Kenneth Glad
Serious incidents aboard passenger vessels can trigger security procedures rarely encountered by ordinary travellers. Company policies set out how operators may respond when someone poses a risk.
Cruise holidays are built around entertainment and relaxation, but operators also have to prepare for situations in which a passenger becomes disruptive or is judged to pose a risk to others onboard. That can include serious confrontations, safety concerns or behaviour that requires intervention from the ship’s security team, writes the Daily Express.
Royal Caribbean Group says its security measures can include temporarily confining a guest when the company considers their behaviour a health, safety or security concern. Its guest conduct policy sets out a range of possible responses, including intervention by security staff or law enforcement, reporting incidents to authorities and restricting a passenger’s onboard privileges.
In more serious cases, a guest may be confined to their stateroom or placed in a holding cell. The policy also allows for passengers to be removed from the vessel, depending on the circumstances and the level of risk involved.
When confinement is used
Those measures are not restricted to suspected criminal offences. Royal Caribbean says action may be taken when a guest is considered a risk to other passengers, crew members or the ship.
The Daily Express cites an online video in which an unnamed cruise worker describes fights and assaults that resulted in passengers being separated from others onboard.
The worker said: “Crazy partying spirals into drunken fights or assaults. Passengers who fight spend the rest of the cruise in a windowless room, until they can be handed over to the authorities once we dock in the harbour.”
The worker’s video gives one example of how a passenger might end up being confined onboard. Royal Caribbean’s own policy confirms that holding cells are part of the measures it can use.
Preparing for deaths at sea
Cruise ships also have to be prepared for medical emergencies that end in death. Some vessels therefore have onboard morgues, giving crews a secure place to keep a body until arrangements can be made once the ship reaches port. The CDC Yellow Book says these facilities can be used to manage the remains of travellers who die during a voyage.
There are also reporting requirements when a death occurs at sea. Federal regulations require ships travelling from a non-US port to a US port to report onboard deaths immediately to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)., allowing the relevant authorities to be notified before the vessel arrives.
The worker said that more than 72 percent of cruise passengers were over 60, but recent industry figures suggest the true share is much lower. The Cruise Lines International Association said 34 percent of ocean-cruise passengers worldwide were over 60 in 2025, while the average passenger was 46.7 years old.
Sources: Daily Express, CDC Yellow Book
