A viral video shows an outraged passenger attacking another crew member on one of the world's biggest cruise ships, and the shocking footage has sparked major discussions across social media platforms.
Fighting is one of the easiest ways to get kicked off (and banned) from cruise ships. However, despite the headlines, some guests have not learned that their actions have consequences.
Recently, a hostile guest assaulted a crew member on Icon of the Seas at the Category 6 Waterpark. The kicker? His actions were caught on camera and shared on Facebook. Since being posted on December 5, the video has been viewed over 1 million times.
Before throwing the violent punch, the belligerent guest is seen getting in the crew member's face and aggressively yelling.
(Credit: Pat Brumley Ph D/Facebook)
The crew member, who appears to be a lifeguard based on their uniform, was knocked to the ground by the forceful blow. Another crew member intervened and tackled the passenger to the ground, presumably to prevent further violence.
After regaining his stance, the unidentified passenger walked away with his middle finger raised toward the crew and stunned passersby.
He was followed by crew members, though — likely to keep a close eye on them until the ship's security team could arrive and apprehend the guest for questioning.
"This behavior is absolutely disgusting"
(Credit: Pat Brumley Ph D/Facebook)
Social media users reacted to the 55-second clip online. Some simply stated that the behavior should not be tolerated on board, while others were quick to blame the line's unlimited drink package.
"[The guest] should be forced to pay the employee for pain and suffering - this is abuse, doing this to any random person would result in jail time. For some reason assaults on service workers always get walked off as nothing," commented one person on a thread in the r/Cruise Reddit community.
Someone else chimed in, "Wow, what a little punk piece of garbage. As soon as he gets off the ship, I hope they have cops waiting to send him to jail."
(Credit: Pat Brumley Ph D/Facebook)
"If I [were] a betting man, I’d be more likely to blame the onboard free-flowing unlimited drink packages," another added on a separate post.
Although Royal Caribbean has yet to comment on the incident, the cruise giant has strict policies on passenger misconduct
The cruise line's Guest Health, Safety, and Conduct Policy is extremely clear: Inappropriate or abusive behavior is not permitted on board. "Uninvited physical contact" is also against Royal Caribbean's rules.
These policies aren't suggestions, either. Should a passenger violate these rules, which are all agreed upon in the cruise contract, they face removal from the ship, possible legal action, and a permanent ban from future Royal Caribbean Group sailings.
Unfortunately, incidents like that aren't uncommon. Multiple livestreamers were recently kicked off Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas. Two members of the "Cx group" — David Ryan and Dave Willis — got into a violent altercation on the pool deck that was recorded in real time.
According to bystanders, the duo began arguing over another streamer. However, things quickly escalated, and they began throwing punches and eventually tackling one another to the ground.
As a result of their actions, Ryan and Willis were kicked off Harmony and left in Roatán, Honduras.
