Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
At least two cruise ship passengers face criminal charges after police say they fought with a third passenger as it returned to Port Canaveral, according to Cruise News Today.
The incident happened over the weekend of Aug 15 aboard an unnamed ship and involved a 29-year-old and 28-year-old passenger with at least one other person. Officials said that the pair forced their way into the third passenger’s room after an alleged altercation when that passenger asked them to “quiet down.”
Once inside the cabin, where a 9-year-old was located, a fight broke out. The couple faced charges when the ship returned to Port Canaveral on Florida’s east coast. The two face various charges, including burglary with assault, child abuse, assault with battery, and misdemeanor battery.
Additional information was not immediately available.
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with 50 years of experience representing the victims of assaults and other violent crimes throughout Florida. In those five decades, the firm has obtained record verdicts and settlements on behalf of victims and families impacted by these incidents. Our skilled trial attorneys handle every case with the tenacity, diligence, and compassion for our clients’ sufferings to secure the best possible outcome in every case.
Leesfield & Partners: Negligent Security Trial Attorneys
When preparing to head off on a cruise ship voyage or other travel destination, vacationers are thinking about booking coupons, making it to the airport on time for their flights, and whether they’ve packed all that they’ll need. Law enforcement investigations, hospital stays, and terrifying ordeals are typically not a part of the imagined package. With our experience, however, they sometimes are. Our firm has represented hotel guests who suffered horrific injuries as the result of gruesome attacks, cruise ship passengers who were raped and sexually assaulted, and the victims of other violent crimes. Leesfield & Partners has obtained record verdicts and settlements on behalf of the victims of such incidents, earning the firm a reputation both statewide and throughout the U.S.
Cruise crime has been on the rise, according to U.S. Department of Transportation and FBI data. Tragically, incidents of alleged sexual assaults and rape make up the majority of incidents that are reported across all major cruise lines. The latest USDOT data published incidents occurring from April to June 2026 revealed that there was one assault with serious bodily injury, one suspicious death, and four thefts of less than $4,000 reported on major cruise ships coming in and out of the United States. On these same ships, the data showed, there were approximately 19 sexual assaults and 25 rapes reported. The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act mandates that these incidents are reported to the FBI.
Leesfield & Partners is representing a woman in a video voyeurism case who was filmed by a crewmember without her knowledge in her private cruise ship cabin.
Previous Cases
In a traumatic case handled by Leesfield & Partners attorneys, a Canadian woman who was traveling on a cruise ship was raped by a crewmember. The cruise line employee was able to gain entry into the woman’s room using a key card from the ship before he attacked her multiple times. This case resulted in a multi-million-dollar recovery for the woman.
Though not on a cruise ship, Mr. Leesfield and Trial Attorney Carlos A. Fabano previously represented four adults who were sexually abused as children by a church official. Throughout the decades, these individuals have been deeply affected by the abuse they suffered as children at the hands of someone meant to protect and guide them and the ignorance of other adults who knew or should have known but did nothing to stop the abuse from taking place.
A confidential settlement was obtained on behalf of our clients.
Previously, Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured a $16 million settlement on behalf of a couple who were staying at a Florida hotel when they were savagely beaten, and the wife was raped and sexually assaulted by a man who was not a guest at the hotel. The property had no required keycard access on elevators that would have prevented the man from traveling up to the couple’s floor. Additionally, neither security not hotel employees stopped or questioned the man when he entered the property.
The hotel had been previously advised by police and a private security company to hire armed guards due to its previous history of violence. To save money, however, hotel officials did not heed this warning and took no action to improve safety measures to protect its guests or employees. Making matters worse, the attack was witnessed by both employees and the security that the hotel already had. Neither party intervened to try and stop the violent assault.
Leesfield & Partners recovered $8.6 million against a prestigious overnight camp in Florida after they failed to notice the signs of one of their counselors who sexually abused a child in their care.
A well-respected Florida high school was forced to pay multi-million-dollar reparations to numerous students represented by Leesfield & Partners. These reparations were made following the serial sexual abuse our clients suffered at the hands of their teacher.
An unaccompanied minor was represented by Leesfield & Partners after she was sexually abused by a passenger on an airline. The child was meant to be under the supervision of flight attendants who failed to properly watch over and protect the child.
A confidential settlement was reached with the airline.
If you or a loved one were injured as the result of a negligent security incident aboard a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 305-854-4900 to see if you may be eligible to make a claim.
