A dozen passengers claiming to be victims in the Royal Caribbean video voyeurism case filed a lawsuit against the cruise line and the former cabin steward who recorded private activities inside their staterooms.
The suit, filed on December 30, 2024 by Aronfeld Trial Lawyers in the US District Court Southern District of Florida Miami Division, is on behalf of 12 passengers who sailed aboard the 5,500-guest Symphony of the Seas in December 2023 and January 2024.
The case unfolded when a male stateroom attendant, Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was arrested as the ship returned to her Port Everglades homeport on March 3, 2024. The Philippines native was charged with placing hidden cameras inside guest staterooms. At least one case involved a minor child.
Mirasol’s actions were revealed by a guest sailing on an 8-day Southern Caribbean cruise that departed Port Everglades on February 24, 2024. The passenger discovered a camera hidden under her bathroom sink and alerted ship security. The attendant was detained onboard and turned over to law enforcement when the ship returned to her homeport.
In August 2024, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The guests’ lawsuit charges Royal Caribbean with negligence.
“The fact that many of the victims we represent still do not know if and how their images have been used or circulated is incredibly disturbing. Some of the plaintiffs are children – and once an image is on the internet it is there forever,” said Spencer Aronfeld, attorney for the plaintiffs.
“We hope that RCCL will take full responsibility for the heinous and reprehensible conduct of its crewmember. And we hope that this lawsuit will motivate RCCL and the other major cruise lines to spend more effort screening their crewmembers so that this type of assault never happens again,” Aronfeld added.
According to court documents, the group of plaintiffs includes 12 guests —six from Arkansas and two each from Texas, Missouri, and Georgia.
The lawsuit charges that Mirasol filmed the guests in their staterooms and bathrooms during cruises that departed from Port Everglades on December 24, 2023; January 13, 2024; and January 21, 2024.
Moreover, the filing states that guests onboard other Symphony of the Seas’ cruises also were potentially subjected to Mirasol’s actions, including sailings that departed on January 7 and 27, 2024; and February 4, 10, and 18, 2024.
Noting that a cabin attendant can be responsible for up to 20 staterooms per sailing, and with each cabin accommodating up to four guests, Mirasol’s victims could total more than 900.
The lawsuit seeks a trial by jury and a financial judgment for damages and punitive damages.
“The Plaintiffs in this case have suffered physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental and nervous disorders. These injuries are permanent and continuing in nature,” states the court document.
Lawsuit Charges Cruise Line With Breach of Faith
According to court documents, following Mirasol’s arrest, Royal Caribbean failed to notify guests who had stayed in cabins where he was the attendant. Withholding the information, the lawsuit states, was a breach of the cruise line’s “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”
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The lawsuit also notes that the cruise line provides a “contractually-shortened notice period of six months and statute of limitations of one year” for civil suits.
“RCCL’s motive for failing to notify its passengers affected by MIRASOL’S acts was financial in nature. RCCL was concealing the information from its passengers in order to prevent them from filing a civil suit against RCCL for damages related to MIRASOL’S acts,” the suit charges.
Royal Caribbean has not issued any statement tied to the just-filed lawsuit. Typically, cruise lines do not comment on pending legal cases.
