Cruise passenger says she was sexually assaulted by a DJ, and takes case to Miami court

Miami Herald

15-03-2025

A passenger on a Princess cruise that stopped in Port Everglades says she was sexually assaulted in her room by a crew member after a night of music and dancing in a ship lounge.
The woman, who isn't fully named in the lawsuit and who the Miami Herald isn't identifying, notified the FBI on Nov. 26, 2024, when the ship, the Caribbean, arrived in Fort Lauderdale, her attorney Nicholas Gerson said.
In February, she sued California-based Princess Cruise Lines, owned by Doral-based Carnival Corp. The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court, seeks unspecified damages.
The FBI won't comment on or acknowledge the case.
'As a matter of policy, the FBI does not confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation except in rare circumstances.' the agency said in an email. 'Further, in this circumstance, we are not in a position to comment when there is ongoing litigation.'
The case comes less than two months after a 44-year-old woman from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, filed a criminal report with the Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office alleging she was raped twice in her cabin, each time by a crew member, on an eight-day cruise that started and ended at PortMiami. The woman was on the Seascape of MSC Cruises, a Geneva-based company with an office in Miami.
On the Princess cruise
An Arizona resident in her late 50s says she was attacked on a 16-night Princess cruise that departed Rome from the Port of Civitavecchia on Nov. 10, 2024, with a stop at Port Everglades in Broward County.
The incident, according to the suit, took place on board the Caribbean between the evening of Nov. 12 and Nov. 13. The woman was barely two nights into her cruise when a DJ at a ship entertainment venue raped and sexually assaulted her in her room, the complaint alleges.
The woman isn't commenting beyond what's in the lawsuit, said Gerson, her attorney and a partner at the Miami firm Gerson and Schwartz. Gerson spoke to the Miami Herald after filing the civil lawsuit last month.
Response from cruise line
Princess Cruises said the company has taken action in the case.
'The individual is no longer with our company,' said Negin Kamali, a spokesperson for Princess Cruises said.
She didn't identify the DJ crew member or say how long he had worked for the company.
'While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, these allegations are deeply disturbing and do not reflect who we are as a company,' Kamali said.
Cruise ship cruse members must undergo screening and background checks 'before hiring and once on board,' the spokesperson said. 'Our comprehensive security measures, hiring protocols, HR policies, employee training and company values promote a safe and secure environment for our guests and crew.'
Night of the reported attack
The passenger says her ordeal started the evening of Nov. 12, 2024, when she went to the ship's Skywalker Lounge. She danced there late at night and into the early morning of Nov. 13.
While she was dancing, a crew member — a disk jockey in the lounge — approached her and started making conversation. Later, he 'accompanied her to her stateroom under the guise of assisting or escorting her,' said the lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 6.
But then the crew member entered her room rather than returning to the Skywalker Lounge. Later, the 'plaintiff remembers waking in her stateroom while the crew member was raping and/or sexually assaulting her,' the filing said.
The woman acknowledges she had been drinking during the night and so had 'limited memory of the precise sequence of events but does remember the events.' And throughout Nov. 12 or the morning of Nov. 13, 'the plaintiff did not consent to any sexual activity with the crew member,' the complaint said.
She is suing in part for personal injury and negligence. Her lawsuit said she suffered internal and external injuries and psychological and emotional trauma. She now faces 'the inability to lead a normal life,' the complaint said, and can't fully work.
In 2024, at least 120 incidents of sexual assaults or rape were reported on cruise ships, according to data the U.S. Department of Transportation gets from the FBI. Analysis of these numbers however is limited: They are self-reported by cruise carriers, and mainly include only U.S. citizens as victims. Maritime legal experts believe the number is higher.
The complaint argues that Princess 'knew or should have known that crew members such as disk jockeys working in onboard dance lounges such as the Skywalker Lounge would have the ability and opportunity to interact with passengers in the lounge, including passengers whose faculties were impaired by alcohol or otherwise, and would have the opportunity to take advantage of passengers whose faculties and ability to resist were impaired so as to commit assaults and other crimes.' So the cruise company 'had a duty of reasonable care toward its fare-paying passengers.' That included 'a duty to take reasonable steps to avoid or minimize sexual offenses such as acts of sexual assault and/or rape committed by crew members on its passengers.'
Such steps include better investigation of their crew members' background or criminal history.
Gerson, the attorney, said in an interview that cruise companies including Princess need more security people on board and they should be better trained. He also thinks cruise lines can't blame passengers for drinking heavily on board when the companies push all-you-can-drink packages and other promotions.
'They create this environment,' he said.