Before you board your next cruise, there is something you need to know about that ticket contract you clicked through without reading. Hidden in those terms and conditions is a clause that could prevent you from ever seeing the inside of a courtroom if something terrible happens to you at sea.
It is called mandatory arbitration, and it has become the cruise industry’s most powerful tool for keeping sexual assault cases out of public view.
A Case That Should Alarm Every Cruiser
In 2024, a Royal Caribbean crew member named Arvin Mirasol received a 30-year federal prison sentence for producing child pornography aboard Symphony of the Seas. Over three months spanning twelve consecutive cruises, Mirasol installed hidden cameras in passenger bathrooms, hid beneath beds while guests showered, and recorded hundreds of unsuspecting victims, including toddlers as young as two years old. He later admitted to sexually gratifying himself while viewing these videos and distributing them online.
But here is the part that should make every cruiser’s blood run cold: Royal Caribbean’s primary legal strategy was not to apologize, compensate victims, or demonstrate how they would prevent this from happening again. Instead, they argued that every single victim must resolve their claims through private, secret arbitration rather than in open court.
Their reasoning? Those victims suffered “emotional injury without physical contact,” which their ticket contract says must be arbitrated rather than litigated.
Think about that for a moment. A crew member secretly films your children naked for his sexual gratification, and the cruise line’s response is to point to fine print you never read and tell you that you agreed to handle it privately.
The Numbers Do Not Add Up, And That Should Worry You
According to official statistics, cruise ships are astonishingly safe when it comes to sexual assault. In 2023, the cruise industry reported just 131 sexual crimes across 26.9 million passengers traveling through U.S. ports. That works out to roughly five incidents per million passengers.
If those numbers were accurate, cruise ships would be the safest places on the planet. But here is the problem: they are not accurate. They are statistically impossible.
Consider this: if a U.S. city with 26 million residents reported only 131 sexual assaults in an entire year, it would either be hailed as a miracle or investigated for a massive cover-up. The reality is that cruise ships, with their 24/7 operations, flowing alcohol, and minimal supervision in an isolated environment, are not immune to the sexual violence that occurs everywhere else in society.
The uncomfortable truth is that cruise lines are systemically underreporting sexual crimes. Whether through deliberate manipulation of reporting requirements or genuine failures to recognize incidents that should be reported, the numbers being presented to passengers and the public simply do not reflect reality.
Understanding the Arbitration Trap
When you purchase a cruise ticket, you agree to pages of terms and conditions. Most passengers never read them. Those who do often do not understand the legal implications. Buried within those terms is language requiring that if you suffer “mental or emotional injury” without accompanying physical injury, you must pursue your claim through individual arbitration rather than filing a lawsuit in court.
What counts as “emotional injury without physical contact”? According to cruise line interpretations:
- Being secretly filmed naked (video voyeurism)
- Sexual harassment by crew members
- Unknowingly being watched while showering
- Having private moments recorded and shared online
- Discovering someone hid under your bed to film your children
Even when the perpetrator engages in sexual acts while watching these videos, targets minor children, and receives a federal conviction for child pornography, cruise lines maintain these are “non-contact” emotional distress claims subject to arbitration.
Why Cruise Lines Fight So Hard for Arbitration
The push toward arbitration is not about fairness or efficiency. It is about three strategic advantages that overwhelmingly favor cruise lines over victims:
Secrecy: Arbitration proceedings are confidential. Records remain sealed. The public never learns what happened, how it happened, or that the cruise line was found liable. Serial predators and systemic safety failures stay hidden, protecting the company’s reputation while leaving future passengers unaware of dangers.
Limited Discovery: In arbitration, victims face severe restrictions on obtaining evidence from the cruise line. You may never discover previous complaints against the crew member who assaulted you, similar incidents the company ignored, or internal policies that failed to protect you.
No Legal Precedent: Arbitration decisions do not create legal precedent that could benefit other victims or force industry-wide reforms. Each case exists in isolation, preventing the systemic change that public court decisions can drive.
When Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration Act in 2022, legislators explicitly recognized that mandatory arbitration clauses “protect the company by keeping the records of an arbitration secret,” “permit employers to retaliate against their victims without fear of their actions becoming public through the courts,” and “prevent victims from sharing their stories.”
