Cruise ship crime reaches 2-year high, casting ‘dark cloud’ for travelers: expert

Crime rates aboard cruise ships leaving the U S have reached a two-year high and one expert says this creates a dark cloud for travelers According to facts from the Department of Transportation charges of crimes were shared onboard cruise ships from Jan to March Twenty-three incidents were announced rapes were sexual assaults and seven were assaults which all reportedly happened on cruise ships Robert McDonald a former Secret Facility special agent and criminal justice lecturer at the University of New Haven recounted Fox News Digital crime negatively affects the cruise industry McDonald has coordinated safety for various dignitaries around the world POPULAR CRUISES SUSPEND ISLAND STOP OVER ESCALATING GANG VIOLENCE WHAT TO KNOW Sometimes the cruise lines don't want to record this information on the front end depending upon again what type of crime it is which brings unfortunate attention to them just as it would when we have airplane situations or the delays in airplanes that we're having now McDonald explained All of that negative vibe and negative information puts a dark cloud over the industry an industry that wants people to come to it and wants them to be reassured spending their money McDonald reported cruises are more prone to crime because of the number of people packed in a tight area I think anytime we get large numbers of people together whether it's at a Super Bowl event or at a World Series tournament or an NBA Finals or graduations or whatnot whenever we get people together whenever there's alcohol involved whenever there are people being able to let loose a little bit from their normal personality I think that exacerbates the ability for numbers to rise in that regard he disclosed Anytime we get together those numbers are going to go up whether that's at a resort whether it's on a cruise ship On March two illegal immigrants were arrested after allegedly molesting a minor while onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise that set sail from Miami Jose Prudencio Diaz and Ricardo Daniel Mondragon Leal were charged with child molestation and exhibition after an event on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas ship CRUISE LINE BANS DOZENS AFTER MASSIVE BRAWL CAUGHT ON CAMERA BREAKS OUT AT TEXAS PORT 'DO NOT SAIL LIST'The victim was identified as a -year-old boy who recounted police he was in the ship's sauna when Diaz and Leal allegedly began masturbating in front of him According to records from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Diaz and Leal forced the victim to touch them Leal also allegedly forced the minor to perform a sex act Department of Homeland Assurance Secretary Kristi Noem reported in a post on X We WILL get these sickos out of our country One current matter involved dozens of Carnival Cruise Line passengers who got into a brawl while disembarking from a ship April In a video posted to social media several cruise passengers push through crowds in the Port of Galveston cruise terminal During the fight which happened in the cruise port people can be seen punching and kicking others Carnival Cruise Line placed passengers on a do not sail list prohibiting them from getting aboard any of the company's ships A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line previously recounted Fox News Digital it doesn't tolerate violence The matter was turned over to law enforcement the spokesperson noted We will not tolerate such behavior and people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list Fox News Digital reached out to Carnival and Royal Caribbean for comment Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner contributed to this review