How a TikTok dance led to a controversial Carnival ban of an everyday item

• Carnival’s ban of handheld fans on dance floors appears to be have been inspired by their use during a TikTok dance.
• A viral trend to a song called “Boots on the Ground” involves ‘clacking’ fans as part of the dance.
• Carnival has shut down rumours that they are also banning a popular genre of music on its ships.

Cruise lines are constantly tweaking their rules, such as banning new items or or putting new policies into place to try and make cruising an overall more pleasant experience. 

Just recently, it has also shut down rumours saying that it would be banning hip-hop and rap music onboard.

In a statement to the Daily Dot, a spokesperson said their DJs “play a wide variety of music, including hip-hop.”

Many recent decisions such as banning of bluetooth speakers or ‘chair hogging’ by the pool are popular, with the majority of cruisers seemingly in agreement. The cruise line also has banned cannabis, drink package limits and curfews.

But the topic that is still of contention is the banning of handheld fans on the dancefloor which are used in the popular ‘Wobble Dance’.

A recent TikTok trend involves a dance to a new song called ‘Boots on the Ground’, and this dance involves the use of these “clack” fans as part of the choreography of the dance. 

The video below shows Carnival passengers using these fans as part of the line dance to the song, with the video taking just recently at the start of June.

The trend has been strong for a few months now. This video from April of the line dance being performed on a Carnival ship has more than two million views.

However, the wind will be taken out of the sails of this popular cruise ship dance, as these handheld fans will no longer be able to used. 

There has been no confirmation that the ‘Wobble Dance’ has been banned by the cruise line.

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So, why is this controversial?

A popular cruise content creator ‘CruisinwithJenn’ posted about how cruisers experienced extremely confusing communication from Carnival following the ban.

John Heald first confirmed that the ban was for battery operated fans, only to soon rescind this. Many other cruisers posed the question to Heald as well and received vague or confusing answers, leading commentators to say he was “gaslighting” in his response.

Eventually, Heald clarified that it was the handheld, non-electric fans, that the ban was referring to, and that the ban was put into place for safety reasons.

@cruisinwithjenn

Here we go 😬. I knew what they meant from the moment it was posted. I’m just waiting for them to actually say it. #carnivalcruiseline #carnivalcruise #carnival

♬ original sound – Jenn | Cruise Confessions

This lack of communication appears to have resonated poorly with some Carnival customers.

Another popular cruise content creator ‘mandythecruiseplanner’ gave more context to the ban, saying that she heard a rumour that someone was hit by a fan onboard and required stitches.

However, she also notes that many other commenters have been asking for the song to be banned in its entirety, and notes that this, along with the ordeal of banning the fans, has led to some Carnival passengers feeling target.

The dance arose from line dancing culture in the Black community, and it has been primarily Black passengers onboard that have been doing the dance.

Due to the specificity of the ban, many passengers have been left feeling upset.

One commenter wrote: “It screams of micro aggression” and another wrote “They hate to see us together and having a great time”.

Amongst the other top-rated comments were “I love making racists upset lol, it brings me joy knowing they are miserable” and “We should clap our hands and see if they ban hand clapping”.

Other cruise content creators have also commented on the issue, such as “thejonnybrown”, who feels that while the ban makes sense for safety reasons, more clear communication could have avoided some passengers feeling deliberately targeted.

@thejonnybrown

#jonnytsunami #carnival #carnivalcruise #cruises #cruisetok

♬ original sound – CJ is just testing stuff – Aniaaa