Multiple cruise passengers found themselves in handcuffs after law enforcement officers arrested travelers with outstanding warrants.
Six cruise guests were arrested at Port Canaveral on Friday, July 17, while either embarking or disembarking from cruises, for outstanding warrants and probation violations, law enforcement officials confirmed.
"To start the day off was Martell Murray out of Georgia and his cabin mate, Kenderia Burney out of Leon County, Florida. Murray had a warrant reference a violation of his release conditions for his Murder charges…yes you read that correctly, and Burney had [a] warrant for Violation of Probation!!" shared the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Florida (Official) Facebook page.
"Luckily these two still got to vacation together at the Lodge even though they got accommodations with separate sleeping quarters."
Veronica Hamlet of Tampa, Florida, and James Brewton of Allendale, South Carolina, were also arrested on outstanding warrants for failure to appear and violation of probation, respectively.
The Facebook post continued, "To put the cherry on top of the piña colada, two passengers disembarking from their cruise were stopped as they are currently on Felony Probation and did not have approval to leave the country!!"
According to the arrest reports, both Murray and Burney are being held without bond. Hamlet, however, was released on a $1,000 bond, while Brewton was released on a $500 bond on Saturday, July 18.
The final two arrests involved unnamed passengers who were serving felony probation and had not received permission to leave the country. As such, they violated the terms of their probation by going on a cruise.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office didn't specify which ships the guests had sailed on or intended to sail on. However, according to CruiseMapper, there were three ships in port on Friday: Utopia of the Seas, Disney Wish, and Carnival Glory.
Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas had just finished up a four-night Bahamian voyage and was about to embark on a short weekend cruise to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Similarly, Disney Wish had returned to Port Canaveral after completing a four-night Bahamian itinerary featuring a visit to Disney's private island destination, Castaway Cay, and a stop in Nassau. The 144,000 gross-ton Wish Class ship later on another Bahamas cruise to the line's private island and Nassau.
Finally, Carnival Glory just completed a four-night sailing that included stops at Nassau and Celebration Key. Like the other two vessels, she then departed on a weekend cruise to Carnival's newest private destination.
Can you go on a cruise with a felony?
Having a criminal record does not automatically mean you can't go on a cruise, but there are a few important factors to consider.
Generally speaking, there's no law prohibiting felons from boarding a ship. However, Ron Harper, a Licensed Paralegal and owner of OTD Ticket Defenders Legal Service, told Royal Caribbean Blog that lines can deny boarding to individuals with felony convictions.
Some countries also have strict entry restrictions and may refuse entry to felons, which further complicates the issue.
"Although there is no federal law that prohibits someone convicted of a felony from boarding a cruise ship, several large cruise lines (e.g., Carnival, Royal Caribbean) perform criminal background checks," Harper explained.
Royal Caribbean's website, for example, states that the cruise line checks booking details against law enforcement registries and its internal records to ensure the safety of all customers.
"We check booking details against law enforcement registers and Our internal records for the safety of all customers. With your consent to do so, we compare any photo you provide before your cruise with images taken during embarkation to help identify you and to speed up the boarding process for you," Royal Caribbean says.
"We also use closed-circuit television ("CCTV") cameras onboard Our ships, and We may match images against the photograph We have of you if We need to identify you."
Carnival conducts criminal background checks, too. However, its website adds that felons convicted of physical and/or sexual assault, armed robbery, and other violent crimes may be denied boarding.
Moving on, while convicted felons can cruise to places like The Bahamas and the Caribbean, countries may restrict entry to people with a criminal record.
"Most of the travelers believe that if they remain aboard the ship when they visit a port, they are not in trouble, but the fact is that the border agencies know about the ship by its manifest at least 96 hours before arrival," Barry Nussbaum, Owner and Senior Lawyer at Nussbaum Law in Ontario, said.
For example, countries such as Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand have strict entry requirements that may prevent individuals with felony convictions from visiting, even if their cruise departs from the United States.
Finally, Harper said that those on probation may face even more issues, with international travel (or even intrastate travel) requiring authorization from the probation officer who is responsible for supervising the individual.
