Carnival Cruise passengers banned for life after huge brawl erupts in Miami port

A brawl broke out between two families at Port Miami, Florida, after the Carnival Conquest vessel docked having returned from a trip to the Bahamas, resulting in 16 passengers being placed on Carnival’s Do Not Sail List

Sixteen passengers have been barred from Carnival Cruise Line following a brutal punch-up that broke out while holidaymakers waited in a customs queue. Video footage showed the shocking moment travellers attacked each other at 8am on Monday, 22 June, after the Carnival Conquest ship arrived at Port Miami, Florida, having returned from a voyage to the Bahamas.

Two women are said to have sparked the altercation. One, dressed in a black strapless frock, ducked under a queue barrier and started hurling punches at another woman dressed in polka dot pyjamas. A third woman, wearing a yellow and white maxi-dress, then plunged into the fight and grabbed one of the women by the hair.

Several other men and women entered the scuffle as US Customs and Border Protection officials frantically tried to restore calm. Luggage and personal items were hurled around the room during the chaotic scenes. At one stage, a man was recorded wielding a stanchion above his head as witnesses shrieked in fear.

The fight was finally brought under control after several minutes.

What caused the confrontation between the two families remains unknown.

No one was arrested after both sides refused to press charges.

Following the incident, 16 people have been added to Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Do Not Sail List”, a company spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Mail. “The incident occurred in the debarkation area under the authority of US Customs and Border Patrol [sic],” the company stated.

“We are appreciative of law enforcement’s swift response and handling of the matter. We do not tolerate such behaviour.”

This episode comes just months following a confrontation aboard another Carnival cruise ship, where two women reportedly attacked each other as the vessel returned to Mobile, Alabama from Nassau, Bahamas.

Both parties are now facing federal court summons for simple assault and appeared before a judge in early May.

US magistrate Judge Bert Milling Jr told the women their case would be dismissed provided they remain arrest-free and avoid contact with each other for three months, according to Fox 10.

A final decision on that case is set for 12 August.