Cruise Line Hit with Lawsuit Following Alleged Assault at Sponsored Hotel

A cruise passenger of Margaritaville at Sea is suing its parent company, Classica Cruise Operator, for booking her in a hotel where she was allegedly assaulted last year.

In legal filings, the unidentified woman using the name Jane Doe, recalled the event. In August 2023, she sailed a two-day roundtrip itinerary from West Palm Beach to the Bahamas on the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. The cruise line arranged her August 6 island accommodations in Wyndham Viva Fortuna Beach as part of her trip.

The woman recalled leaving her room that evening for a drink of water. An employee of the hotel followed her and forced her inside the hotel theater’s control room, where he assaulted her.

The alleged victim is now claiming damages for medical expenses, post-traumatic stress, and physical injuries. 

Previous incidents

Documents filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida also mention a similar incident from 2016. Based on a 2016 review of the hotel published in TripAdvisor, another woman said she was also assaulted by hotel staff the day after her wedding.

A woman named Chloe wrote in her review, “They all four took turns raping me. When my husband arrived, they scattered. The security guard who had just raped me circled back and was the first on-scene. He laughed in my face side by side with the police.” She ended her post with, “Please do not stay here, protect your friends and family from this happening to them.”

Wyndham later denied the claim, saying there was insufficient evidence. 

The Public Should be Warned

According to a document obtained by Business Insider, the lawsuit against the cruise operator states that it “knew or should have known of this prior incident.” It claims that Classica should have offered her safe accommodations, informed her about the previous allegation, and investigated the establishment.

Prosecutor L. Alex Perez from Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman told the news outlet that the public should be warned about these events.

“If there’s one objective it is to shed light so that people have information about how this happened or how this could happen, and they can make informed decisions,” Perez said.

Neither Margaritaville at Sea nor Classica Cruise Operator have issued statements regarding the accusations filed against them.

Last year, Margaritaville at Sea was embroiled in a separate sexual assault case when a bartender entered the cabin of a female passenger and engaged in abusive contact.