Cruise ship passengers are just realising why the bathrooms have buckets

When stepping aboard a cruise ship, most holidaymakers anticipate leaving their troubles ashore and embracing a peaceful holiday at sea. However, some passengers have found themselves baffled by a mysterious item appearing in nearly every cruise cabin bathroom - and the debate surrounding its actual purpose has dominated social media. On TikTok, one cruise passenger posted footage of the small bucket typically positioned beside cruise ship toilets, asking: "Every cruise ship has the same bucket in the bathroom. What is it for?" The video rapidly generated discussion, with passengers offering vastly contrasting explanations drawn from their own onboard experiences. Some maintained the bucket functions simply as a bathroom bin. One user replied: "It is 100% a trash can." Others insisted cruise staff had explicitly informed them it was designated for feminine hygiene products. Another person said: "When I went on a cruise in November our steward placed really small plastic bags in it and said it was for 'girl time things'. I swear he said girl time." A third added: "I put the sanitary bag in there to put liners in so I didn't use a bag for each liner since they are so small." Nevertheless, not everyone was convinced. Some highlighted that numerous cruise bathrooms already feature a separate disposal unit for sanitary products, while others observed the bucket frequently lacks any bin liner whatsoever. Instead, multiple passengers believe the bucket serves an entirely different function - seasickness. One passenger confessed: "It is for throwing up when you're seasick while on the toilet." Another added bluntly: "I threw up in mine." One more joked: "Champagne or vomit... you choose." The debate also sparked interest in another familiar cruise ship characteristic - the notoriously noisy toilets. According to Cruise Critic, cruise ship bathrooms are engineered to be compact and practical, which means everything is squeezed into a considerably smaller area than your average hotel bathroom. The website explains that cruise toilets don't rely on the standard flushing mechanisms you'd find at home. Instead, contemporary vessels employ vacuum-powered toilets to preserve water supplies onboard. Cruise Critic said: "The sounds your toilet makes include a scary whoosh - unfortunately loud enough to be heard in the hallways - followed by a series of thumps as valves in the system close." So while passengers might continue to debate the bucket's actual function, there's one thing most cruise-goers can agree upon - cruise bathrooms certainly require some adjustment.