The Cost Barrier Most Victims Cannot Overcome
Even if you are willing to pursue arbitration, there is another massive obstacle: money.
Court filing fees are relatively modest, usually a few hundred dollars. Arbitration is different. Both parties must pay substantial fees to the arbitration organization (typically the American Arbitration Association) and compensate the arbitrator, essentially a private judge charging several hundred dollars per hour. These costs easily reach tens of thousands of dollars before any hearing occurs.
For cruise lines, which are billion-dollar corporations with dedicated legal teams, these fees are insignificant. For individual passengers, they are often prohibitive.
Royal Caribbean’s ticket contract explicitly states that for claims exceeding $750, passengers must pay all arbitration fees. The contract further requires passengers to reimburse Royal Caribbean for any fees the cruise line “disbursed” on the passenger’s behalf.
This fee structure is deliberate. It ensures that only the most determined victims with substantial financial resources can pursue claims. Many valid cases never get filed because victims simply cannot afford the arbitration process.
Even law firms willing to handle cruise ship cases often decline arbitration matters because the economics do not work. The upfront costs are too high, restrictions on recovery too severe, and the secretive nature prevents the public accountability that might deter future misconduct.
Result? Cruise lines face dramatically fewer claims, pay less in damages, and avoid the public scrutiny that court cases generate. Meanwhile, victims are denied justice, and the cycle continues.
A Legal Battle That Could Change Everything
Victims in the Royal Caribbean case are fighting back, arguing that federal law prohibits cruise lines from forcing sexual assault claims into arbitration.
The Ending Forced Arbitration Act specifically invalidates arbitration agreements “at the election of the complainant, in sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.” The statute defines “sexual assault dispute” to include “a nonconsensual sexual act or sexual contact,” and federal courts have consistently held this definition encompasses situations involving sexual acts directed at victims, even when victims are unaware it is occurring.
Mirasol’s conduct, which included installing cameras to capture nude images of passengers for sexual gratification, hiding under beds to film victims, and engaging in sexual acts while viewing these videos, clearly falls within this definition. Federal courts across multiple circuits have recognized that “sexual contact” under the statute includes self-touching done with sexual intent directed at another person.
Additionally, federal maritime law has long prohibited cruise lines from including provisions in passenger contracts that limit “the right of a claimant for personal injury or death to a trial by court of competent jurisdiction.” Sexual assault, harassment, and voyeurism claims constitute personal injury claims under maritime law, meaning arbitration clauses attempting to divert these cases away from court are void.
Royal Caribbean’s position is that because victims were not physically touched, their emotional and psychological injuries do not qualify as “personal injury” deserving court access. Federal courts have repeatedly rejected this narrow interpretation, recognizing that emotional distress claims arising from sexual misconduct, even without physical contact, constitute actionable personal injuries.
The motion remains pending with a ruling expected before year-end.
When Victims Get to Court, They Can Win
It is worth noting that when sexual assault victims access the court system rather than being forced into arbitration, they can win and win significantly.
Recently, a Brazilian passenger received a seven-figure settlement against a cruise line after being brutally assaulted by a crew member who used his staff key to enter her stateroom and attack her while she rested on her bed. The assault was interrupted when members of her travel group entered the cabin.
This case, successfully litigated by Miami maritime attorney Tom Scolaro’s team, demonstrates several critical points:
- When forced to defend their negligence in court, cruise lines settle
- Public lawsuits create records that warn other passengers and pressure companies to improve safety
- The crew member’s master key access (like Mirasol’s unfettered access to passenger cabins) reflects systemic security failures
- Victims who persist through the legal process can obtain meaningful compensation and justice
But cases like this are exceptions, not the rule, precisely because arbitration clauses prevent most victims from ever reaching a courtroom.
The Stark Contrast With Other Industries
Following public pressure and passage of the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, companies like Uber and Lyft voluntarily removed sexual assault and harassment claims from their mandatory arbitration provisions. Their terms of service now explicitly state: “This Arbitration Agreement shall not require arbitration of individual claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment occurring in connection with your use of the Services.”
