Four passengers on a four-day cruise from Miami face charges and others aboard Carnival Cruise Lines’ Freedom were accused of fighting, according to news outlets.
Two fights broke out during one of Carnival’s Freedom voyages from Port Canaveral. The first alleged fight took place Saturday in the ship’s nightclub between at least four people. When the ship docked in Bimini the next day, all four were escorted off the ship with their parties.
The second fight happened on one of the upper decks of the ship and included several people jumping into the brawl. It is unclear what started either fight. In footage of the second fight, a security guard can be seen stepping in to stop any further violence after much of the group that was brawling had already separated.
Additional information including whether anyone was injured or sought medical care aboard the ship for injuries was not immediately available Wednesday.
The passengers aboard the four-day cruise leaving Miami to head to the Bahamas were charged after police say they used fraudulent credit cards at the ship’s casino. The four were charged after the incident on MSC Magnifica in which police say they tried to “cash large amounts of money on board” using the fraudulent cards, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida.
The four were not permitted to leave the ship and were charged with organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card when they got back to Miami. Two out of the four faced an additional charge of fraudulent use of identification.
‘Very Lax Policing’
With an office in a city often described as the cruising capital of the world, Leesfield & Partners has been privy to numerous trends within the cruise line industry and attorneys with the firm have watched companies grow to accommodate more passengers than ever before. The firm has seen everything from ships competing with one another to create behemoth “floating cities” complete with casinos, night clubs and amenities such as waterslides and go-kart tracks to the inclusion of thrill-seeking excursions such as parasailing. With this growth, not only has the industry grown but so has the potential for injury.
Worldwide, it is estimated that 27.6 million passengers will board cruise ships in 2024. This already greatly surpasses numbers seen from before the pandemic which saw an industry-wide shutdown as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19. In Port Miami, approximately 7.2 million passengers are expected for 2024. In data from the Department of Transportation related to cruise crime, the numbers showed a decrease in the second hald of the year. This data does not account for crimes that have gone on unreported. In Q1 for 2024, there were eight assaults with serious bodily injury, 16 sexual assaults, 16 rapes and one missing persons case reported. Q2 saw those numbers come in with about eight assaults with serious bodily injury, one suspicious death, one missing person, nine sexual assaults and 16 rape cases aboard ships reported to authorities.
Any uptick in cruise crimes could be attributed to the increase in passengers aboard ships, Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner Ira Leesfield said in a recent article discussing cruise crime. While this may be the case, Leesfield explained, it is still the responsibility of these ships to ensure that passengers are safe and protected while they travel with them.
One attributing factor and a blaring problem within the industry that Leesfield sees is the lack of policing aboard ships. Refrencing an ongoing case being handled by the firm in which a crew member was found to be filming passengers, including minors, in their private restrooms, Leesfield said another issue was a lack of training.
“That’s just kind of a one in a long series of why there’s more sexual abuse and sexual activity on the ships, and I think your question is why? And I think the answer that I see is very lax policing, and very lax training, because a lot of the people … are crew members. This guy was a crew member,” Leesfield said.
Previous Leesfield & Partners Cases
Leesfield & Partners attorneys have seen numerous cases of negligent security at the hands of cruise ships. The firm previously handled a case in which an innocent passenger was suddenly descended upon by a violent group who beat up our client.
In one case involving a Canadian single woman who was traveling on a ship, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a multi-million dollar recovery after the woman was attacked by a crew member. The cruise ship’s employee was able to gain entry into the woman’s room by using a company key card after which he raped her multiple times.
The issue of a crewmember having unrestricted access to cabins has been a discussion for several years with arguments being presented that crewmembers need the cards to clean rooms and ensure safety of their guests while others point out that it leaves passengers vulnerable to violent crime such as was the case for our client. In 2005, the industry’s leaders testified publicly that they would address the issue and had not six years later at the time of the incident involving our client.
The firm has a strong history of representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse. In one case involving a well-known overnight camp, attorneys with the firm were able to secure an &8.6 million recovery for the owners’ purposeful ignorance of pedophile activity endangering their campers.
Another case in which an institution meant to protect children failed to do so involved a Florida private high school. A teacher at the school was allowed unfettered access to young boys who he sexually harassed and abused. The firm was able to obtain multi-million dollar reparations for the survivors and victims of the sexual abuse.
Another instance in which the firm represented a survivor of sexual abuse involves that of a child who was meant to fly on an airline as an unaccompanied minor. The child was meant to be under the care of flight attendants, however, a disturbed passenger saw the child alone and took advantage.
A confidential recovery was secured by attorneys with the firm against the airline in that case.