Carnival passengers break out in brawl in the US – no wonder Aussies cruise locally?

• A massive brawl broke out between Carnival Cruise Line passengers on a Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas.
• The passengers of the Carnival Conquest cruise were queueing in immigration when they suddenly broke into a huge brawl, which was caught on video.
• It’s not known exactly what began the brawl, but it has been speculated that it began after some passengers tried to beat the line.

A wild brawl on a Carnival cruise in the USA has resulted in Carnival banning 16 passengers from cruising again. Cruisers were queueing at immigration in the Bahamas when suddenly a brawl began from nowhere, with large groups of passengers punching, kicking and pulling at each other.

The shocking footage shows passengers aggressively fighting while hundreds of other Carnival Conquest passengers look on, shocked at what’s happening. No arrests were made as no one involved wanted to press charges, and no serious injuries were reported, but 16 cruisers were added to Carnival’s ‘no sailing list’.

A Carnival spokesperson said: “The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. We appreciate law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter.

“We do not tolerate such behaviour, and 16 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail List.”

No arrests after this large brawl involving a child this AM at Port Miami, per @MiamiDade_SO. I’m told that this happened after a @CarnivalCruise Conquest ship arrived and as passengers made their way through customs. Customs officers seen breaking it up. @wsvn pic.twitter.com/Pi9eyNAVIk

— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) June 22, 2026

The Daily Mail reported that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the first was between two families, and escalated after one passenger declared they were going to skip to the front of the immigration line.

Cruise bans for misbehaving guests are a regular occurrence. Carnival’s terms and conditions state: “Any Guest whose conduct affects the comfort, enjoyment, safety, or well-being of other guests or crew will be detained onboard and/or disembarked at their own expense and will be prohibited from sailing with Carnival in the future”.

Last year, there was a brawl on Carnival Jubilee which saw the banning of 24 guests. These incidents are generally not common in Australia, however, in 2018, as many as 30 people were hurt in a large brawl, also on a Carnival ship.

In general, it’s rare to see incidents such as these on Aussie ships. While it’s common to hear cruisers complain about the behaviour of other cruises, in Australia you’re much more likely to hear complaints about noisy children or poor hygiene than wild brawls or fights.

What are people saying?

Hundreds of Reddit cruisers expressed their disappointment that travellers like these are out there and can ruin the vacations of others, who are just looking for a peaceful time away.

One user wrote: “Why are people like this? Truly? What is it about a vacation on a cruise ship that turns people violent like this when they disembark?

“The quick-to-violence temperament is baffling to me. Why do you want to spend your life so angry and so quick to find offence. It just seems like a miserable way to live. And now you are banned from a cruise line forever. Well done.”

Another wrote: “It was EIGHT in the morning. There is no alcohol available. These stone-cold sober people decided to brawl in the customs line.”

Another cruiser said: “They’re banned on Carnival so who’s the unlucky cruise line they will move to next?”

Others sarcastically mocked Carnival, saying: “At least people like this have the decency to all congregate at Carnival. Carnival does us cruisegoers a great service.”

However, other passengers rightly pointed out that this does happen on other cruise lines, in fact a Royal Caribbean ship saw a high profile fight just last week. That brawl featured 13 people fighting at the private Royal Caribbean beach club in Nassau.