Caribbean Cruises: US Warns Against Carrying Cannabis or CBD

On 8 September 2026, the US State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs told American travelers to leave cannabis at home in every form, on every international trip. Cruise press picked the warning up the following day, which puts it in front of the people most likely to trip over it: passengers sailing out of Florida toward islands where the rules change at every gangway.

What the advisory says

The Bureau posted the guidance to its @TravelGov account: “Do not travel internationally with cannabis or cannabis-derived products, including marijuana, THC, CBD, edibles, vape cartridges, oils, concentrates, or other cannabis products.” Per Marijuana Moment, the warning covers medical marijuana that has been legally prescribed, and the Bureau said legality in a traveler’s home state carries no weight at a foreign border. It told travelers to check every luggage compartment before leaving, and it warned of severe criminal penalties abroad.

Royal Caribbean Blog ran the story on 9 September under the headline “Don’t risk being arrested”, pointing it at cruise passengers specifically.

What it looks like at Caribbean ports

The State Department has been saying this island by island for years. Its country page for the Bahamas states that “marijuana and all products that contains its derivatives such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are NOT legal in The Bahamas.” Its Aruba page is just as flat: it is illegal to bring marijuana, cannabis, CBD products, or derivatives into Aruba, even if they are legal or prescribed in the United States.

Both are cruise mainstays, and both sit on itineraries that also call at ports where cannabis is decriminalized or licensed. That mix is what catches people out. A passenger who buys legally in Jamaica and carries the remainder back aboard is holding contraband by the time the ship reaches Nassau.

What This Means

Nothing about your itinerary changes. What the advisory does is name the gap that trips up cruise passengers every season: cannabis law is written per island, and the ship crosses several of them in a week. A product bought legally at one stop does not travel to the next one, and a US medical card is not a document any Caribbean customs officer is obliged to recognize.

CBD is the piece most people get wrong. Travelers read it as the safe option because it is sold openly at home, and the State Department’s own country pages name CBD explicitly alongside THC in the Bahamas, Aruba, and elsewhere. Buy ashore, finish ashore, board with nothing.

What to watch

The federal hemp definition that governs what US port cities can sell you is still moving, with the ban delay Congress sent to the President now pointing at 11 December, mid-season. Watch whether the State Department’s country pages pick up any new language for the islands revising their own rules this year, since those pages, and not the social media post, are what a consular officer will point to if something goes wrong at a pier.