Over a dozen people were permanently banned from sailing with Carnival Cruise Line after getting into a brawl aboard a Carnival cruise ship at PortMiami. The scuffle involved two families and was captured on video and immediately posted to social media platforms where it was shared throughout the world for all to see.
Both families opted not to press charges. A spokesperson for the cruise line confirmed the incident happened in a statement that was given to TravelPulse. The spokesperson shared that the incident took place in the debarkation area, which falls under the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. “We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter,” the spokesperson said.
“We do not tolerate such behavior, and 16 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail List,” the spokesperson added. The fight began at 8 a.m. on June 22, 2026, just after the Carnival Conquest made it back to Miami after a three-night trip to the Bahamas. While federal officials stated that the brawl was between two families, the spark that ignited the incident remains unclear.
According to another report from The American Tribune, footage of the fight captured in the terminal shows a woman sporting a black strapless dress ducking under a line divider and lunging toward another woman in pink pajamas. The two individuals started trading punches before other members of both families rushed into the confrontation. A woman in yellow and a man in a navy shirt also got into the fight as it rapidly expanded.
The video also shows punches coming from different directions as luggage, signs, and line barriers were knocked across the floor. Bystanders who were at the scene when the mess unfolded retreated from the area while others stood by and recorded the fight. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the altercation was a “mutual combatant incident.”
“It was documented, though none of the parties wanted to press charges against each other,” the department said. No arrests were made after those involved declined to press charges. Authorities have not identified the passengers publicly. The footage shows an officer restraining one woman against the wall while other police personnel struggled to separate people who were fighting in the center of the terminal.
Passengers who were waiting nearby pressed against the walls behind the surviving barriers as the officers worked to control the area. The passengers had just exited the Carnival Conquest following the cruise. The ship visited Celebration Key, Carnival’s private destination in the Bahamas. The fight erupted during one of the final stages of the passengers’ trip home.
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Carnival then revealed that every person identified in the fight was banned from booking another cruise with the company. “The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of US Customs and Border Patrol,” a company spokesperson explained. “We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter.” All 16 individuals were placed on the Do Not Sail List, though there were not criminal charges filed.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video