They carry the population of a small town and promise days of endless, sun-kissed fun and entertainment.

And most of the time, while they glide through international waters holding up to 7,600 passengers, mega cruise ships deliver exactly that. 

But lately, what starts as a dream vacation has been ending in a nightmare and loss for some aboard these giant vessels that have little in the way of traditional law enforcement.

The alleged murder of 18-year-old Florida student Anna Kepner aboard the Carnival Horizon late last year is a recent heartbreaking example. Kepner’s body was found in her cabin stuffed under her bed.  

A teenage relative who was on the family trip is now facing charges in connection with her death, according to court documents. 

And as the FBI investigation continues, the Daily Mail can reveal that the incident, sadly, is not an isolated tragedy. 

Official figures show cruise ship crimes reached a record high in 2025, with rapes at the forefront of the increase.

Some 80 alleged rapes aboard were reported to the FBI last year, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT).

Luxury cruise lines can carry thousands of passengers as they sail Caribbean routes and other holiday destinations (stock image)

High school senior Anna Kepner, 18, from Titusville, Florida, was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon during a family cruise in November 2025. The FBI is continuing to investigate her death

There were also 51 other types of sexual assault, 22 serious physical assaults and 19 thefts of property worth more than $10,000.

In total, there were a record 182 crimes reported, including Kepner’s homicide.

That compares with the previous year of 68 rapes, 52 other types of sex attacks, 14 thefts over $10,000 and 28 serious physical assaults – all amounting to a total of 168 reported crimes.

Broken down among cruise lines for 2025, according to the DOT, there were 25 reported rapes on Royal Caribbean, 23 on Carnival, ten on MSC, nine on Norwegian, six on Princess, four on Disney, two on Celebrity and one on Virgin Voyages.

Other serious sex assaults were also reported on Royal Caribbean (14), Disney (12), Carnival (eight), Norwegian (four), MSC (three), Princess (three), Celebrity (two), Virgin Voyages (two) and Margaritaville at Sea (two).

Fueling those figures is a dangerous combination that critics have been warning about for years, according to leading victims’ attorney Jim Walker, based in world-cruise capital Miami.

‘Cruise companies constantly push insane drinks packages to make money while the security on board is not their top staffing priority, because that doesn’t make them anything,’ he told the Daily Mail.

Today’s mega cruise ships can carry more than 7,000 passengers – roughly the population of a small town. Pictured: File image of Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas in Miami, Florida

‘There are no police on these ships or anything like resembling normal law enforcement that you would see in America… They may have some general training, CPR things like that. But they are a poor excuse for security on a floating hotel with thousands taking advantage of all-you-can-drink beverage packages and staying drunk the whole cruise.’

The largest staff roll call on any cruise ship is in the food and beverage department. 

Many receive ultra-low wages and hustle for tips by selling extra services and packages that make the cruise line more money.

‘There are probably 200 to 300 of those, then you go through to the officers and people involved in navigation, engineers on the machinery, then to the entertainers,’ Walker said. 

‘There are probably 100 singers, dancers and other performers. By comparison, at the very bottom of the numbers, there is security. There are probably eight or nine people. That’s all.’

Walker told the Daily Mail that ‘The thinking behind this is simple.

‘Cruise lines pay the crew members who work as bartenders and in the casino as low as $500 a month, but they are generating extra money on board for the company and themselves in tips.

‘Yet the security staff, who are paid more like $1,500 a month, earn the company nothing extra.

Anna’s 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged over the death

The suspect, who is a minor, is said to be facing two charges over Kepner’s November 7 death

‘They’re not selling anything. So, the cruise lines don’t want to invest a lot of money in them as they are taking a full hit on their wages.’

Walker firmly believes that larger numbers of highly-trained, more visible security teams would directly prevent much of the crime on board.

He has litigated more than 150 cases of onboard rape allegations.

‘Probably at least 50 involved children, minors under 17,’ he added. ‘Many of them were infants.’

Ships do have many cameras on board, but these are only in the upper decks. 

They do not exist below deck in the warren of hallways that lead to cabins and where passengers can be particularly vulnerable to attack and other crimes.

