Costa Maya, Mexico, Cruise Port, with arriving Carnival Glory, pier. (Photo by Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A federal jury in Florida has found the cruise line company Carnival liable for injuries sustained by a woman who fell while heavily intoxicated aboard one of its cruises. The woman also alleged that a crewmember’s false statement prevented her from investigating whether she had been sexually assaulted.
On Monday, jurors in the U.S. District Court awarded $300,000 in damages after finding that the cruise line was negligent in overserving the woman.
The backstory:
The woman, identified in the verdict as Diana Sanders, claimed she was aboard the ship Radiance on January 5, 2026, and started drinking shortly before 3 p.m. Over approximately the next eight and a half hours, she went to multiple bars and was served 14 alcoholic beverages.
Not long afterwards, she fell while walking down a set of stairs, sustaining severe injuries, her complaint stated.
What they're saying:
In her complaint, Sanders explained that she was so intoxicated that she was swaying, slurring her speech, and becoming belligerent. She alleged all of this happened within the sight of crew members and argued they should have stopped serving her.
In the second half of her complaint, Sanders accused a ship security officer of telling her that they could see her throughout the time of the fall on CCTV footage and that nothing had happened to her. Sanders’ complaint said the officer should have known that was not true and been able to tell by her injuries that she had fallen.
In its decision, the jury found Carnival and Sanders were both negligent to a degree, but most of the blame for the injury on the cruise line.
The other side:
When asked for comment, a Carnival Corporation spokesperson said, Carnival Corporation respectfully disagrees with the verdict and believes there are grounds for a new trial and appeal, which it will pursue.
Dig deeper:
The plaintiff’s lawyer argued that, rather than imposing a cap on how much passengers can drink, the company "deliberately does as much as possible to encourage and facilitate alcohol consumption on its vessels," including by offering Sanders an all-inclusive "Cheers!" alcoholic drink package. The complaint stated the company either knew or should have recognized the dangers of serving alcohol in areas near where Sanders was injured.
Sanders’ second allegation claimed that, contrary to the security officer’s claim, there was a 35-minute period during which she was not recorded by closed-circuit cameras. Believing that she had been recorded during the window between her last drink and speaking to the officer, Sanders declined having a rape kit administered, despite concerns that she may have been sexually assaulted during that gap in time, the complaint stated. Her lawyer said the inability to determine what had occurred caused her extreme mental anguish.
FOX Television Stations reached out to Sanders’ attorney, who provided copies of the court documents, but did not provide a statement.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from court documents, the plaintiff's attorney, and Carnival Corporation. This story was reported from Orlando.