Multiple federal agencies are investigating a passenger's death on the Carnival Dream, a Carnival cruise ship based out of Galveston, Texas.
The guest reportedly passed away on the Carnival Dream around July 23, 2025. The 130,000 gross-ton vessel was on a 6-night Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston to Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.
FBI Houston Public Affairs Officer Connor Hagan confirmed with CW39 Houston that the agency is aware of the incident on Carnival Dream and has an FBI Maritime Liaison Agent coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the cruise line to investigate the death.
Hagan added that the FBI is the primary agency authorized to investigate possible crimes at sea. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, he couldn't provide additional details.
Passengers on the cruise ship told KHOU 11 that they woke up to loud emergency sirens at around 3:00 or 4:00AM. Another guest said that they heard an announcement requesting medical assistance on the adults-only Serenity Deck.
Rumors have begun circulating online
"[A] passenger on Carnival...was murdered this week," one person shared on a Reddit forum, "Apparently it was a female passenger who murdered a male passenger, and she is in the brig."
Another commented on Facebook, "I was on that cruise. Our 18 yr olds say they watched them remove a body at [the Galveston] port when we returned. They [saw] them from a 1st floor Ocean view cabin. There were two guests [who] took their luggage off in Cozumel. Rumor was 2 died and 7 people were in the jail during the cruise."
"We just got off the cruise and we heard that he was stabbed over 5k that he won in the casino," wrote someone else.
Carnival has denied any foul play or suspicious activity relating to the passenger's death and released the following statement to KHOU:
"It is standard practice for the FBI to review deaths that occur on cruise ships. This routine protocol ensures transparency. It does not automatically imply suspicious circumstances, and the facts of this matter do not suggest any such activity. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to our guest's family and loved ones in this difficult time."
Investigating crimes that were committed at sea is difficult
Cruise ships are registered in a single country, such as the Bahamas or Bermuda, but regularly travel through international waters. They also carry crew members and passengers from different countries. As such, when a crime happens, more than one country may want to investigate.
FBI Tampa Special Agent Mat Pagliarini and FBI Los Angeles Special Agent Matt Parker are experts at understanding the legal web of crime at sea. Unfortunately, the answers are not always clear-cut.
The ship's location, nationality of the victim or suspect, ownership of the vessel, points of embarkation and disembarkation, and the country where the ship is registered all determine how the FBI can intervene and investigate.
"It really depends," said Pagliarini, "Do we have jurisdiction based on where the ship was? What was the next port of call? Was a U.S. citizen involved?"
Collaboration is also important for investigating crimes committed at sea, as the investigations are not always solely governed by U.S. law.
For example, when dealing with foreign cruise ships, the FBI needs to obtain consent to board the vessel. Once they're on board, they have a small window to secure the crime scene, collect evidence, and conduct interviews before the ship departs on its next voyage.
"You have everything you need to solve the crime on the ship," said Parker. "You have a short amount of time to do the best you can to solve this case or collect all the evidence you need to solve this case, and then your crime scene leaves."
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!
