Key Aspects:
- A 29-year-old woman, Nathalie Belizaire, allegedly left her four young children home alone while she went on a Carnival Conquest cruise that departed on Friday, September 25, 2026.
- The father of one of the children, a 2-month-old infant, grew concerned about the children’s well-being and discovered they were home alone without any adult supervision.
- Authorities arrested Belizaire at PortMiami when the ship returned on Monday morning, September 28, on four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
Many parents enjoy a kid-free cruise getaway now and then, but before doing so, they typically make arrangements for the safety and care of their children with grandparents or other relatives or friends.
One woman, Nathalie Belizaire, did not do that, but instead set sail while allegedly leaving her four children home alone while she enjoyed a 3-night sailing onboard Carnival Conquest.
According to Local10 News, the 29-year-old Belizaire left her four minor children alone but had told the father of her two-month-old child that the youngsters would be in the care of their great-grandmother.
The man had seen a social media post from Belizaire featuring the cruise. He went to Belizaire’s apartment on Saturday night, September 26, to check on the children but only heard a television and young voices, without any apparent adult presence.
He called 911 and first responders were able to force their way into the apartment, where police said all four children were found without adult supervision, hiding together in the bathroom.
One of the children is just two months old, and another is two years old. The ages of the other two children have not been disclosed, and no further details about where they are now have been released.
According to NBC Miami, Belizaire was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami on Monday, September 28, 2026, and was later handed over to the North Miami Beach Police Department. She faces four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm.
The 2,980-guest cruise ship had departed PortMiami on Friday, September 25 for the 3-night Bahamas sailing, with a visit to Carnival Cruise Line’s private island destination, Celebration Key, on Sunday, September 27.
Belizaire is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami with her bond amount yet to be set.
According to Online Sunshine, the charges Belizaire now faces are a third-degree felony under Florida Statute 827.03. If convicted, she may face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each of the four counts she can be charged with.
Not the First Similar Case
This is not the first time a parent has left their children unattended to take a cruise. Cruise Hive reported on a similar incident in April 2024, when 29-year-old Lakesha Woods Williams left her two children, ages 8 and 6, home alone while she went on a cruise.
Concerned neighbors reported the incident after seeing the Houston woman leave her apartment with luggage but failing to return for her children, which prompted a welfare check by local authorities.
Going on cruises does not exempt guests from local laws, and there are regular arrests at cruise ports when individuals either attempt to set sail or return from a cruise. Authorities can catch violations such as failure to pay child support, credit card fraud, identity theft, and other outstanding warrants when they check guests’ identities for cruise travel.
Cruise lines cooperate fully with authorities but generally do not comment publicly on such arrests. There is no report of Belizaire having any difficulties onboard Carnival Conquest.
There were also no reports of any delays to Carnival Conquest, which departed on her next sailing, another 3-night itinerary to Celebration Key, the same day Belizaire was arrested.
