someone who is minding their own business!?” one person exclaimed.

“People who record others at resorts and cruises and post it on social media to make fun of them should be banned. Let people relax and mind your business,” another commented.

But while I would never personally record and post a stranger on a cruise ship (and don’t recommend doing so), I do wonder if passengers actually have a reasonable expectation of privacy while enjoying cruise ship balconies.

On most cruise ships, you can still see other passengers enjoying their balconies from your own cabin, which means they can see you as well.

Additionally, cruisers are aware of when port calls are scheduled, and should, in theory, have the sense to know that their balcony may be visible from the dock or a neighboring vessel.

Earlier this year, when a cruise guest asked Carnival to remind guests to close their curtains ahead of docking, the woman’s request was seen as unreasonable.

The guest and her husband like to sleep in the nude and had forgotten to close their curtains before going to bed one night.

When they woke up in the morning in port, they realized guests on a neighboring cruise ship were getting an unexpected show.

In the age of smartphones and cameras everywhere, my advice is to never do anything in public that would upset you if it made the rounds on social media.