Report: 2023 Experienced Surge in Crimes on Cruise Ships

Table Of Content

• Public Awareness of Cruise Crime Via Cruise Line Incident Reports
• Complete Guide to Using Your Phone on a Cruise (Carnival, Royal Caribbean & More)
• Investigating crimes on cruise ships
• Types of Crimes Committed on Cruise Ships
• Overall Chances of Being a Crime Victim Are Still Low, But Use Common Sense
• DATABASES

The July 25, 2017 death was one of three homicides or suspicious deaths that year on one of 10 cruise lines operating in U.S. ports, according to U.S. We have reviewed the public reports posted for calendar years 2022 and 2023 and summarized key data points below. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

Public Awareness of Cruise Crime Via Cruise Line Incident Reports

As for your physical health, accidents like slip and falls, and even some drownings have taken place on ships. To counter this, you’ll find measures handrails on every staircase, along with high-grip footing on treads. Most cruise lines also have lifeguards on duty to monitor pools and offer life jackets for kids for free. Before getting too far, it’s important to explain that when it comes to safety, it can actually entail different things to different people.

Complete Guide to Using Your Phone on a Cruise (Carnival, Royal Caribbean & More)

Cruise ship safety is an area where the cruise lines should always strive for improvement. However, it’s always wise to maintain a sense of perspective when statistics are in the news. Most disturbingly, statistics for July 1 through September 30, 2019 reveal a 67% increase in sexual assaults compared to the previous year (35 vs. 21), and a 35% increase since the previous quarter (35 vs. 26). Even so, it’s important for every cruise passenger to know that while we’d consider a cruise a safe vacation, it doesn’t mean that things can’t happen on the ship. U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui of California says crimes at sea are an unfortunate reality, and she co-authored a bill in 2010 to expand protections to passengers after hearing from victims. If you have questions about security arrangements on particular cruise lines or ships, I would suggest that you consult the cruise line’s website or contact them directly to request further information about their security personnel and systems.

Investigating crimes on cruise ships

Carnival Cruise Line, with 26 ships carrying 5.5 million guests, reported 36 incidents, while 20 incidents were reported on Royal Caribbean ships. A recent update by the Transportation Department shows that cruise ship assaults are increasing. Users looking for a place to start can navigate into the Congressional Hearings subcollection in the U.S. From there, use the one-box search feature to perform a proximity search that looks for the words cruise and ship occurring within five words of each other, along with the word crime.

Types of Crimes Committed on Cruise Ships

Thankfully, serious crimes are infrequent on ships at sea, but as the number of passengers increase with an expanding cruise industry, the number of crimes might also rise. If you are a victim of a crime on a cruise ship, first and foremost contact the ship's security office or medical staff if you need medical assistance. If the crime occurs in port, while you are off the ship, contact local law enforcement officials, the cruise line and the nearest U.S. embassy. Finally, when it comes to the question of whether cruises are safe, you might have concerns about some of the most headline-grabbing incidents in cruising. We’re talking about the stories that make national headlines, such as people falling overboard, ships breaking down in the open ocean, storms rocking cruise ships, and even a ship sinking. This quarterly report discloses eight different types of major crimes that have allegedly happened on cruise ships sailing from the United States.

Why Are Crimes on Cruise Ships No Longer Being Disclosed to the U.S. Public? - Cruise Law News

Why Are Crimes on Cruise Ships No Longer Being Disclosed to the U.S. Public?.

Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Overall Chances of Being a Crime Victim Are Still Low, But Use Common Sense

Of all the cruises covered by the CDC’s rules, roughly outbreaks are reported each year. When some ask about safety, they mean being a victim of crime during the cruise. For instance, will they be robbed or hurt while visiting a port in Mexico?

In 2010, Congress determined cruise passengers had an inadequate understanding of the potential for crime on ocean voyages. Whether you travel often or you’re getting ready for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, it’s important to think about safety as part of your travel preparations. Our advice is that if you use common sense, there is almost no safer vacation you can take. With millions traveling across thousands of cruises each year, there will be incidents.

