An Ohio couple accused of being intoxicated forced their way into a family’s cruise ship cabin and assaulted the occupants after being asked to keep the noise down, authorities said — with police alleging a 9-year-old child was also struck during the confrontation.
Gannon Jacox, 29, and his girlfriend, Brooklyn Hicks, 28, were taken into custody Saturday evening at Port Canaveral, roughly 40 miles from Orlando International Airport, after the incident aboard the vessel, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Facebook post from the department.
According to Ivey, the Ohio pair had allegedly been loudly arguing after consuming “adult beverages” when one member of the family asked them to lower their voices. Instead, authorities said, the couple approached the victim outside the family’s cabin and escalated the dispute.
The situation then turned physical, with the allegedly intoxicated passengers accused of shoving their way into the cabin. Once inside, Jacox allegedly attacked two adults as well as the family’s 9-year-old child, Ivey wrote.
“As a fight ensued Jacox ends up hitting all 3 people (including the child) and Hicks was just swinging, hoping one would land,” Ivey wrote, describing the chaotic scene aboard the cruise ship.
The sheriff added that Jacox suffered a noticeable eye injury during the altercation, saying it may have been caused by one of the victims — or possibly by “friendly fire” from Hicks as she threw punches.
Ivey said the family members were not seriously hurt in what he called a “ridiculous escapade.”
After the unidentified cruise ship returned to Port Canaveral, Jacox was charged with burglary with battery and child abuse without great bodily harm. Hicks was charged with burglary with battery and battery-touch/strike, according to the sheriff’s office.
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Both suspects were booked into the Brevard County Jail.
Jacox is currently being held on a $31,000 bond, while Hicks is being held on a $6,000 bond, according to online records.
Ivey noted that the weekend’s cruise troubles had little to do with the summer heat — pointing instead to alcohol and poor judgment.
“It’s for sure the alcohol combined with an apparent lack of common sense!!” he wrote.
Four cruise ships docked at Port Canaveral on Saturday — Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, Disney’s Disney Treasure and Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras and Carnival Freedom, according to the port’s cruise ship schedule for Aug. 15, 2026.
It remains unclear which vessel the suspects were staying on when they allegedly attacked the family.
Following the arrests, Ivey used the incident as a warning to anyone thinking about getting rowdy on a cruise.
“The moral of the story…if you can’t hold your liquor, then you definitely shouldn’t be out in public causing a scene like this and injuring random people including a child!!” Ivey wrote.
“And if that memo is not clear enough for you then you might want to stay your butt out of Brevard County!!”
“You know the deal folks, break the law in Brevard County and I promise you the lodge will have a reservation with your name on it!!” Ivey quipped.