‘Cruise lines say that’s for privacy concerns,’ Walker said. ‘But this is also so they don’t build a case against themselves.

‘If a passenger is assaulted or raped, you have to prove the company knew or should have known about it, which is often difficult without video evidence.’

Walker also believes there is under-reporting of rapes on ships because of the nature of the crime. And he has scathing words for the FBI in his fight for victim justice.

‘The problem obtaining justice is not only a lack of experienced law enforcement on a ship dealing with a crime scene at sea,’ he said, ‘but also that the FBI, which does have jurisdiction, is largely not interested in boarding ships and investigating.

‘The FBI goes on cruise ships just long enough to decline jurisdiction. In my view, Miami Dade Sheriff’s Department is far more effective than the FBI in investigating shipboard rapes and collecting evidence that lead to a prosecution.’

The agency, however, is investigating the case of Kepner, from Titusville, Florida, who went on a six-day Caribbean getaway with father Christopher, stepmom Shauntel Hudson, and her siblings and step siblings in November 2025.

Her 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged over the death, according to a court document in a custody battle over him between his mother and father, Thomas Hudson. 

Anna was discovered asphyxiated and stuffed under lifejackets in the cabin she shared with the step sibling.

Walker also maintained that beverage packages – which, for example, can include up to 15 alcohol drinks a day for revelers with Carnival Cruises – are a big part of why people fall overboard. Industry experts estimate that between 60 and 80 percent of overboard incidents involve alcohol consumption.

Only this month a 48-year-old Florida man was found guilty in federal court of a sex attack on an intoxicated 21-year-old woman on a cruise and now faces the possibility of life in prison.

Brent Gilpin was found guilty in federal court of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman aboard the Norwegian Jade cruise ship in December 2024

A file photo of the Norwegian Jade cruise ship. Cruise ships fall under complex international jurisdiction, often leaving crimes to be investigated by the FBI once vessels reach US ports 

Brent Gilpin, from Palm Coast, preyed on the woman as she drank at a casino bar on the Norwegian Jade as it was heading to Costa Maya, Mexico, from Miami in December 2024.

Within 45 minutes of meeting, the woman became so drunk she couldn’t stand and fell to the floor twice, the jury in Fort Lauderdale was told. Staff called for a wheelchair.

Gilpin helped her upright after the request, but then maneuvered her on to his lap in a casino chair in front of a slot machine and began fondling her.

He then shoved his hand down the back of her leggings and attempted a more serious sexual assault with his hand on her genitals, said the criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida.

‘While still in Gilpin’s lap, victim 1’s limp body tilts sideways and she falls across his lap with her head hanging down towards the floor,’ it continued. 

‘Victim 1’s body is limp, mouth is open and her eyes closed, consistent with being unconscious.’

Gilpin tried to kiss his victim and ‘fondled/rubbed her buttocks and genital area multiple times.’

Norwegian crew members arrived with the wheelchair and Gilpin told them he was friends with the woman, who was slipping in and out of consciousness. 

Israeli citizen Basilios Grayeb, 29, was arrested aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas in February after authorities said child abuse images were discovered on his cellphone

But she appealed to security, pleading ‘don’t leave me’ and ‘he is not my friend.’

Gilpin is awaiting sentencing.

In February, Israeli citizen Basilios Grayeb, 29, was arrested in Miami on board the Royal Caribbean ship Freedom of the Seas suspected of having child sex abuse material.

A Miami Dade Sheriff’s Office arrest report said Customs and Border Protection had received a ‘suspicious activity report.’ 

A CBP officer found a video of a man raping a girl who appeared to be under five years old on his cellphone, officials said. 

Grayeb was charged with a felony count of possession of child sexual abuse material and entered a not guilty plea, court documents show. He is reportedly scheduled for an arraignment hearing later this month.

The website for Miami law firm Gerson and Schwartz, which also specializes in helping cruise crime victims, reads: ‘There are no police on a cruise ship. Everyone from passenger to crew is subject to the control of the master or the captain, who answers only to the cruise line.

All the cruise lines mentioned in this piece failed to respond after the Daily Mail asked for comment on the crime figures, plus their ratios of security personnel to passengers.