A passenger sailing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas has been charged following an alleged incident during a recent Caribbean cruise. Authorities say the man attempted to photograph beneath a teenage girl’s dress while onboard the ship.
According to USA Today, an affidavit from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office states that 25-year-old Matthew Stilwell of Pawnee, Illinois, was charged with three counts of video voyeurism following an incident that allegedly occurred aboard the cruise ship on May 31, 2026. Video voyeurism is a criminal offense involving the alleged use of a recording device to secretly capture images of another person without their consent.
WPLG Local 10 News reported that the alleged victim was a 13-year-old girl sailing aboard Allure of the Seas. The teen reported that Stilwell had attempted to use his cellphone to photograph underneath her dress while the two were inside one of the ship’s onboard shops.
The incident reportedly took place during an Eastern Caribbean sailing aboard Allure of the Seas, which departed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on May 30, 2026.
At the time, CruiseMapper shows Allure of the Seas was sailing an 8-night round-trip Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale. The itinerary included visits to Basseterre, St. Kitts; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning to Florida.
According to the affidavit, the alleged incident occurred on May 31, 2026, while the ship was at sea en route to St. Kitts.
Alleged incident occurred inside ship gift shop
According to deputies, the girl told investigators she was browsing jewelry inside Allure of the Seas’ gift shop when she became aware of Stilwell’s behavior.
An arrest report states that the victim noticed Stilwell was “standing unusually close behind her with the camera application open on his cellphone.”
Authorities said the victim reported that Stilwell attempted to take photographs underneath her dress on three separate occasions. The girl eventually ran to her mother and reported what had happened, according to investigators.
The arrest report also indicated that Stilwell and the alleged victim were known to each other prior to the incident.
Investigation began after Allure of the Seas returned to Florida
According to CruiseMapper, Allure of the Seas returned to Port Everglades on June 7, 2026, at the end of the 8-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary. Following the ship’s arrival back in Fort Lauderdale, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies boarded the vessel and began investigating the allegations.
As part of the investigation, authorities reviewed surveillance footage from onboard cameras. According to the affidavit, CCTV footage from the ship corroborated the victim’s account of the incident.
Following the review of surveillance footage, deputies also interviewed Stilwell. According to reporting by WPLG Local 10 News, details regarding an alleged confession were redacted from the publicly released arrest report.
Based on the investigation, Stilwell was arrested and charged with three counts of video voyeurism. Court records reviewed by USA Today did not list an attorney for Stilwell at the time of publication.
According to WPLG, Stilwell was taken into custody on June 7, 2026. The station reported that he was being held at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Broward County. Jail records cited by WPLG showed his bond was set at $22,500.
Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on the alleged incident, and the cruise line did not immediately respond to USA Today’s request for a statement.
