A late-night trip to the buffet turned into complete chaos when a massive brawl erupted aboard a Carnival cruise ship, reportedly following a dispute over chicken tenders. Video from the ship shows roughly two dozen passengers trading punches, crashing to the floor, and losing their shoes as overwhelmed security officers attempt to restore order. The melee broke out aboard the Carnival Sunrise as it returned to Miami from the Bahamas.
The fight erupted at approximately 2 a.m. on Monday, August 18th, during the final day of the ship’s voyage. Carnival Sunrise had departed Miami the previous Thursday and made two stops in the Bahamas before beginning its return to Florida. Bronx content creator Mike Terra, who was among the passengers aboard the ship, recorded the chaotic scene and later shared the footage on social media.
Terra’s video shows a crowded dining area filled with passengers swinging at one another as several separate confrontations happen simultaneously. Some of those involved tumble onto the floor while other passengers continue throwing punches around them. Shoes can be seen scattered across the dining area as crew members struggle to separate the brawlers and bystanders shout for additional security.
As the New York Post reported, approximately two dozen people were involved in the fight. “Where the f— is security?!” one frustrated bystander can be heard shouting while the violence continues. Several security officers eventually appear in the footage, with one backing away from the fight and reaching for his radio while others attempt to pull passengers apart.
Terra briefly turned the camera toward himself as the brawl raged behind him and commented on his impression of the original reason for the giant confrontation. “Over chicken tenders is crazy,” he said. Terra later indicated that the dispute may have involved more than the food line, although he was unable to confirm what actually started the fight, despite his earlier guess.
“We weren’t close enough to know why [the fight] really started, we just knew they were in line for food,” Terra told the Post after the footage began spreading online. In his original caption, Terra said he had been cruising for years but had never personally witnessed that kind of trouble aboard a ship. He described the melee as his “1st time seeing some action on a ship” and wrote that those involved “was tripping.”
Watch the massive fight here:
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Carnival didn’t immediately respond to the New York Post’s request for comment about the buffet brawl, but its ticket contract establishes stiff penalties for passengers whose behavior threatens others aboard its ships. Under Carnival’s zero-tolerance policy, disruptive passengers may be detained aboard the ship, removed at their own expense, prohibited from sailing with Carnival again, and charged $500 in damages. The contract also states that Carnival reports illegal behavior to the appropriate authorities and cooperates with resulting civil or criminal proceedings.
Carnival demonstrated its willingness to impose those penalties only months earlier after another massive fight involving passengers disembarking from the Carnival Jubilee in Galveston, Texas. The cruise line confirmed that the matter was turned over to law enforcement and 24 people were placed on its “Do Not Sail” list following that April confrontation. “We will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list,” a Carnival spokesperson said.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.