Cruise Ship Guest Captured Climbing Over Balcony

A Carnival Cruise Line guest could soon face severe consequences after video has surfaced of them climbing over the balcony of their stateroom and standing on an adjacent roof area.

The incident happened on the December 30, 2023 sailing of the brand new Carnival Jubilee, which was just the ship’s second ever voyage welcoming guests.

Carnival Guest Goes Over Balcony Railing

Video posted to social media shows disturbing behavior from a Carnival Cruise Line guest, as a woman is seen standing outside her balcony stateroom on an adjacent section of roof covering the public area of the deck below.

The short 18-second clip clearly shows the woman completely over her balcony railing, leaning back over and appearing to speak with someone before she hops back up to sit on the railing before swinging her legs over and disappearing from view. Another passenger is seen two decks higher, peeking over another balcony to watch the antics.

“Our security team on Carnival Jubilee identified the guests involved in this matter, and those guests will no longer be sailing on Carnival ships. The safety of everyone on board is our priority and we do not tolerate this behavior,” Carnival Cruise Line stated to Cruise Hive.

The ship’s bridge is clearly seen in the background, including ship officers moving about, but it is unclear whether or not they see the woman’s actions.

The video was taking on the December 30 sailing of Carnival Jubilee, the ship’s second ever cruise with guests. The ship’s maiden voyage was from December 23-30, while the second cruise departed Galveston on Saturday, December 30 and continued through January 6. There is no date listed with the video, which could have been taken at any time during the cruise.

What We Know

While the video is short and details are few, there is some information the clip provides. For example, the ship’s motion is clearly seen in the water, which indicates the incident did not happen while the ship was docked, but instead while it was at sea. This could have been during a day at sea or else shortly before or after Carnival Jubilee was in port.

The December 30 sailing was a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary that visited Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan – the same as all week-long cruises the ship is offering.

The stateroom the woman exited and then reentered was on Deck 9, which features a variety of balcony cabins. The deck below – Deck 8 – has a public promenade and lanai space around the ship’s edge, including outdoor eating space for Rudi’s Seagrill, a specialty restaurant only on the cruise line’s Excel-class ships. Much of this outdoor space is covered, which is the roof the woman was standing on.

The balcony stateroom in question is on the ship’s port (left) side, which is clear because of the orientation of the bridge.

Consequences of This Behavior

This type of reckless behavior is a clear violation of Carnival Cruise Line’s guest code of conduct policy, which prohibits unsafe behavior.

Section 9(j) of the Cruise Ticket Contract states: “Any Guest whose conduct affects the comfort, enjoyment, safety, or well-being of other guests or crew will be detained onboard and/or disembarked at their own expense and will be prohibited from sailing with Carnival in the future.”

This situation could have had a much more tragic outcome than a brief video clip if she had slipped, fallen, or been affected by strong winds during her time over the balcony.

Unfortunately, such incidents are occurring more and more frequently as some travelers seek a brief moment of internet fame via social media sites by engaging in outrageous acts such as fishing off a cruise ship balcony, throwing items off a ship, or even climbing between balconies.

These poor behaviors are not confined to Carnival Cruise Line, as guests have been noted acting irresponsibly on various cruise lines. Such actions are not tolerated by the cruise lines, and often result in lifetime bans, extensive fines, being disembarked from the vessel at the next port at the guest’s expense – or all three. Is that risk, as well as the risk of injury or death, worth likes and shares?