The shoes you pack for a cruise vacation could depend on your fashionable style, the destinations you plan to visit, if you enjoy beach breaks, will you be hiking on shore, are you dressing up for formal night, and more.
But should a pair of slippers be on your cruise packing list? One upcoming Carnival guest was hoping the cruise line would provide that casual footwear.
For clarification, they reached out to Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, with the somewhat unusual question.
“I am fine tuning my packing list for my Miracle cruise from Dover. Normally for travel I would pack a pair of light sliders to wear back and forth to pool deck. These are not for the room,” the guest explained.
“Nobody wants to walk around cruise ship rooms bare-footed. Are slippers provided for us? We are both at the platinum level just so you know, John.”
All cruise guests can certainly understand the wish to “fine tune” one’s packing list. I’m a chronic over-packer myself, and it would be nice to have less luggage to tote for embarkation and debarkation.
This would be especially true for me for any sailing from Dover, which would also involve flying to the homeport, airport transfers, and other hassles. While the original poster does not indicate if they are local to Dover, smart packing is a great idea for any cruise.
Carnival Miracle is spending the summer homeported from Dover, UK with 9- and 12-night itineraries. The shorter cruises include both Northern Europe as well as British Isles itineraries. The longer sailings are either Iceland and British Isles cruises or Scandinavia Baltic routes.
The ship’s last departure from Dover this year will be August 10 for a 15-night one-way trip to Civitavecchia (Rome), where she will homeport through early November before returning to Tampa and Caribbean cruises.
Nevertheless, regardless of the cruise length or itinerary, free slippers will not be available.
“The rooms are fully cleaned [and] vacuumed daily so please do not even give that a second thought,” Heald noted. “As for slippers, well, unless you are in a spa cabin or suite, we do not provide slippers.”
Heald goes on to note that the spa and suite slippers aren’t necessarily the most luxurious.
“I could say to those guests staying in one of these cabins ‘enjoy your slippers’ but that’s hardly the right word for sliding your feet onto two clown sized, wafer-thin strips of cardboard tipped by a flappy foam thingy that make you shuffle walking around the ship like someone who has seven glasses of prune juice (still complimentary) and now urgently needs the bathroom,” he joked.
Granted, there is a lot of imagery there that I didn’t necessarily need. But what no one needs is the allegations and entitlement exhibited by the original poster, either.
The idea that “nobody wants to walk around cruise ship rooms bare-footed” raises the question – have they spoken to the thousands of guests who set sail every week about their in-cabin footwear preferences?
Personally, I’m always barefoot in the stateroom. After a long shore tour or time spent exploring a port area, it’s nice to kick off the shoes – no matter what type they are. Furthermore, removing footwear right as soon as one enters a stateroom ensures you’re not tracking any sand or dirt over the carpet.
Everyone has their own footwear preferences, of course, and some guests do undoubtedly prefer slippers or socks in their staterooms, but Carnival is not obligated to provide any.
That the original poster stuck in “We are both at the platinum level just so you know” is especially grating. While cruise line loyalty programs can be great and offer some highly coveted benefits, guests who tend to expect those benefits spread an attitude of entitlement that creates a bad reputation for all frequent cruisers.
I am a “platinum level” cruiser with Carnival Cruise Line myself, and would never expect (or demand!) slippers. Instead, I pack whatever footwear I might need and don’t expect the cruise line to provide such items.
Heald followed up on the slipper topic by asking his followers what type of footwear they bring along on their cruise vacations. His options included slippers to wear in the cabin, flip flops for the open decks or Lido, sliders or sandals for around the ship, or just crocs to wear everywhere.
Read Also: 7 Things People Forget to Pack for Their First Cruise
More than 5,000 commenters responded and all types of footwear certainly ended up in the luggage, as well as many other varieties Heald didn’t name.
Sneakers or tennis shoes for shore tours or winter sailings, fancy or dressy shoes for dinner, travel shoes for getting to and from the cruise port, and water shoes for the beach were all popular choices.
Carnival guests should note that water shoes – while a great choice for beach-related shore excursions – are not permitted in the pools or hot tubs onboard.
Some shore tours or activities, such as the popular Behind the Fun tour, do require guests to wear close-toed shoes, so guests should pack accordingly if they want to participate.
On Carnival’s largest ships, guests might also do more walking than they expect. Whatever type of shoes you pack along, be sure they’re comfortable and broken in so you don’t suffer with blisters or sore feet!
