Carnival Issues Swimwear Dress Code Warning Ahead of Port Call
If you're aboard Carnival Splendor's current Sydney sailing, check your stateroom for the letter regarding the June 2 Lifou port call, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pack modest swimwear for the beach or pool and cover-ups for visits to churches or marketplaces — G-strings, thongs, monokinis, mankinis, and topless sunbathing are not permitted anywhere on the island. Noncompliance could mean being sent back to the ship, so plan your shore outfit before you disembark.
This is Carnival protecting a port relationship, not policing morals for its own sake — the letter says outright that non-compliance "could severely restrict or compromise" Lifou's place on future itineraries. That's a real business risk: Lifou is on the Splendor's schedule twice in June alone, plus Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter later, and demand ramps further in the December-March peak season when AIDA, Princess, Costa, Celebrity and Holland America ships also call. My read is Carnival would rather annoy a handful of guests with a stateroom letter than risk losing beach access for an entire fleet's itineraries. In the reader's shoes, I'd treat this as a genuine heads-up rather than corporate nagging — being sent back to the ship costs you your day, even without a fine. Worth noting this lands right after Carnival's camouflage-clothing reminder for Bahamas and Jamaica calls — dress-code enforcement is clearly getting more attention fleet-wide this season.