The general rule of thumb is not to take anything home from your stateroom unless given permission by the crew members, with the exception of disposable toiletries like shampoo and conditioner.
However, one recent passenger may not have gotten the memo. A rather humorous photo of the woman, which shows her sitting in an airport while using one of Carnival’s suitcase mats as a blanket, has gone viral.
The reaction across social media has been full of laughter – with most good natured posters laughing with the cruiser and not at her. Instead, her cruising faux pas has actually inspired others to think of new ways to use the luggage mats – which can be found in every Carnival stateroom fleetwide.
As the photo went viral, keyboard comedians have responded with an outpouring of memes and funny pictures of their own showing new purposes for the bed protectors – including as pool towels, sun shades for cars, roller coaster riders, bedside rugs, cowboy chaps, and more.
Even John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, couldn’t resist reacting on his popular Facebook page.
“If you get a bit chilly at the airport, you can always wrap your legs in one of these lovely blankets. Oh FFS. And yes, we have charged this person for taking it,” Heald wrote above the popular picture.
The hilarity continued in the comments section of Heald’s post as well – which has earned more than 1,000 responses in less than a day and been shared nearly 100 times.
“How much does one cost? I might get chilly at the airport after my next cruise,” one Facebook user wrote in jest.
“Must’ve been in our room last week, because we didn’t have one on our bed when we arrived this week!,” joked someone else.
While much of the response has been in good spirits, we are keeping the woman’s identity confidential to protect her peace and privacy.
Why are Luggage Mats so Important?
While they may also make a good blanket, the real purpose of these luggage mats is to protect the bedding in the thousands of staterooms aboard each Carnival ship.
They’ve been used for decades, with the blue design used in the photo the newest rendition – although its white-based predecessor is still often found on Carnival’s older ships.
The mats serve as protectors – saving the white bedding from dirt and debris that luggage may have picked up, as well as limiting wear and tear.
If guests didn’t use the luggage mats (and they often do find other purposes for them within their staterooms as rugs or light blockers), the housekeeping staff would have a lot more laundry to do – and it would add up quickly!
To put things in perspective, Carnival Jubilee, the cruise line’s largest vessel, has 1,268 staterooms onboard to keep clean. However, even the smallest ship in the fleet, Carnival Paradise, still has 1,061 guest cabins to maintain.
Indeed, Carnival crew members take these luggage mats seriously, largely out of necessity, which is why the woman was charged for taking the bed protector as a souvenir – although it’s not known how much she was fined.
Carnival does place a hold on credit cards during the embarkation check-in process, which prevents any onboard expense account concerns during the sailing and protects the cruise line from any damages guests might cause onboard.
Read Also: 15 Mistakes to Avoid on a Carnival Cruise
It’s also not clear why the guest in the photo took the luggage mat from her stateroom – although unconfirmed rumors circulating online suggest that she genuinely mistook it for a free gift or was told she could take it by crew members because it was in a mobility scooter she was using.