DATABASES

During this time, evidence could deteriorate or be tampered with, making subsequent investigation difficult or impossible. Jurisdiction is a complex issue for cruise ship crime, with multiple potentially interested authorities to consider and coordinate. These might include a ship’s ‘flagged’ country, foreign port authorities, the home countries of victim and perpetrator, and the FBI where US citizens are involved. Investigation and prosecution can entail sensitive and prolonged international negotiations. When US citizens are involved in serious cruise ship crimes, the FBI must investigate, although other law enforcement agencies might have the primary role.

Cruise Ship Violence: Murders and Other Crimes at Sea

Passengers should understand that regardless of the location of the cruise company HQ, its ships may be registered elsewhere. Beyond 12 miles, the ship’s officially registered (“flagged”) country normally has jurisdiction. If you’re already a regular cruiser or just thinking about booking your first cruise, you might be wondering about how crime and security are dealt with on board. Cruise ship medical centers are equipped to perform basic stabilization in the event of accidents, illness and other emergencies. They are not full hospitals, though, which means beds are limited, and they lack more complex treatment capabilities.

Each quarter, these statistics are compiled and released to the public to give insight on reported crimes on cruise ships among both passengers and crew. In general, they show a low number of incidents given the millions of passengers sailing each year. The FBI has demonstrated little true interest in investigating crimes on cruise ships.

Most cruise lines have comprehensive safety policies to protect you, the passenger. The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act was signed into law in the United States in 2010. This legislation requires cruise lines to comply with certain security and safety measures. It mandates reporting crimes to U.S. authorities, implementing security technology such as surveillance systems, and ensuring vessel design includes features to prevent and respond to crimes at sea. The sexual assault rate on a per capita basis for Carnival Cruise Line as of 2019 was nearly 40 (39.6) per 100,000.

Each quarter these statistics are compiled across cruise lines and released to the public through Cruise Line Incident Reports. For the vast majority of people, crime isn’t something that even crosses their mind. For the literally tens of millions that sail each year, the offenses on a cruise ship are fairly low.

When you encounter media coverage of criminal activity on cruise ships, it often features crimes committed by cruise line employees. U.S. federal laws also require cruise lines to maintain a video surveillance system to detect and deter crime. The presence of these systems not only deters crime but also provides forensic documentation of incidents and activities. We are also seeing an increased use of cruise ship security officers routinely sporting body cameras. It might take several days before a cruise ship is able to call at a port and allow law enforcement officers to investigate a crime report.

What's clearly the outlier in the data, however, are sexual assault and rape. There were 52 sexual assaults reported in 2023 (one a week) and 79 rapes (about 1.5 per week). Carnival Cruise Line also has the same number of cruise ships as Royal Caribbean (each now owns 27 ships). But Royal Caribbean has larger cruise ships with greater capacity and carries more passengers than Carnival at any given time.

The fact is that Carnival Cruise Line has a total population at any given time of only a little over 100,000 guests and crew members (108,500), which results in a current (prorated) per capita rate of slightly over 42 per 100,000. (We will update this information when the DOT reports on the sex crimes reported in the fourth quarter of 2023). As with crime anywhere, you might find that you must advocate for yourself or your family when it comes to those rights. It's wise to take your own photos when possible and to request copies of all documentation, including copies of any written statements made by you or other witnesses.

After all, you’d expect more total crimes in New York City than in Albany, based on population size alone. While those other crimes are extremely rare, sexual assault accounted for about 75% of the reported incidents in the most recent quarterly report. Most cruise-goers will never encounter any kind of crime, but serious offenses do occur on cruise ships—and can seem even more jolting in what’s supposed to be a festive and fun setting. Cruise security personnel are trained to handle various incidents and ensure your safety.