You might think cruise ship bans only happen for bad behavior on board? No, it turns out… especially when the behavior is egregious enough to go viral.
A wild scene unfolded at the Galveston, Texas cruise terminal late last month, after passengers disembarked the Carnival Jubilee following a week-long Caribbean sailing. In a now-viral Facebook video shared by user Trelle Ray — captioned “It went down this morning” — dozens of people can be seen shouting and physically fighting in the cruise terminal, reportedly over an issue that started on board and escalated on land.
The cruise line responded with harsh consequences. In a statement to USA Today, Carnival confirmed that it added 24 people to its “Do Not Sail” list, effectively banning them from future cruises for life.
“The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” Carnival said. “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.”
While it’s rare to see this kind of large-scale disciplinary action, Carnival does have a formal code of conduct, and the cruise line has certainly had to enforce it before. The company has previously stated that passengers may be fined up to $500, confined to their cabins, removed from the ship mid-voyage at their own expense, or banned entirely for violating the rules.
This isn’t the first time a viral fight has led to significant consequences. In 2022, a 60-person brawl broke out on the Carnival Magic’s dance floor, prompting a police investigation and U.S. Coast Guard involvement.