When you’re booking your cruise, you might shell out extra to snag a cabin that has its own private balcony. And why not? Just imagine waking up to the sounds of the surf, a gentle sea breeze coming in through the sliding door, and then you step onto your balcony with a cup of coffee and croissant to watch the sun rise over the water’s horizon. Sounds like a dream! The only thing is, when you venture out onto your private balcony, it might not be as private as you anticipated.
Popular TikToker @Mommashive shared to her 310,000+ followers her experience on a cruise ship recently where she looked over the railing on her private cabin balcony and saw just how exposed she truly was. Her camera zooms in on a CCTV security camera placed on the side of the ship pointed directly at all of the private balconies on her side of the cruise. “I should’ve charged them,” her text overlay reads. Her viral video has been liked more than 387,000 times, so she’s clearly struck a nerve. However, is the cruise liner truly spying on its passengers? Or is this a security feature we should expect, and even want? Here’s what you should know before booking your cruise ship balcony.
Cameras detect if you fall overboard
@mommashive
FYI TO ANYONE GOING ON A CRUISE! #cruiseship #cruisetok #cruiselife #mommashive #travelcontentcreator #travellife #cruiseshiplife #cruisereview #cruisetips #cruisemustdo
♬ Oh No – Kreepa
If you’re worried that the crew onboard your cruise ship is spying on you while you’re on your private balcony, some of the comments underneath Mommashive’s viral TikTik might persuade you otherwise. One commenter identified themselves as cruise staff and posted, “That camera has sensors for people falling overboard. Nobody is watching you.” A quick look at some major headlines recently might back that up, as people falling from their balconies has happened more often than you might realize. In 2023, a woman in Miami fell from her balcony onto another person a few decks below, per The New York Post. In 2019, an American passenger was banned for life after jumping off his Bahamas cruise balcony on purpose for Instagram clout, per The Daily Mail. In 2015, a man threw himself off his private balcony after fighting with his partner, per The New York Post. So it stands to reason that cruise security would want security footage to either prevent or save passengers, on top of piecing together the events after the fact.
However, another TikTok comment suggests that maybe the crew does see things on camera beyond safety concerns. “I’m crew,” one user posted. “We tell people it [is] to monitor people overboard, but we usually just watch people doing it.” Food for thought, indeed! So if you’ve booked a private balcony on your cruise with the naughty plan of knockin’ boots with your partner out there, maybe re-evaluate that plan!
