Second Margaritaville at Sea passenger sues cruise ship and hotel for rape

A passenger on a Margaritaville at Sea cruise is suing the cruise line’s parent company, Classica Cruise Operator, alleging that she was sexually harassed by an employee at the hotel the company booked.
There have been allegations of sexual harassment against the hotel in the past and the cruise line has an obligation to warn and protect its passengers about the “dangerous conditions” in the hotel, the lawsuit states.
This is the latest in a series of sexual assaults involving Margaritaville at Sea cruise ships.

A Margaritaville at Sea passenger is suing cruise line parent company Classica Cruise Operator, alleging she was sexually harassed by an employee at the hotel the company booked, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

The hotel has a history of sexual harassment allegations and the cruise line has a duty to warn and protect its passengers about the hotel’s “dangerous conditions,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

“We want to make people aware,” the passenger’s attorney Alex Perez of the maritime and admiralty law firm Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, PA, told USA TODAY. “This kind of thing happens in foreign ports. I know you’re on vacation, but you have to be careful. This can help people make informed decisions.”

The passenger, referred to in the case as “Jane Doe,” is a Missouri resident who took a two-day cruise from West Palm Beach to the Bahamas and back in August 2023.

According to the complaint, Classica had arranged accommodation for the passenger at the Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham in Freeport, Bahamas, because there were no cabins available for her on the ship.

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The complaint states that the passenger left her room at night to get water when an employee forcibly forced her into the control room of the resort’s theater, locked the door and raped her.

This is not the first rape allegation at Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham. In 2016, a TripAdvisor user who was getting married at the resort wrote in a review that she was raped by staff when a security guard opened her door while her husband was away. The general manager had responded to the review by saying that the resort takes “allegations of violence very seriously.” The investigation reached a dead end when no evidence was found.

According to the complaint, it is common practice for resort staff to offer alcohol to guests “with the goal of sexually abusing and/or raping them when they are vulnerable.”

“Prior to the incident occurring, (Classica and Wyndham) knew or should have known that the resort was not reasonably safe and/or that resort employees were prone to sexual misconduct,” the lawsuit states. However, Classica failed to warn the passenger or provide her with safety during her stay there.

Margaritaville at Sea and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Jane Doe is suing the resort for damages for the physical injuries and pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, “mental anguish,” “loss of enjoyment of life,” and medical expenses she incurred as a result of the assault, among other things.

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