Whether you've sailed on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Disney, you've likely seen cabin doors decorated with fun magnets.
Door decorating has been a popular cruise tradition for years. It adds a personal touch to your stateroom, makes it easier to find your cabin, and is a fun way to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, or graduations.
I figured that for my 30th cruise, there was no better time to go all out and fully embrace the tradition that I had avoided since my first cruise in 2005, especially since I was sailing aboard the world's largest cruise ship over Easter!
Read more: Cruise Door Decorations: How to make your cabin door stand out
A few weeks before my cruise, I began searching Amazon for fun magnet sets to decorate my cabin door
Initally, I thought about ordering basic cruise-themed magnets that could be reused on future sailings. However, once I saw how cute the Easter-themed packs were, I knew I needed bunnies on my door. Plus, I have plenty of non-holiday cruises planned this year, but this was my only opportunity to lean into a specific theme.
I set a budget of $10 since the likelihood of the magnets being reused is slim. After taxes, my chosen pack with 16 magnets was just $7.50. (While the Easter-themed pack is no longer available, the same seller has two summer-themed sets with 16 magnets.)
They arrived two days after I placed my order, and I immediately placed them in my suitcase so I wouldn't forget them.
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I forgot about the magnets until I began unpacking on embarkation day
While removing my packing cubes from my suitcase, I came across the magnets I'd tossed in days earlier. In fact, I realized I never counted the magnets before leaving to ensure there were 16. Thankfully, they were all there, and none had gotten bent during our travel day from Charlotte to Miami.
Amidst the embarkation day excitement, taking time to decorate our door felt like another chore on a growing to-do list, which mostly involved exploring the ship and tracking down a good cocktail before our early dinner at Giovanni's. Still, part of being on vacation is feeling like you don't really have to do anything.
However, because we had already paid for the magnets and unpacked them, we stopped in our tracks to decorate our door.
Overall, it took less than 10 minutes to strategically place the magnets on the door. And I'll admit, though I was hesitant about spending time placing colorful eggs and bunnies on our stateroom door, it made our cabin feel festive.
Our decorated door wasn't the cheerful landmark I thought it'd be
Though I wasn't surprised by how many cruisers embraced the tradition, I was surprised by how many also chose Easter-themed decor. While keeping my eyes out for our colorful magnets, I noticed other Easter scenes adorning doors up and down our hallway.
This meant that instead of using our door decorations as a landmark, I resorted to the old-fashioned method of counting doors and keeping an eye out for my specific cabin number.
Since our door didn't stand out in the crowd, I wish I had budgeted more time to order something more personalized.
There were reports in our cruise's Facebook group of magnets going missing
One reason I was hesitant to decorate my cabin door was that I'd heard reports of magnets going missing. While none of our magnets were taken, cruisers in our Facebook group began reporting stolen door decorations before sailaway.
At around 3:45pm on embarkation day, roughly an hour after we finished our door, one sailor shared that they had three magnets taken from their door. They went to Guest Services and were asked if they wanted the security footage pulled, but they said no. In the end, they were just upset their decorations were removed so quickly.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only report of missing door decor on our 7-night spring break cruise. Another cruiser on Deck 11 shared that theirs were stolen early on, too. After disembarking, a comment popped up saying they had decorations stolen on the final day of the cruise.
While it was a cute tradition to participate in, I don't think I'd decorate my cruise door again
There are ways to economically decorate your cabin door. While we didn't drop $20 or more on magnets, we managed to create a colorful display for under $10.
Still, the decorations weren't as helpful as I thought they’d be when it came to finding our cabin. With so many other cruisers leaning into the Easter theme, our bunnies blended in with similar decor lining the hallway.
Additionally, we completely forgot about the magnets when packing and had to throw them in our carry-on bag at the last minute after noticing other bare doors.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
