Nineteen Passengers Sue Royal Caribbean Over Hidden Cameras in Guest Rooms
Nineteen passengers, including four minors, who cruised on board Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas are suing the cruise line and a former employee who placed hidden cameras in their guest rooms. Arvin Joseph Mirasol, a citizen of the Philippines and former Royal Caribbean crew member, was sentenced in August to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Mirasol, who worked as a stateroom attendant from December 2023 to February 2024, installed a hidden camera containing a memory card in the passengers’ bathrooms and captured images of them while they were undressed and engaging in private activities.
The lawsuit claims that Mirasol then uploaded these images to third parties and/or the dark web, causing the alleged victims to suffer from severe emotional distress, including physical sickness, sweating, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, crying, and physical pain.
The lawsuit also accuses Royal Caribbean of failing to take adequate steps to prevent sexual assaults, including video voyeurism, from occurring aboard its cruise ships. The company is alleged to have failed to warn its passengers of sexual assaults, including video voyeurism, and to have prioritized financial gain over the safety and well-being of its passengers.
Lawyers for the alleged victims argue that Royal Caribbean should have known that sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable, given the prevalence of such incidents on its cruise ships. In 2023, there were 26 reported sexual assaults and rapes on Royal Caribbean cruises, and 22 in 2022.
The lawsuit is seeking a trial by jury and is demanding compensation for the alleged victims’ emotional distress, physical harm, and other losses. Royal Caribbean International has not commented on the lawsuit.