When you think of going on a cruise, you probably picture ocean views, fancy buffets and sunshine — not unusual ways of storing your cabin card. Yet a quirky practice on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas has sparked debate on Reddit’s r/Cruise forum after one passenger claimed several women were keeping their SeaPass cards in their bras, reaching inside to retrieve them at check-in points.
According to the New York Post, the original post had the blunt headline: “Ladies — buy a lanyard.” The poster complained, “I’ve now seen women pull their SeaPass out of their bra twice. It’s really gross for staff and other passengers. Please just buy a lanyard.”
The thread quickly attracted hundreds of comments. Some agreed that it looked unhygienic, while others felt the reaction was overblown. One wrote, “It’s just skin — the same skin that’s on your hands.” Another admitted to keeping a phone in her bra: “It gets sweaty in there, and the card ends up damp.”
Others pointed out that bigger hygiene problems lurk on ships: “Plenty of people don’t wash their hands after using the restroom. The cruise line has to keep reminding everyone before the buffet. Compared to that, a little sweat is nothing.”
Several commenters took a more constructive tack, noting that women’s clothing often lacks pockets, which forces them to improvise. “Bras should come with pockets,” one suggested. Others proposed that cruise companies move to more modern solutions: “Why not issue NFC wristbands or support Apple Wallet instead of physical cards?”
Etiquette debates aren’t new at sea. Last year a TikTok user, @Jesstravel7, went viral for criticising passengers who drape towels over poolside loungers for hours without using them — calling it the cruise ship’s most selfish behaviour. Whether it’s stashing cards in bras or reserving chairs with towels, many travellers joked that the real “rough seas” on a cruise often come not from the ocean, but from fellow passengers’ bad habits.
