A Royal Caribbean International passenger is suing the company and a former crew member after the employee allegedly hid a camera in her cabin bathroom.
The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the guest – identified as Jane Doe – and “all other similarly situated passengers,” in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday. Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a former stateroom attendant, captured images of the guest “while undressed and engaging in private activities” during a February cruise on the line’s Symphony of the Seas ship, according to the filing.
Mirasol was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in August for filming guests, including children, with hidden cameras while they were naked. He still faces video voyeurism charges in Florida.
“Upon information and belief, Mirasol transmitted and/or uploaded images of the Plaintiff while undressed and engaging in private activities, to third parties and/or to the world wide web, including, but not limited to, the dark web, without Plaintiff’s prior knowledge or consent,” the complaint filed this week states. The passenger has suffered extreme emotional distress as a result, which has caused physical symptoms including insomnia, physical pain and dizziness.
The lawsuit also alleges that Royal Caribbean “knew or should have known sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable considering the prevalence of sexual assaults aboard RCCL’s cruise ships,” pointing to a hidden camera incident on another ship in the fleet. In that instance, a passenger on the line’s Harmony of the Seas vessel was arrested last year for allegedly filming people, including children, in a public bathroom without their knowledge.
Allegations of sexual assault on cruise ships rose to 131 in 2023, up from 87 the year before and 101 in 2019, before the industry shut down due to COVID-19.
The lawsuit alleges that the company failed to provide sufficient security, training or supervision to prevent sexual assaults of that kind, and did not warn guests about such crimes.
The cruise line also allegedly did not notify individual class plaintiffs who stayed in cabins serviced by Mirasol between Dec. 1, 2023 and Feb. 26, 2024. There may be up to 960 impacted passengers, according to the complaint.
“If you’re a company that’s looking out for the best interest of your passengers, and aren’t acting in your own financial interests, then you would certainly be telling all these people that they could be potential victims, right?” said Jason Margulies, an attorney with Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. representing the plaintiff. “I mean, that’s the humane thing to do.”
“The safety and privacy of our guests is our highest priority, and we have zero tolerance for this behavior,” Royal Caribbean told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We immediately reported this case to law enforcement and terminated the crew member. As this is pending litigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
The suit seeks unspecified damages – including punitive damages – and a jury trial.
