U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) boarded multiple cruise ships in the Port of San Diego, making arrests of roughly two dozen crew members suspected of child pornography crimes, according to news reports.
The ships involved are said to include at least one Disney cruise ship and a Holland America ship.
This story first came to light a few days ago when video of customs officials detaining multiple Disney Cruise Line employees went viral. A passenger took the footage as they were leaving the terminal.
According to a local San Diego news station, that passenger alerted a local immigration group. The group said that about 10 Disney employees were detained by officers and another four from a Holland America ship two days later. The news station reached out to CBP, but at the time didn’t receive a reason for the detention.
“CBP obviously had a reason to go on there,” maritime lawyer Michael Winkleman told ABC 10 News. “It could have been something criminal. It could have been something visa-related. It really could have been any number of other things.”
Now the California Post reports CBP says the incident stems from child pornography. The agency boarded multiple cruise ships between April 23-25, the Post says. During that time, the Port of San Diego cruise schedule shows Disney Magic, Ruby Princess, Disney Wonder, and Holland America’s Zaandam docking. It’s not clear if every ship was involved.
“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child pornography,” a CBP spokesperson shared with the Post.
NBC San Diego shared a CBP statement saying that 23 crewmembers were arrested from multiple ships as part of the operation. “The arrestees were transported to Los Angeles for processing, and their visas were revoked,” the statement said.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement. These individuals are no longer with the company,” said a Disney spokesperson to the California Post.
Not the First Sexual-Related Arrest Among Crew
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time crew members have been caught allegedly being bad.
In 2024 a crewmember on a Royal Caribbean ship was arrested for “video voyeurism” after reports say he hid a camera underneath a sink and was found with electronic devices containing videos of women undressing.
And in 2023, another crewmember was arrested on a different Royal Caribbean ship for installing a camera in a public bathroom.
Given the massive amount of crew across cruise ships, it’s not a surprise that some cases do pop up from time to time. Still, given the alleged charges — especially related to a cruise line known as family-oriented — it’s disturbing news.
