A 10-day Carnival cruise of the South Pacific turned into a floating fight club last week when a series of brawls broke out on board.
Up to 30 passengers were injured on what some have described as the “cruise from hell,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The cruise line later apologized.
Some guests essentially locked themselves in their rooms aboard the Carnival Legend to avoid the violence, several outlets reported.
“Fights have been going on for a few days now,” Kellie Petersen, who was on board with her husband and three children, told radio station 3AW. “We’re scared. We’ve been told to watch our backs by this group so we’re scared to go anywhere alone in the ship.”
Twenty-three passengers were removed by police during an unscheduled stop in Eden, Australia, for “disruptive and violent acts,” per Reuters. At least one can be seen on video giving the finger to the ship from a police boat. In addition, 14 passengers left the ship, Australia’s 9News reported.
One passenger told 9News that there were multiple fights, with aggressors threatening to stab people and throw them overboard.
“We are so scared after witnessing a traumatic experience with yet again the same offenders,” the passenger was quoted as saying. “It was a bloodbath.”
Several passengers also complained about the behavior of the ship’s security team.
“They were punching women, 16-year-old kids, everything. We saw it, we saw it,” Michael Haddara told the Herald. “They called up the mechanical people from down the bottom, the big boys, to intimidate and basically do what they want.”
Haddara said the crew also threatened passengers with broken bottles. Another passenger told 3AW that security was trying to take cellphones from passengers and delete images of the incidents.
Several people posted complaints about the security team’s behavior on the company’s Facebook page. Carnival responded by saying it was investigating and will take “appropriate corrective action as necessary.”
The company also said that it was offering passengers a 25 percent credit on future cruises. Several travelers have already declined that offer.
“I won’t be traveling Carnival ever again so a 25 percent off a future cruise in my eyes is unacceptable,” Mark Morrison told The Associated Press.