Cruise ship crime reaches 2-year high, casting ‘dark cloud’ for travelers: expert

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Travel expert explains why cruises are more prone to crimes

Robert McDonald, a former Secret Service special agent and criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven, explained to Fox News Digital why cruises are more prone to crime.

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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.

According to data from the Department of Transportation, allegations of 48 crimes were reported onboard cruise ships from Jan. 1, 2025, to March 30, 2025. Twenty-three incidents were reported rapes, 10 were sexual assaults and seven were assaults, which all reportedly happened on cruise ships.

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.

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“Sometimes, the cruise lines don’t want to report this information on the front end, depending upon, again, what type of crime it is, which brings unfortunate attention to them, just as it would when we have airplane situations or the delays in airplanes that we’re having now,” McDonald said.

“All of that negative vibe and negative information puts a dark cloud over the industry, an industry that wants people to come to it and wants them to be comfortable spending their money.”

The Key West Florida USA cruise ship Carnival Conquest is docked at Mallory Square.  (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

McDonald said cruises are more prone to crime because of the number of people packed in a tight area.

“I think anytime we get large numbers of people together, whether it’s at a Super Bowl game or at a World Series game or an NBA Finals or graduations or whatnot, whenever we get people together, whenever there’s alcohol involved, whenever there are people being able to let loose a little bit from their normal personality, I think that exacerbates the ability for numbers to rise in that regard,” he said.

“Anytime we get together, those numbers are going to go up, whether that’s at a resort, whether it’s on a cruise ship.”

The Carnival Celebration moves through the water Jan. 1, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

On March 21, two illegal immigrants were arrested after allegedly molesting a minor while onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise that set sail from Miami.

Jose Prudencio Diaz, 36, and Ricardo Daniel Mondragon Leal, 37, were charged with child molestation and exhibition after an incident on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas ship.

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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.

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“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.

Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on Twitter @asabes10.