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Jim Walker

Everything the cruise lines don’t want you to know” is the motto of Cruise Law News, authored by Jim Walker.

Jim is the founding partner of Walker & O’Neill, a Miami-based maritime law firm that has represented more than 2,500 clients, including survivors who testified before Congress on cruise ship safety.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on April 15, 2026 that 19 passengers and 3 crew members were sickened in a gastrointestinal (GI) outbreak on the Oceania Insignia. The outbreak occurred during the ship’s 10-night voyage that started in Panama City on April 4 and ended in Miami on April 14.

Timothy Hudson, the 16-year-old stepbrother of Anna Kepner, has been formally indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse in connection with Anna’s death. Anna, 18, died by mechanical asphyxiation aboard the Carnival Horizon in November 2025 while the ship was in international

Former massage therapist Javarous McNealy was jailed on federal charges after agents found child sexual abuse videos on his phone when he disembarked the Carnival Conquest at PortMiami.

Continue Reading Cruise Passenger on Carnival Conquest Arrested For Possession of Numerous Child Abuse Videos

A crew member aboard the Celebrity Xcel was arrested after Broward investigators accused him of sexually assaulting a fellow employee at sea, reviving concerns about how vulnerable cruise workers remain when serious crimes occur offshore.

Continue Reading Crew Member Arrested After Raping Fellow Employee Aboard Celebrity Xcel

On Saturday, April 4, 2026, the MV Fiji Princess ran aground near Monuriki Island in Fiji, where the movie Cast Away featuring Tom Hanks was filmed.

According to local news, all 61 people on board were rescued, including 30 passengers and 31 crew members. Some crew members initially remained onboard to support the rescue

It happened again. For the third time in the last two years, an adult passenger exposed himself to teenagers in the ship sauna on a Royal Caribbean-owned cruise ship.

Last Saturday’s Crime

The most recent incident involves a passenger described as a “Florida man” who was arrested last Saturday following an eight-day cruise for “touching

A fire broke out on the World Legacy cruise ship on Friday, February 20, 2026, killing one Indonesian crew member and hospitalizing at least four passengers. The deceased crew member joined the World Legacy only a couple of months ago.

The fire originated at roughly 4:00 a.m. in a lounge area of the ship while

A passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas was arrested on Tuesday at PortMiami for possession of cell phone video of a man raping a child, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO). Local 10 News reported that federal agents received a “suspicious activity report“ about cruise passenger Basilios Grayeb, 29, of Haifa, Israel

Correction: An earlier version of this article attributed an email to Tom Pritzker. The email was sent by Nick Pritzker. The article has been updated.

Newly released documents from the Epstein files show disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein maintained close relationships with prominent figures connected to Royal Caribbean. These figures include former Royal Caribbean board

Two passengers were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease after cruising on the Norwegian Encore in December 2025, according to Cruise Hive. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has not disclosed if the passengers were on the same sailing or which sailing(s) it included.

Legionnaires’ Disease is a serious, potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by inhaling water

Carnival Cruise Line experienced company-wide IT problems starting on Sunday, February 8, 2026, affecting a significant portion of its fleet and thousands of passengers. The incident allegedly occurred during planned IT maintenance according to Carnival.

Carnival ships experienced a wide range of problems including delayed embarkations, cash-only transactions, and disabled mobile apps. The cause of

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) arrested five men on various drug charges on Sunday, February 1, 2026. The men were arrested prior to boarding Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which was hosting an Atlantis Events cruise from February 1 to February 8.

Detection dogs at PortMiami flagged the men’s luggage for suspected