GALVESTON, Texas — Carnival Cruise Line banned 24 passengers from future sailings after a violent brawl erupted at the Galveston cruise terminal on April 26, 2025, during debarkation from the Carnival Jubilee. The incident, captured in a video shared on Facebook by user Trelle Ray, occurred in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area as passengers returned from a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and Roatan Island, Honduras.
The footage shows passengers shoving each other, knocking down signs and barriers, and pushing at least one person to the ground, where they were punched and kicked. Security officers intervened, but the scuffle persisted. “It went down this morning,” Trelle Ray wrote in the April 26 post. The cause of the fight remains unclear.
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“The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson told USA Today in an emailed statement. “This matter has been turned over to law enforcement. Meanwhile, we will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list.”
The Port of Galveston Police Department responded to the altercation at Cruise Terminal 25. U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained several individuals, and one person was arrested by port police and charged, though the specific charge was not disclosed. The Carnival Jubilee, which departed Galveston on April 19 and returned at 8 a.m. on April 26, completed its itinerary without reported onboard incidents.
This is not the first instance of passenger violence involving Carnival. In 2018, over 20 passengers were removed from a cruise in Eden, Australia, after a violent dispute. In June 2024, a brawl on the Carnival Paradise in the buffet area led to nearly 30 passengers being banned, with footage showing guests throwing chairs and tackling each other.
Carnival’s swift response underscores its zero-tolerance policy for disruptive behavior. The 24 banned passengers join a growing Do Not Sail list, reflecting the cruise line’s efforts to ensure safety during embarkation and debarkation processes.