Cruise lines have made no such reform.
Despite operating in an industry where sexual assault statistics suggest widespread underreporting, despite high-profile cases involving crew members assaulting passengers, despite the unique vulnerabilities passengers face in the isolated environment of a ship at sea, cruise lines continue insisting on forced arbitration for sexual misconduct claims.
Royal Caribbean has gone even further in the Mirasol case, refusing to provide a passenger manifest that would identify victims, staying court proceedings for over five months, and demanding that even child victims of pornography “agreed to waive” their court access rights when their parents purchased cruise tickets.
The company has also attempted to minimize Mirasol’s conduct, characterizing it as mere “video voyeurism” rather than sexual assault. Expert witnesses in the case explained that Mirasol’s behavior fits the clinical definition of voyeuristic disorder and pedophilic disorder, and his acts “would be considered ‘contact’ offenses with identifiable victims” under psychosexual risk assessment frameworks because he entered dwellings without permission and covertly watched and videoed victims for his sexual gratification.
Most disturbingly, Royal Caribbean did not catch Mirasol despite his operating for twelve consecutive cruises over three months. He was only discovered when victims themselves found hidden cameras in their rooms. This raises urgent questions about crew supervision, background check procedures, and monitoring systems. These are questions that will remain unanswered if these cases are forced into secret arbitration.
The International Waters Advantage
Part of what enables cruise lines to maintain these oppressive contract terms is the unique legal environment in which they operate. Cruise ships spend significant time in international waters, creating jurisdictional ambiguities that cruise lines exploit to minimize accountability.
When a crime occurs on a cruise ship in international waters, questions arise: Which country’s laws apply? Which law enforcement agency has jurisdiction? How are evidence and witnesses preserved when the ship continues sailing to multiple countries?
Cruise lines use this complexity as both sword and shield. They argue that the uncertain legal landscape necessitates arbitration clauses and contractual limitations to avoid unpredictable legal exposure. But in practice, this legal gray area primarily serves to confuse victims about their rights and create procedural hurdles that deter them from pursuing claims at all.
For crimes involving U.S. passengers or occurring on ships that call on U.S. ports (most major cruise itineraries), federal law requires cruise lines to report serious crimes to the FBI and allows victims to pursue claims in federal court under maritime law. Yet cruise lines consistently attempt to undermine these protections through contract provisions that most passengers never read and would not understand if they did.
The international waters environment also affects evidence preservation and investigation quality. Unlike assaults occurring on land where local police respond immediately, cruise ship incidents are initially handled by the ship’s security personnel. These are employees of the cruise line with a vested interest in minimizing the situation. By the time FBI agents or other law enforcement can board the ship, critical evidence may be compromised, and witnesses may have disembarked and scattered across the globe.
This reality makes open court proceedings even more essential. Only through public litigation with robust discovery can victims and their attorneys uncover what the cruise line knew, when they knew it, what evidence was preserved or destroyed, and what systemic failures allowed the assault to occur.
What Every Cruiser Needs to Know: Protecting Your Rights
If you or a loved one experiences sexual assault, harassment, or voyeurism on a cruise ship, immediate action is critical:
Report Immediately: Inform the ship’s security and insist they contact the FBI immediately. Do not accept vague assurances that “it will be handled internally.” You have the right to federal law enforcement involvement.
Seek Medical Attention: Get medical care immediately, both for your health and to create documentation of your injuries (physical and psychological). Request that the ship’s medical staff document everything in detail.
Create a Paper Trail: Document everything in writing. Get names of security personnel you speak with. Take photos of your cabin, any evidence, and any injuries. Email yourself contemporaneous notes about what happened, when, and to whom you reported it.
Preserve Evidence: If possible, preserve any physical evidence. Do not clean the cabin. Do not wash clothing. Do not delete any communications.
Insist on FBI Involvement: The cruise line must report serious crimes to the FBI. Confirm this has been done and request the FBI case number.
Press Charges: Make clear you want to pursue criminal charges. The cruise line cannot make this decision for you.
Do Not Sign Anything: Cruise lines may try to get you to sign releases or settlements while you are still on the ship and traumatized. Do not sign any documents without consulting an attorney.
