The Department of Transportation (DOT) reported 44 crimes across all cruise lines in Q4 of 2025. Royal Caribbean led the cruise industry in crime while Carnival saw a sharp drop compared to Q3 2025.
The DOT tracks crimes by the quarter they were reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010.
Crime by Cruise Line
Royal Caribbean led all cruise lines with 16 reported crimes, double the number reported by second place Norwegian Cruise Line. Carnival had a significant drop in crime this quarter with just 3 reported incidents after leading all cruise lines with 17 reported incidents last quarter.
A full breakdown of reported crimes by cruise line is below:
- Royal Caribbean Cruise Line: 16
- Norwegian Cruise Line: 8
- MSC Cruises: 7
- Princess Cruises: 4
- Carnival Cruise Line: 3
- Virgin Voyages: 3
- Disney Cruise Line: 2
- Margaritaville at Sea: 1
Crime by Incident Type
Sexual crimes (listed by the DOT as Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault-Rape) were the most prevalent crimes with 29 incidents reported. Royal Caribbean led all cruise lines with 13 sexual crimes while Norwegian Cruise Line had the second most with 5 sexual crimes.
Royal Caribbean Cruises overtook Carnival Cruise Line with 13 sexual assaults and rapes in the last quarter of 2025 (October 1 – January 31, 2025).
For 2025, Royal Caribbean had 39 sexual assaults and rapes (Q1 6: Q2: 11, Q3: 9, and Q4: 13.) compared to 31 for Carnival (Q1: 8, Q2: 9, Q3: 12, and Q4: 2.)
A full breakdown of reported crimes by alleged incident is below:
- Sexual Assault: 16
- Sexual Assault-Rape: 13
- Theft>$10,000: 7
- Assault with Serious Bodily Injury: 5
- Death-Suspicious: 1
- Homicide: 1
- Missing U.S. National: 1
- Firing or Tampering with Vessel: 0
- Kidnapping: 0
Crime is Underreported by the Cruise Industry
The total crimes reported by the DOT are systematically underreported for several reasons. First, only crimes involving U.S. nationals are included. As a result, crimes committed against crew members, who are mostly non-Americans, and foreign passengers do not qualify for the DOT’s cruise crime data.
Second, not all crimes that should be reported to the FBI actually appear in the DOT’s cruise crime data. We have reported and represented passengers whose cases clearly fit the reporting categories but never show up in the cruise crime data.
Finally, the DOT uses narrow crime classifications that suppress the numbers. Categories like “Death-Suspicious” and “Assault with Serious Bodily Injury” exclude real crimes that don’t meet the specific criteria. The DOT does not define what classifies as a suspicious death or a serious bodily injury.
Cruise Crime in 2025
The DOT reported a total of 181 crimes on all cruise lines in 2025, just surpassing the previous record year of 2023, when there were 180 crimes reported. Of the 181 crimes reported by the DOT this year, 121 were sexual crimes, the second most ever behind 131 sexual crimes in 2023.
Cruise lines have experienced a nearly twofold increase in crime since 2016, as seen in the graph below.
Previous 2025 Cruise Crime Articles:
2025 Q3: Carnival Cruise Line Regains Top Spot as Cruise Industry Crime Leader in Q3, 2025
2025 Q2: Royal Caribbean Leads U.S. DOT Cruise Crime Report for Second Quarter of 2025
2025 Q1: Carnival Leads all Cruise Lines in Crime for 33 Consecutive Months
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