Crime rates aboard cruise ships leaving the U.S. have reached a two-year high, and one expert says this creates a “dark cloud” for travelers.
Information provided by the Department of Transportation reveals that during the period from January 1 to March 30, 2025, there were 48 crime allegations made onboard cruise ships. Of these incidents, 23 were reported as rapes, 10 were sexual assaults, and seven were assaults, all occurring on cruise vessels.
Robert McDonald, a former Secret Service special agent and criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven, told Fox News Digital crime negatively affects the cruise industry. McDonald has coordinated security for various dignitaries around the world.
Jose Prudencio Diaz, 36, and Ricardo Daniel Mondragon Leal, 37, were charged with molestation of a child and exhibition on a child on an Independence of the Seas cruise. (Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office/Royal Caribbean)
The victim was identified as a 14-year-old boy who told police he was in the ship’s sauna when Diaz and Leal allegedly began masturbating in front of him.
According to records from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Diaz and Leal forced the victim to touch them. Leal also allegedly forced the minor to perform a sex act.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X: “We WILL get these sickos out of our country.”
One recent incident involved dozens of Carnival Cruise Line passengers who got into a brawl while disembarking from a ship April 26. In a video posted to social media, several cruise passengers push through crowds in the Port of Galveston cruise terminal.
Passengers departing a Carnival Cruise Line ship in Galveston were involved in a brawl. (Trelle Ray/Facebook)
Passengers exiting a Carnival Cruise Line ship in Galveston were involved in a brawl. (Trelle Ray/Facebook)
During the fight, which happened in the cruise port, people can be seen punching and kicking others.
Carnival Cruise Line placed 24 passengers on a “do not sail list,” prohibiting them from getting aboard any of the company’s ships. A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line previously told Fox News Digital it doesn’t tolerate violence.
“The matter was turned over to law enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “We will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Carnival and Royal Caribbean for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