Contact an Experienced Maritime Attorney Immediately: Time limits apply to cruise ship claims. They typically require passengers to provide written notice within six months and file suit within one year. These deadlines are strictly enforced.
Your actions do not just protect your own rights. They create a record that may prevent the next assault. Every report filed, every FBI investigation conducted, every lawsuit filed makes it harder for cruise lines to maintain the fiction that sexual assault is not a serious problem in their industry.
What Needs to Change
The current system is broken. Here is what must happen:
Remove Arbitration Clauses for Sexual Misconduct Claims: Cruise lines should follow Uber and Lyft’s lead by explicitly excluding sexual assault and harassment claims from mandatory arbitration provisions. If they will not do this voluntarily, Congress should mandate it.
Strengthen Maritime Law Protections: Federal maritime law should be revised to explicitly prohibit arbitration clauses for all personal injury claims involving intentional torts, sexual misconduct, or crimes by crew members.
Mandatory Passenger Notification: When a crew member is accused of sexual misconduct, cruise lines should be required to notify all passengers who had contact with that crew member or stayed in cabins that crew member serviced. Royal Caribbean’s refusal to provide a passenger manifest in the Mirasol case prevented victims from even knowing they had been targeted.
Transparent Reporting: Cruise lines should be required to publicly report all sexual assault allegations, investigations, and resolutions. The current FBI reporting system relies on cruise line honesty, which is an obvious conflict of interest. An independent body should audit cruise line crime reporting to ensure accuracy.
Eliminate Shortened Time Limits: The six-month notice requirement and one-year lawsuit deadline that cruise lines impose in their ticket contracts are unconscionably short for sexual assault victims, many of whom need time to process trauma before they are ready to pursue legal action. These deadlines should be extended or eliminated for sexual misconduct claims.
Enhanced Crew Screening and Supervision: Cruise lines must implement more rigorous background checks for crew members with access to passenger cabins, continuous monitoring systems to detect suspicious behavior, and meaningful consequences for supervisors who fail to identify or report concerning conduct by crew members under their oversight.
Victim Support Services: Cruise lines should be required to provide immediate access to independent victim advocates and trauma counselors for any passenger who reports sexual assault, at no cost to the victim.
The Bottom Line for Cruisers
The cruise industry is thriving. These magnificent ships carry millions of passengers annually and generate billions in revenue. That success should come with a commensurate commitment to passenger safety and accountability when that safety is violated.
Instead, cruise lines have chosen a different path: contracts designed to silence victims, arbitration clauses that deny access to justice, minimal transparency about the true scope of sexual violence at sea, and aggressive legal tactics to avoid responsibility even when their own employees commit horrific crimes against passengers, including children.
In 2025, we should be long past the point where major corporations can exploit customers and then hide behind fine-print contract terms to avoid accountability. We should be long past the point where billion-dollar cruise lines can employ predators who victimize hundreds of passengers and then argue those victims “agreed” to give up their right to a day in court.
Where to Turn for Help
If you or a loved one has been the victim of sexual assault, harassment, or voyeurism on a cruise ship, experienced maritime attorneys are willing to fight these unjust systems. Firms like Scolaro Law have litigated against cruise lines for 26 years in Miami, Florida, where all major cruise lines are headquartered and where federal maritime law requires many cruise ship cases to be filed.
Experienced maritime attorneys understand how cruise lines will try to force victims into arbitration, limit recovery, and keep the truth from ever becoming public. They know the federal maritime statutes that protect victims’ rights, the arguments courts will consider to overcome arbitration clauses, and the strategies needed to hold cruise lines accountable for their negligence and their employees’ criminal conduct.
Time limits apply to maritime claims, so early consultation with an experienced cruise ship sexual assault attorney is critical.
The Mirasol case and others like it represent a pivotal moment. Will courts allow cruise lines to continue forcing sexual assault victims into secretive arbitration? Or will victims finally get their day in court, where the truth can be told, cruise lines held accountable, and future passengers protected?
For cruisers planning their next voyage, the message is clear: read your ticket contract, understand what rights you are signing away, and know where to turn if the unthinkable happens. Your dream vacation should not come with a waiver of your right to justice.
