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Most employees try to make their exits as graceful as possible. But one former Fun Squad member aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Valor says his departure was anything but orderly.
Crew member Trevor Johnson says he submitted his resignation to the cruise line on November 4, 2025, and that he provided the customary two-week notice so the company could arrange a replacement and he could say proper goodbyes.
“I submitted my resignation on November 4th with the intention of leaving on November 20th — giving a full two-week notice,” Johnson wrote in a Facebook post that has gone viral.
“I wanted to allow time for a smooth transition, to help find a replacement, and to say goodbye properly to everyone who had become like family aboard the Valor,” he continued.
According to Johnson, his planned final day was November 20th, 2025 — a turnaround day when the Conquest-class ship was due in her homeport of New Orleans, Louisiana, between Western Caribbean sailings. A November 20th departure would have made getting home to family much easier for the Louisiana resident.
Instead, Johnson says the goodbye came much sooner. On November 12, 2025, while the ship was in Cozumel, Mexico, he says he received a 5:00 a.m. “knock” on his cabin door and was told he needed to disembark that day.
He was reportedly given just one hour to pack his belongings and leave the ship — a sudden instruction that, if accurate, required him to pack up what he described as his entire life at sea.
“How embarrassing and devastating it was to pack up my entire life in just one hour — with no chance to say proper goodbyes to my onboard family, and no time to think,” he recounted.
Johnson thanked HR, the hotel director, and the entertainment director for allowing him a few extra minutes to say goodbye. Still, the early disembarkation left him feeling “humiliated, disrespected, and deeply embarrassed.”
Every Story Has Two Sides
There’s significant chatter on social media and cruise news sites about what led to Trevor Johnson’s early disembarkation. Still, at present, we have only Johnson’s account, and there has been no public response from Carnival.
Carnival Cruise Line has not publicly commented on the situation; the company typically does not discuss personnel matters involving individual crew members.
Why Disembarked In Cozumel?
Disembarking a crew member at the next suitable port of call is standard practice for cruise lines when customs, immigration, and transportation logistics permit repatriation. Ports like Cozumel often have the necessary facilities and flights that allow a crew member to travel home.
That said, a “no notice” or very short-notice disembarkation — such as the one-hour instruction Johnson describes — is more commonly associated with crew members who have been terminated for breach of rules or misconduct, according to industry reporting on crew procedures.
Johnson had planned to depart on November 20th during a turnaround in New Orleans, which would have been convenient for returning home. That makes his early removal in Cozumel seem unusual — unless there was an operational reason, such as a replacement crew member needing the cabin, or a disciplinary issue requiring immediate disembarkation.