Carnival Cruise Line issued 24 lifetime bans after a mass brawl, including one against a 9-year-old child.
The incident unfolded in April 2026 following a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Jubilee. Passengers had just disembarked at a terminal in Galveston, Texas, when the chaos broke out.
A separate but related incident also occurred involving a 9-year-old who went on a rampage in an onboard arcade and started a fight with another child. That young passenger is now permanently banned from Carnival ships along with 23 others tied to the terminal brawl.
According to a report from People, one passenger stated the fight actually started on the ship’s basketball court on the final day at sea, then spilled over into the terminal the following Saturday morning.
The whole thing was captured on video and spread rapidly across social media. Footage shows a large group of passengers crowding around a baggage claim area, with rows of suitcases visible in the background. The crowd then appears to chase one passenger through the terminal, breaking through barriers and knocking over several signs in the process. The chase ends with the group tackling that individual to the ground, where they are punched and kicked while down.
Security guards arrived and attempted to intervene, but the fighting continued even after they stepped in. The debarkation area where the brawl took place falls under the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the matter was handed over to law enforcement.
Carnival released a public statement addressing what happened. “The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The matter was turned over to law enforcement. We will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list,” the company said.
After the footage went viral, many social media users voiced frustration that the bans did not go further. Several argued that cruise lines should coordinate and share their banned passenger lists to prevent troublemakers from simply booking with a different company. “The cruise lines should start sharing banned lists so these people don’t just transfer their bad behavior to other lines,” one user commented.
The video drew widespread attention and reignited debate about safety and conduct on cruise ships and at port facilities. For now, all 24 individuals, including the 9-year-old, are permanently barred from sailing with Carnival Cruise Line.