Carnival Cruise Line permanently banned 16 passengers after a brawl erupted at a Miami customs terminal.
The fight broke out around 8 a.m. on Monday, June 22nd, as passengers from the Carnival Conquest waited to clear customs at PortMiami. The ship had just returned from a three-night trip to the Bahamas, which included a stop at Carnival’s private destination, Celebration Key, on June 21st. The voyage had departed Miami on Friday, June 19th.
Video from the terminal shows the confrontation starting between two women. A woman in a black strapless dress ducked under a line divider and rushed toward another woman dressed in pink pajamas. The two began throwing punches, and the fight quickly pulled in others, including a woman in yellow and a man wearing a navy shirt. Luggage, signs, and retractable barriers were knocked across the floor as bystanders pressed against the walls or recorded the chaos on their phones.
As originally reported, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office classified the incident as a “mutual combatant incident.” The department confirmed it was documented, but noted that none of the people involved wanted to file charges against one another. No arrests were made.
Officers moved into the crowd and began separating combatants, with at least one woman restrained against a wall. Several participants appeared determined to keep fighting even as law enforcement pulled them apart. The customs area falls under the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and authorities said the confrontation involved members of two families. The specific dispute that set it off has not been publicly identified.
Carnival confirmed the bans in a statement, saying the incident took place in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter,” a company spokesperson said. “We do not tolerate such behavior, and 16 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail List.”
The Do Not Sail designation is permanent, meaning none of the 16 passengers can book a future Carnival cruise. The bans were issued despite the fact that no criminal charges were filed. Carnival’s decision came solely from the company’s own review of the incident.
The brawl happened during the final stretch of what should have been a routine disembarkation. Instead, it ended with officers restraining passengers, barriers knocked to the ground, and more than a dozen people losing access to the cruise line for good. The chaos unfolded in front of stunned fellow travelers who had just completed the same three-night voyage.