Sexual assault allegations on Disney Cruise Line ships have skyrocketed in recent years, according to new data from the Department of Transportation (DOT). According to Newsweek, what was once a rare occurrence, with just one to three reported incidents annually, has dramatically increased to 15 assaults in 2023 and 18 in 2024, with five more already reported in the first quarter of 2025.
This troubling trend emerges as Disney aggressively expands its fleet from six to 13 ships by 2031, increasing passenger capacity by 40 percent since 2020. The entertainment giant maintains a “zero tolerance” policy for such behavior. A spokesperson emphasized that “nothing is more important than the safety of our guests and crew members.” Yet, the statistics paint a concerning picture for families considering the supposedly family-friendly vacation option.
Disney Cruise Line has responded that they “fully cooperate with law enforcement and local authorities in their investigations into any such allegations” and remain “committed to promoting safety onboard our ships.”
Passenger-on-Passenger Incidents See Sharpest Increase On Disney Cruise Line
The most dramatic spike involves assaults committed by passengers rather than crew members. Between 2020 and 2021, Disney reported zero passenger-on-passenger assaults. This number jumped to two in 2022, then surged to nine in 2023 and 14 in 2024. While crew-related incidents have also increased, they represent a smaller proportion of the overall rise. The DOT began distinguishing between sexual assault and rape in their reporting in 2023, with Disney Cruise Line reporting four alleged rapes in 2023 and three in 2024.
Maritime attorney John H. Hickey, who has represented cruise assault victims for over 20 years, suggests these statistics likely undercount the true scope of the problem. “The DOT website statistics on onboard rapes and sexual assaults is way low,” Hickey told Newsweek, explaining that incidents involving foreign nationals or occurring on cruises outside U.S. ports often go unreported in official statistics. This means cases involving Americans on European cruises or foreign victims on U.S. cruises might be excluded from published data.
“A cruise ship is an island of drinking and partying,” Hickey explained to Newsweek. He noted that many crew members are young men working seven days a week for months at a time, away from friends and family, and often recruited from countries with limited infrastructure for accurate background checks. This creates a potentially dangerous environment, especially when combined with isolated locations and limited law enforcement resources at many ports of call.
Safety Measures And Victim Resources
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 mandates certain victim response facilities on cruise ships. These include access to medical care, sexual assault forensic exams onboard, and reporting mechanisms. Experts recommend that victims immediately report incidents to ship security, request forensic exams before showering, document any injuries, and contact the FBI if they’re U.S. citizens.
