Cruise Ship Passengers Are Just Realizing What Upside Down Pineapple Signs On Doors Mean

People have warned a vacationer to ‘keep walking’ after they spotted ‘cute little pineapples’ stuck on cruise ship doors.

In most cases, pineapple emblems and ornaments are just aesthetic tributes to the tropical fruit, indigenous to regions like West Africa and Latin America.

In popular culture, you might recall Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, where the titular cartoon character famously lives in a pineapple under the sea. It’s a fun and quirky home for the beloved sea sponge.

However, when it comes to adult cruises, the herbaceous perennial takes on a whole different meaning, as one seemingly innocent TikToker discovered.

A TikToker showed cabin doors adorned with pineapples TikTok / @blogionistatravels

A woman named Dominique (@blogionistatravels) had been using social media to document her first experience onboard a cruise ship.

She was excited and curious, sharing all the little details of her adventure.

In one of her videos, she remarked on how she had discovered some interesting decorations adorning various cabin doors.

In the 15-second clip, which has amassed 21 million views since it was posted in September 2022, the travel blogger panned down a corridor lined with living quarters.

On many of the doors, it appeared that various pineapple stickers had been tacked on.

Users came out in their droves to debate the video TikTok / @blogionistatravels

In overlay text, Dominique wrote: “When you’re on your first cruise and you see that everyone has these little cute pineapples on their door.”

After watching the video, viewers quickly took to the comments section to share their thoughts on the pineapple stickers.

One TikTok user wrote: “The welcome one with the butterfly makes me think it’s a sweet old lady that thinks people just decorate with pineapples on cruises & want to decorate.”

This comment highlighted the innocence that some might still associate with the pineapple symbol.

A second user typed: “Still waiting on name of cruise… for a friend of course,” hinting at a deeper curiosity about the cruise’s nature.

Another viewer commented: “It could just be the cruise put them there. It’s the international hospitality symbol,” trying to rationalize the decorations as merely friendly gestures.

However, the comments didn’t stop there. Someone else added: “Ooop don’t go in unless you want to mix things up if you know what I mean,” bringing the hidden meaning to light.

Another viewer shared a personal anecdote: “I remember the time I decorated our tent site in pineapples and learned at 2 am what message I was sending. Mortified! I stick to watermelons now!!”

This humorous yet revealing comment underscored the unexpected interpretations of certain symbols.

Finally, another person recommended: “Baby just keep walking,” suggesting that not all doors are meant to be knocked on.

Usually, these subtle motifs are placed upside down to act as a secret code for swinging, swinger parties, and wife-swapping.

"Are you aware that pineapples are the universal sign for swingers, is that part of the gag." Redit / @SashaButters

Interestingly though, they’re not the only signs that swingers—a person who engages in group sex or the swap of sexual partners—use to identify each other.

Many swingers on vacation often wear black rings, while married couples sometimes choose to wear their wedding bands on their right hand instead of the traditional left hand.

If you’re not really into being discreet about your sexual preferences, there are actually dedicated adult-only swingers cruises you can book onto.