Vacations are supposed to be about melting away stress, not throwing hands in a baggage claim area. But if you've been on social media lately, you probably saw that viral clip of the Carnival Cruise Line Galveston fight that turned a standard Saturday morning into a full-blown melee. It wasn't just a minor disagreement over a lounge chair.
It was chaos.
Think luggage flying, people shouting, and security guards looking completely overwhelmed as they tried to separate a sea of angry travelers. This wasn't happening in some dark alley; it was right in the middle of Terminal 25 at the Port of Galveston.
The Saturday Morning Sucker Punch
On April 26, 2025, the Carnival Jubilee—which is basically a floating city and one of the newest ships in the fleet—pulled back into Texas after a week of cruising the Western Caribbean. Most people were just trying to find their bags and get to their cars. Instead, they got a front-row seat to a brawl.
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The video, which was originally posted by a bystander named Trelle Ray, shows a group of people literally charging past the metal barriers. You can see one man in a white T-shirt getting chased down near the Zone 7 luggage pickup. He gets tackled, and suddenly it's a pile-on.
What's wild is how fast it escalated. One second people are checking their tags for suitcases, the next they're dodging flying fists. Security tried to step in, but when you've got dozens of people involved, a couple of yellow vests don't do much.
Honestly, the most shocking part for most witnesses wasn't just the fighting—it was the venue. Since this happened in the debarkation area, it fell under the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). That is not the group of people you want to mess with.
Why Did It Even Start?
Whenever these things go viral, everyone wants to know the "why." Was it a stolen suitcase? A comment about someone’s kid?
Actually, it sounds like it started over a basketball game.
One of the guys involved, a 21-year-old named Ethan Merritt-Clark, reportedly told police that the tension actually started the day before on the ship’s basketball court. It’s a classic case of "on-board beef" that didn't stay on the ship. According to court documents, he claimed a group of about 20 people confronted him in the luggage area.
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Things got messy in the legal department, too. Merritt-Clark initially said he was being stomped on, but later admitted he pushed an elderly man during the scuffle. That elderly man's family then jumped in to defend him.
The result? Merritt-Clark ended up facing a first-degree felony charge for injury to an elderly individual. That's a massive price to pay for a disagreement that started over a hoop session.
Carnival’s Hammer: The "Do Not Sail" List
Carnival Cruise Line didn't exactly play nice after the dust settled. They made it very clear that they have zero patience for this kind of thing.
24 people. That is how many passengers were slapped with a lifetime ban. Carnival put them all on their "Do Not Sail" list immediately. It’s a permanent "thanks, but never again" from the brand.
"We will not tolerate such behavior, and 24 people have been placed on our Do Not Sail list," a Carnival spokesperson stated.
Basically, if you were involved in that Carnival Cruise Line Galveston fight, you’ve bought your last Fun Ship drink package.
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It’s a bold move, but it’s one the industry is leaning into. With more people cruising than ever before—and incidents of "cruise rage" seemingly on the rise—the lines are trying to protect their reputation as family-friendly environments.
Not an Isolated Incident
If you feel like you’re seeing more of these headlines, you aren't imagining it. There’s been a weird string of these brawls lately.
- Carnival Magic (2022): A massive dance-floor fight involving 40 to 60 people near New York.
- Carnival Paradise (2024): A late-night scuffle in the Lido buffet where people were literally throwing chairs.
- Royal Caribbean (2025): Just a week before the Galveston incident, an 18-year-old was arrested after a fight in an elevator on Liberty of the Seas.
Travel experts like Ira Leesfield have pointed out that as ships get bigger and more crowded, the "duty of care" becomes harder to manage. When you have 6,000+ people in a confined space—often with easy access to alcohol—it's a pressure cooker.
How to Avoid the Drama
Look, 99.9% of people go on a cruise and have a great time without ever seeing a punch thrown. But if you find yourself in a situation where things are getting heated, here is the expert takeaway on how to handle it so you don't end up on the evening news:
Don't engage in "Courtroom Justice"
If someone is being a jerk on the basketball court or the buffet line, walk away. Reporting it to ship security is way better than trying to "settle it" yourself. If you wait until you're off the ship to settle the score, you're doing it in front of federal agents.
Watch the Alcohol
Most of these fights have one thing in common: the Cheers! package. Know your limits. Dehydration and high-proof cocktails are a recipe for bad decisions.
Remember the Code of Conduct
You actually sign a contract when you book. Carnival’s code specifically says that any behavior affecting the "comfort, enjoyment, or safety" of others can get you kicked off at your own expense. That means they'll leave you at the next port and you have to fly yourself home.
The CBP Factor
Once you are in that terminal in Galveston, you are technically in a federal facility. Local port police and federal agents aren't like ship security; they don't give "warnings." They make arrests.
The big takeaway from the Carnival Cruise Line Galveston fight is that the "fun" ends the moment you decide to get physical. Between the $500 fines, the potential for felony charges, and the lifetime ban, that one minute of anger is going to cost those 24 people a lifetime of vacations.
If you're heading out of Galveston soon, just grab your bags, keep your head down, and save the energy for the drive home. It's just not worth the "Do Not Sail" list.
To make sure your next trip goes smoothly, you might want to look into the updated 2026 Carnival Code of Conduct to see exactly what "disruptive behavior" entails these days.