Carnival's Brand Ambassador spoke out after a massive brawl broke out in Carnival's Galveston cruise terminal.
24 passengers were involved in a violent fight after disembarking Carnival Jubilee, the cruise line's newest ship, on Saturday, April 26. Consequently, the two dozen guests were banned from cruising with Carnival ever again, while a 21-year-old was arrested.
John Heald, Carnival's social media-famous Brand Ambassador, shared his thoughts about the clash on his Facebook page, which has over 612,000 followers.
Unfortunately, he wasn't surprised by the behavior, saying that the etiquette of guests at theme parks and cruises is akin to "a pack of starving hyenas" these days.
Still, though the incident was deeply disappointing and disrupted the disembarkation experience in Galveston, Heald emphasized that the company is committed to offering safe vacations, and the actions don't align with the vast majority of their guests.
"So many of you wrote to me about an incident in the terminal building at the Port of Galveston involving a group [of] people who will, like anyone who is involved in any physical altercation with other guests, or our crew will never, ever be allowed to cruise with us again," he wrote.
"Right now, there are many thousands of people having FUN on our ships. And 99.9% of those guests are wonderful, [fun-seeking] people, just like you. We have the strongest bookings in the industry I am told, we certainly have the best guests and the best crew who will continue to make sure you have the best of times."
While Heald publicly addressed the disturbing fight, he added that he won't answer additional questions and closed the post to comments.
One passenger was arrested and charged with injury to the elderly and reckless serious bodily injury
Though over 20 cruisers were banned from sailing with Carnival ever again, only one was arrested for the incident. Ethan Merritt-Clark, 21, from Chicago, Illinois, is facing first-degree felony charges and is being held on a $5,000 bond.
According to police affidavits, Merritt-Clark initially claimed the fight began due to lingering hostility over an onboard basketball game the previous day. However, he later recanted his statement and said he pushed the elderly man.
Following the initial assault, which the victim tried to de-escalate, the victim's family began repeatedly hitting Merritt-Clark.
Another passenger was banned from sailing with Carnival Cruise Line this year, albeit for less violent reasons
Jason and Tammy Merritt were looking forward to celebrating their anniversary aboard a Caribbean cruise. However, their trip quickly took a turn for the worse when they realized one of their suitcases had been stolen.
To compensate for their loss, Carnival initially gave the Merritts $50 per day, or $350 for the entire cruise, to purchase necessities like toiletries, underwear, and clean clothing, though they also received $250 in cash by the end of the sailing.
Even after they disembarked and returned to Texas, their suitcase remained at large. The couple, however, kept tabs on their bag using Apple AirPods inside the luggage, which revealed the suitcase never left the Carnival Magic ship.
Read more: Cruise passenger banned for life after stealing someone else's bag
Eventually, the crew tracked down the stolen bag in another passenger's cabin. According to Jason Merritt, the guest was placed on house arrest and banned from cruising with Carnival in the future.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
