crimes on cruise ships

Published on: August 22, 2025

Cruise Ship Narrowly Misses Florida Pontoon Boat. What to Know.

A cruise ship nearly hit a pontoon boat in Tampa Bay this week after the boat had mechanical issues and drifted into the ship’s path, according to Cruise News Today.

The boat was disabled due to a line wrapping around its propeller. About four minutes later, a cruise ship sailed by, causing Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies with the agency’s marine unit to perform an emergency tow of the boat. At least six adults were rescued from the pontoon boat. Deputies stayed with the boat until it was operable.

Last year, a couple was stranded in the Tampa Bay awaiting help after a cruise ship caused a wake that overturned.

Published on: June 12, 2025

Passengers Banned from Cruise Line for Brawling, Throwing Chairs. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Several passengers have been permanently banned from sailing with Carnival Cruise Line for fighting on board and throwing chairs.

A fight broke out on the Carnival Sunrise over the weekend as the ship sailed from the Bahamas, cruise media reported Tuesday. A video that surfaced online shows multiple passengers in what appears to be a sunroom throwing chairs and brawling while other passengers observed the chaos.

Security was quick to break up the fight. The cruise line has since announced that the passengers involved in the incident have been permanently banned from sailing with the company.

Published on: January 14, 2025

Boaters, Dog Stranded After Cruise Ship Sinks Vessel in Florida. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two people and their dog were left stranded, clinging to a buoy in the Tampa Bay over the weekend, officials said in a news release Monday.

The incident happened before 6 p.m. Saturday near Gadsen Point after a cruise ship caused a wake that made their boat crash and sink. Both boaters were injured in the incident and swam to the buoy to wait for help.

U.S. Coast Guard officials as well as deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office found the trio at 6:11 p.m. Both people were taken to a local hospital.

Published on: September 11, 2024

Florida Man Connected to “Autism on the Seas” Accused of Sexually Abusing a Minor on a Cruise Ship

By Leesfield & Partners

A Florida man allegedly contributing to at least two programs aimed to provide services for special needs children was charged after police accused him of sexually abusing a minor aboard a cruise ship in 2023.

James “Jamie” Grover, 62, of Volusia County, Florida, was charged with sexually abusing a minor after a search of his Deltona home in Volusia County, Florida, and of his workplace at the Seminole Town Center Mall in Sanford Thursday, according to local news outlets.

In reporting from 10 Tampa Bay, at least two mothers accused Grover of sexually abusing their children in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. At least one of the mothers said Grover committed a “sexual act” on her son while on a cruise in May of 2023.

Published on: September 6, 2024

Man Accused in Cruise Passenger’s Rape Faces Charges Following Weekend Cruise, Officials Say

By Leesfield & Partners

A Texas man who allegedly raped a woman on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas faced sexual battery charges and was taken into police custody when the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend, officials say.

The alleged attack took place on Aug. 28 with a 20-year-old woman stating to police that she was raped mid-cruise by the man.

The man, 28, was granted a $20,000 bond.