Royal Caribbean is facing legal trouble after passengers filed a lawsuit over hidden cameras placed in state rooms by a former employee.
That employee, Arvin Mirasol, has since been fired and is now serving prison time but passengers say the cruise line could have done more to protect them.
A photo shared by the Lipcon, Margulies, & Winkleman law firm appears to show a camera tucked underneath a sink inside a state room aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. According to a class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Miami’s federal court, it was one of the devices used by Mirasol to secretly record passengers.
A New Hampshire woman NBC6 spoke with believes she, along with her husband and 13-year-old son were among the many victims.
She asked NBC6 to conceal her identity.
“We have a memory of him sort of being very adamant about wanting to enter into our cabin room and he wanted to fill the soap dispenser that was located in the shower,” said the woman.
Mirasol, a former stateroom attendant for Royal Caribbean, is now serving 30 years in federal prison.
According to the 32-page lawsuit, “law enforcement discovered numerous videos of naked females undressing in the bathroom as well as videos of child pornography.”
Aside from placing hidden cameras in bathrooms, the lawsuit claims “Mirasol also stated that while the guests were taking a shower, he would enter the rooms and hide under the bed while recording them naked with his cellular device.”
“This is already a known industry problem and not just hidden cameras being an issue and it’s happened on virtually every other cruise line but also rapes and sexual assaults at sea,” said Michael Winkleman.
Winkleman is the attorney representing the plaintiffs in this case, and he said Royal Caribbean should also be to blame.
“I think Royal Caribbean had a moral obligation to notify all the passengers that likely could’ve been affected they didn’t do that, now the notice is out there,” said Winkleman.
Winkleman and the woman asked what justice would look like for him in this case.
“It’s more about getting the word out there because Royal Caribbean is not,” said the woman.
The lawsuit focuses on a time frame of Dec. 1, 2023, to Feb. 26, 2024, which was around the time Mirasol worked aboard the Symphony of the Seas.
Winkleman believes there could be upwards of a thousand people who were affected and have no idea.
“We have clients that were children that were affected, similar in age to my daughter,” said Winkleman. “I have a 10-year-old daughter, I know it terrifies me thinking of the kind of impact it would have on a child.”
NBC6 reached out to Royal Caribbean and a spokesperson sent a statement:
“The safety and privacy of our guests is our highest priority, and we have zero tolerance for this behavior. We immediately reported this case to law enforcement and terminated the crew member. As this is pending litigation, we are unable to comment further at this time,” the statement read.
As for the plaintiff NBC6 spoke with, this entire ordeal has caused her overwhelming anxiety and worry.
“Sleeping in hotels is very, it’s challenging,” she said. “Even public bathrooms, changing rooms. I try to avoid them because I just don’t want to be violated again.”
Winkleman said there’s currently no law in the books that forces cruise lines to notify passengers if they’ve been potential victims of a video voyeur, something he said needs to change and he hopes this lawsuit will put a spotlight on this issue.
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