Royal Caribbean hit with lawsuit over hidden cameras

Royal Caribbean Cruises Lines (RCCL) faces legal action after passengers filed a lawsuit over hidden cameras allegedly placed in staterooms by a former employee.

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, 29 October in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of a Symphony of the Seas passenger identified as “Jane Doe” and “all other similarly situated passengers,” claims that Royal Caribbean “should have known sexual assaults were reasonably foreseeable given the prevalence of such incidents on RCCL cruise ships,” Fox 8 reports.

According to the suit, the company failed to adequately warn guests and properly train its staff.

The complaint also revealed concerning statistics, citing 26 reported sexual assaults and rapes during RCCL cruises in 2023, up from 22 in 2022. 

Overall, allegations of sexual assault on cruise ships rose to 131 cases in 2023, compared to 87 in 2022 and 101 in 2019.

The lawsuit further claims that the cruise line failed to inform passengers in rooms serviced by 34-year-old Filipino stateroom attendant Arvin Joseph Mirasol between 1 December of 2023, and 26 February of this year, potentially affecting up to 960 individuals who may have been filmed during that time.

Mirasol was sentenced in the United States (US) in August to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to producing child pornography.

His offenses, spanning December of last year to 25 February, included covert recordings of children. Mirasol was caught after a guest aboard the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship discovered a hidden camera affixed to the counter under the bathroom sink.

Despite being fired and now serving prison time, passengers of the cruise line express concern that there should have been more actions taken to protect them.

Reports also revealed that US law enforcement found numerous videos on Mirasol’s electronic devices showing children in various state of undress. Authorities also uncovered footage showing the stateroom attendant installing a camera in a guest’s bathroom.

Most victims of the attendant were individuals aged two to 17 years old.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday, 29 October, issued Advisory No. 33 Series of 2024, and called on manning agencies to incorporate training and orientation that emphasize legal and ethical standards under Republic Act 11930 or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children, and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said the agency, as part of the Inter-Agency Council against trafficking, “does not tolerate any forms of exploitation of children,” adding that seafarers are expected to uphold the “highest ethical manner” in employment.

The new orientation modules will cover both local laws and relevant US statutes that severely penalize child exploitation offenses.