2 families sue cruise line as numbers show spike in reports of sexual assaults at sea

A cruise line is facing new lawsuits after two passengers say the company failed to keep them safe on board.

NBC 6 Investigators learned their allegations are among dozens of similar incidents reported on cruises last year.

These incidents allegedly took place on two separate MSC cruise ships. One involved a girl who said another child touched her inappropriately on board. We are not identifying the passengers or their families because of the nature of the cases. 

The mother of the six-year-old described the terrifying moment in an exclusive interview with NBC6.

“I got a phone call one night when she was on the cruise,” she said. “She told me while she was at kids’ club that she had to go to the bathroom, and a boy kept walking in and out of the stall and ended up touching her hip and private area while she was using the toilet.”

She says it happened last January while on board the MSC Divina.

“As a mom not being there for your kid when they got through something like that is extremely difficult,” she added.

According to this lawsuit, the girl was at the ship’s “mini club” for kids when she had to use the restroom. She claims an employee instructed her not to lock the restroom door and “failed to monitor” it. Then, the boy went inside. 

“I went right back to the kids’ club and I filed a report with the staff there,” the girl’s grandmother said.

But the girl’s family claims the ship didn’t report the incident to authorities. 

“There were no actions taken to begin with,” the mother said.

In a separate lawsuit, a passenger on the MSC Meraviglia says she was attacked in March after her waiter on the ship followed her cousin back to the room the women were sharing.

“Very scary,” she said. “As soon as she opened the door and was walking in, he came out of nowhere so when she turned around he was in the room right behind her, closing the door.”

The lawsuit alleges he refused to leave after several requests.

At some point, she claims in the suit her cousin went to the restroom and the crew member “got on top” of her and “began undoing his belt…throughout the physical struggle…continuously licking her face and trying to undress her.” 

“My cousin came running out of the bathroom and it kind of startled him,” she said. “He kind of loosened up a little bit and I was able to slide out from under him.”

The woman explained she ran to the hallway and shouted for help.

“He threatened us that if we were to say anything if anything was to happen that he was going to come back,” she said.

Records provided to NBC6 by Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Monday show the cruise line interviewed the accused crew member after the alleged incident and shared his statement with law enforcement. In it, he claimed the women invited him to their room and there was no physical interaction between them.

The report states "the ship plans on dismissing this crew member upon arrival," to port.

The Brevard County State Attorney’s Office didn’t press charges against the crew member.

NBC6 Investigators found reports of this type of incident went up last year.

A total of 131 sexual assault cases, including rape, were reported to the FBI, compared to 87 in 2022. The cases involve different cruise lines. In most of them, the attacker was a passenger.

Attorney Jack Hickey says the number is likely higher.

“So everything involving a non-U.S. citizen, not reported,” he said. “Everything that the cruise lines deem not a sexual assault under those definitions. Not reported.”

Hickey, who is representing the passengers suing MSC, says the company needs more rigorous training and screening of employees.

“I think the training, supervision and vetting in the beginning really does need to change,” he said. “Will it do so? I fear not.”

A spokesperson for MSC Cruises tells NBC6 the company is unable to comment on pending litigation.

But a representative for the industry group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sent us a statement, writing in part, cruise lines “are heavily regulated” and “have zero tolerance” for criminal behavior, adding “allegations of major crimes on cruise ships are extremely rare”

“If it could happen to me, it could happen to anybody else,” said the passenger on the MSC Meraviglia. “And that is a scary thing when you’re stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean”

The Department of Transportation began publishing data on sexual assault incidents after Congress passed legislation in 2010 related to safety on cruise ships. CLIA calls that type of reporting “unprecedented” compared to other sectors of travel and tourism. 

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include additional information provided by law enforcement.