One thing led to another as cheating allegations between a handful of cruise ship passengers escalated into an all-out brawl that lasted for an hour, eventually involving some 60 individuals and spanning five floors.
Theresa James, who said she is a travel agent and witnessed the event, told Fox News Digital that passengers’ significant others found out about an alleged threesome. Beginning on the ship’s fifth floor at 2:00 in the morning, the brawl “lasted about an hour” and “took the parties involved” all the way to the first floor, according to the outlet.
last nights festivities on my carnival cruise 🥳🛳 pic.twitter.com/uehhfmCfaC
— naim (@nyeem0) June 28, 2022
“Bottles were smashed and a woman was also cut in the melee, although no serious injuries were reported,” The Daily Mail summarized. “A couple of ship security guards attempted to break up the fight where they could — however, they were vastly outnumbered.”
James — calling the brawlers “ignorant fools acting stupid” — estimated that up to 60 people may have been involved and credited security with ending the altercation.
One Twitter user recounted that he was “at the bar listening to my own music sipping a shirley temple,” when “the brawl broke out of nowhere.” Passengers were “squabbling for sureeee, injured and cut up from glass.”
With respect to the security guards who attempted to stop the melee, the user commented that “they don’t pay them enough to get caught in the crossfire lol,” even though “he was trying to stop em.” The individual “went to the dj booth and asked to make a request.”
According to The New York Post, the U.S. Coast Guard was called and managed to escort the ship into a Manhattan port. New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were present as passengers left the ship, which was returning to the East Coast after departing from New Jersey and traveling to several Caribbean islands.
“Last night while Carnival Magic was returning to New York, a number of guests were involved in an altercation in a nightclub,” the cruise company said in a statement. “Thankfully no serious injuries were reported and our onboard security team intervened. The ship arrived as scheduled this morning and shoreside law enforcement authorities were notified and met the ship to interview suspects and witnesses and conduct an investigation.”
Law enforcement is still attempting to determine which jurisdiction will be responsible for prosecuting the incident.
“No information was immediately available on arrests,” The New York Post reported. “Officials could not confirm by the afternoon whether the fight would be handled by the NYPD, New Jersey authorities, or if it happened in international waters.”
According to NBC New York, “no injuries were reported and no weapons were involved.”
“Neither the Coast Guard nor the NYPD boarded the vessel,” the outlet added. “Passengers disembarked without further incident upon their NYC arrival Tuesday.”
The Carnival Magic was constructed in 2011 and registered in Panama. The vessel, which can carry 130,000 in gross tonnage, can host over 3,600 guests and 1,386 crew members for trips that last from two to nine days. The ship sails to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, New England, and the Caribbean, and departs from Orlando, Florida; Norfolk, Virginia; New York, New York; and Miami, Florida.