Should Some Passengers Be Banned For Life From Cruising?

There have been many high-profile incidents of poor behaviour and even violence on cruise ships in recent weeks.
Passenger reaction suggests cruisers are concerned and want to see cruise lines do more to ensure their safety onboard.
While cruising remains an extremely safe holiday, Cruise Passenger explains recent incidents and explores some strategies that cruise lines could look to implement moving forward.

Should passengers who create serious problems be banned for life from all cruise lines?

The behaviour of cruise ship passengers has been firmly in the spotlight over recent weeks. From complaints over noisy kids to more serious brawls and assaults, misbehaving cruise ship passengers can’t seem to keep themselves out of the headlines.

These recent incidents suggest that some passengers are pushing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, raising concerns about the overall atmosphere aboard these floating resorts.

This has led to debates about whether cruise lines should ban passengers for life from all cruise lines. Cruisers fear wrongdoers can simply switch to another line and behave similarly on other ships. This has led to passengers commenting and writing to cruise lines, urging that misbehaving passengers receive bans across all lines.

While the chance you encountering any kind of violence on your cruise is extremely low, there are clearly enough incidents, as well as enough lower-level misbehaviour such as over-exuberant and misbehaving children, that it has cruise passengers worried.

Thankfully, Australia has remained relatively immune to such incidents, but more Australians are fly-cruising overseas, which means they might come into contact with poor behaviour.

One of the most alarming events occurred on April 26, 2025, when a brawl broke out among passengers disembarking from the Carnival Jubilee at the Galveston, Texas, cruise terminal. The altercation escalated in a baggage claim area, with passengers knocking over barriers and assaulting another individual.

Despite security intervention, the fight continued under the supervision of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and was later handed over to law enforcement. As a result, Carnival Cruise Line placed 24 individuals involved in the incident on its “do not sail” list, emphasising its zero-tolerance stance on such behaviour.

This incident is not isolated. In June 2022, a similar large-scale brawl occurred aboard the Carnival Magic, involving 40 to 60 passengers. The altercation led to a Coast Guard escort back to port and raised concerns about passenger conduct on cruise ships.

Are passengers really getting worse?

The question arises: Are passengers on cruise ships becoming more badly behaved? While isolated incidents have always occurred, the frequency and scale of these events seem to be increasing.

It’s difficult to find any statistical evidence that cruise ship behaviour is trending in the wrong direction, but cruise passengers haven’t been afraid to vocalise their concerns across social media, highlighting the importance of cruise lines addressing these issues.

Furthermore, cruise is ever rising in popularity, and a more packed ship can create an environment where incidents are perhaps more likely to occur.

Beyond this, cost-of-living issues, as well as the appeal of cruising, are driving more and more first-time cruisers to the floating vacation, where fresh faces may bring a different energy or understanding to ships that can lead to tensions when accepted etiquette is broken.

This could also be a factor in the seemingly parallel phenomenon of kids behaving increasingly badly aboard ships, as new parents to cruise let their kids run free, rather than taking advantage of the kids’ clubs or spending time together.

For example, the case of a nine-year-old boy being banned for life from Carnival Cruises after causing property damage and fighting with other guests sparked a strong response from cruise passengers, most of whom seemed keen for strong policing of behaviour on cruise ships, and for parents to be held more accountable by cruise lines.

How can cruise lines address this issue?

In response to these incidents, cruise lines are taking a firmer stance. Carnival’s swift action in banning the involved passengers demonstrates a commitment to maintaining a safe and enjoyable environment for all guests. However, the increasing number of such incidents suggests that more comprehensive measures, including stricter passenger screening and enhanced onboard behaviour monitoring, may be necessary to address this growing concern.

We may see cruise lines respond with heightened security, updated codes of conduct, harsher punishments for passengers or other measures over the coming months as they look to quell any passenger concerns about these issues.

As far as kids go, we’ve seen cruise lines like Princess and Royal Caribbean test and sometimes implement systems so that parents can track their kids onboard, as well as other measures like earlier curfews for under 18s, to contain the misbehaviour of children on ships.

Other suggestions could include extending kids’ clubs later into the night or making more 18+ spaces on ships.

Cruise lines are known to innovate for a number of reasons and it appears one of their current challenges is how to create the cruise ship ambience into something equally fun, but slightly safer and calmer for guests.

So, should you be worried?

While cruise ships continue to offer unparalleled experiences, the rising instances of passenger misconduct indicates a need for heightened vigilance and stricter enforcement of behavioural standards to ensure that cruise ships remain safe and enjoyable for all.

The industry must adapt to these challenges to maintain its reputation and ensure the safety and satisfaction of all passengers.

The reality remains that cruise ships are a very safe holiday, and it is of course, safer to be on a strictly monitored ship than it is to be travelling alone through new cities at night and exploring areas unguided.

However, in order to affirm the reputation of cruising as a safe holiday for the entire family, cruise ships should look at swiftly implementing new strategies to make these incidents even fewer and further between.