Putting mattresses on cruise balconies isn't exactly a new trend. However, one guest took the idea to a whole new level.
A viral video taken at Perfect Day at CocoCay shows a Royal Caribbean passenger with a rollaway cot on their balcony, comfortably relaxing and reading. The unidentified guest also made a make-shift nightstand with one of the balcony's chairs.
The passenger was sailing aboard Allure of the Seas, according to the ship's lifeboats. It wasn't the first time someone had done some light redecorating on their balcony on Allure, either!
In March 2024, two guests were caught lying on their mattress on the balcony while the ship was docked at CocoCay. The Facebook post garnered mixed opinions from Royal Caribbean fans and cruisers alike.
(Credit: @cartelmarcel/TikTok)
The TikTok showing the cruiser on the cot, which was posted by user @cartelmarcel, has received over 165k likes, 2,400 comments, and 1,900 shares since being posted in February 2025.
And like the previous incident, the TikTok sparked a flurry of opinions across the cruising community, with many defending the passenger’s creativity and vacation.
"Imagine judging someone for relaxing on their vacation that they paid for 😬🙄," one TikToker wrote
(Credit: @cartelmarcel/TikTok)
"Let's normalize not recording people all the damn time," another added.
One user commented, "They thought it was weird to roll a bed onto a balcony but not weird to record someone who is minding their own business?"
Should you film cruisers without permission?
(Credit: Facebook)
The act of filming other cruise passengers, without their knowledge or consent, has gotten a lot of criticism online.
Although balcony rooms are often visible from other cabins, especially when docked in port, many still believe they are entitled to privacy on their balcony.
"People have no privacy these days," someone commented on @cartelmarcel's TikTok, "There should be a law against people recording and posting you without your consent."
That said, because there are no rules prohibiting this, you should be careful with what you do on your balcony — or anywhere else on the ship.
If you don't want to become the next viral sensation, you shouldn't do anything that you would not be okay with being shared online.
Moving cruise cabin furniture out to your balcony is becoming popular amongst cruisers
(Credit: @naomijaneadams/TikTok)
The guests on Allure of the Seas aren't the only cruisers who have been caught with cabin mattresses on their balconies. Another guest was criticized for creating a bed on their balcony while sailing to Antarctica.
In a viral TikTok shared in June 2024, Naomi Adams posted herself on her verandah with a plush comforter and the text, "Is somebody gonna match my freak (travel to Antarctica and set up my bed on the ship balcony so I don't miss any whales penguins & seals)."
Another person posted that a twin-sized mattress fits perfectly on Carnival Breeze's balconies:
Read more: Passenger criticized on TikTok for making a bed on cruise ship balcony
(Credit: @numberonecrush88/Reddit)
"...[W]e figured out that the twin sized mattresses fit on the carnival breeze cove balconies. Way more comfortable than a deck chair. We were very careful to not damage or dirty anything and we put everything back where we found it after enjoying some wine and a cheese plate on the balcony," numberonecrush88 wrote on Reddit.
Even with the trend becoming more popular on social media, not everyone is on board with the idea of dragging cabin mattresses onto the balcony.
"Hmm, I think bringing an air mattress would be a good alternative to using the bed mattress. I don’t love the idea of people putting the mattress on the ground overnight then back in the cabin. I feel like the mattress will get damp that way," one Redditor said.
"Nah, this is weird. Other people now have to sleep on that mattress that was sitting on an exterior floor. I get [that] those mattresses aren’t the cleanest to begin with, but this is unnecessary. So many people lack [self-awareness], it’s crazy. There are chairs out there for a reason,” said someone else.
