Cruise crew member arrests made headlines. What can guests do to keep kids safer?

Cruises are popular travel options for families, but numerous arrests in recent months may have raised concerns about child safety on board.

Two Carnival Cruise Line crew members were arrested last month for alleged transportation of child pornography. One was also charged with possession of child pornography, while the other was charged with distribution. A Celebrity Cruises crew member was arrested in late April on similar charges, as were three Disney Cruise Line employees between January and April.

A Royal Caribbean International crew member was also arrested in March for allegedly filming naked guests – including children – without their knowledge, and another Celebrity crew member admitted to molesting children at an onboard youth center, federal authorities said in December (Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are both part of Royal Caribbean Group).

In all instances, when USA TODAY asked about the arrests, the cruise lines said the crew members were no longer with the companies.

Concerned families may wonder what they can do preemptively and while on the cruise. While Sam Wilmoth, senior manager of consulting at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), emphasized that child sexual abuse is never the victim's fault and prevention responsibility is everyone’s job, "there are steps that individual cruise passengers can take themselves, even before they head to their port of call,” he said in an email.

Cruise ship sexual assault: What to know about resources and laws

How common are those kinds of crimes?

It’s hard to say for sure. “Cruise lines often hire security officers or social workers who can offer assistance to survivors of sexual misconduct who report that they have been harmed, but sexually violent crimes are vastly underreported, across the board,” Wilmoth said.

An increase in news reports of sexual misconduct could be due to a rise in those crimes, but it might also be because of other factors like improvements in oversight or more victims feeling comfortable coming forward.

Allegations of sexual assault on cruise ships also rose to 131 reported crimes last year, according to federal data, up from 87 alleged sexual assaults in 2022 and 101 in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the cruise industry down (cruising resumed in mid-2021).

“While there might not be enough data to give a precise statistic about this kind of violence on cruises, every single report of child sexual abuse is reason for urgent concern,” Wilmoth said.

Anthony Salisbury, special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations Miami, said child exploitation is "significantly higher across the board," not just in the cruising industry.

For that field office, arrests are higher in fiscal year 2024 than last year (though exact numbers for the current fiscal year, which ends in October, are not yet available). "If it's up across the board, you're going to see it up across the cruise ships," Salisbury said.

Salisbury noted that partnerships “forged over time” – including in local law enforcement and the private sector – have led to an increase in reported criminal activity, and advancement in digital technology “inherently comes with an increase of bad actors, or child predators attempting to hide in the shadows of the dark web.”

He added that HSI has long maintained "very good" relationships with cruise security officials and said the industry is highly cooperative.

A spokesperson for the Cruise Lines International Association, the industry's leading trade organization, said any kind of crime is "extremely rare" aboard cruise ships. They attributed that to member lines' strict policies against misconduct, as well as comprehensive security measures, hiring protocols and training.

"Any allegation of misconduct is deeply concerning to our cruise line members and does not represent who we are or the values we hold as an industry," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Our member lines have a strong track record for providing a safe and secure holiday experience for passengers and workplace for crew."

How can passengers help keep kids safe?

Wilmoth said travelers can start by contacting a cruise line to ask about their safety protocols, even before making a reservation. “Questions could focus on the cruise line’s policies on staff-to-child ratios in youth areas, policies on photography of children, or procedures for signing kids in and out of youth areas,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of having “age-appropriate conversations” with kids about their boundaries, both physical and emotional.

“For example, parents and caregivers can teach their children anatomically correct names for their body parts and emphasize that other adults should never touch their private areas,” Wilmoth said. “It’s important to teach kids that if another adult makes them uncomfortable, they can come to you or another adult for help without fear of getting in trouble.”

The Department of Homeland Security's Know2Protect campaign is aimed at raising awareness among kids, parents and others about child sexual exploitation and abuse, Salisbury added. There is also an in-person educational arm, Project iGuardian.

Cruise line kids clubs, which are generally included in the fare, can offer parents affordable child care on vacation. But it’s worth easing children into it at the beginning of a trip, according to Carrie Pasquarello, CEO and co-founder of Global Secure Resources Inc., a company focused on risk mitigation and threat assessment planning.

“Parents should take time to meet the counselors, encourage the buddy system, and, on the first day, keep the visit short and check on them,” she said in an email. She suggested asking kids if they feel safe, and encouraging them to “share their feelings and to listen to their intuition.”

Other best practices include keeping younger children within eyeshot and asking older kids to check in regularly. Some cruise lines also have curfews for passengers under 18.

Carnival Cruise Line’s website, for example, says: “Guests 17 years of age and under who are not accompanied by an adult in their traveling party, 21 years of age or older, must be clear of all public areas by 1:00 a.m."

Pasquarello also noted that crimes involving child sexual abuse material are a “global issue” that takes place on land as well as at sea. “The chance of becoming a victim on a cruise is low, and by following safety tips, parents can enhance their children's safety.”

If you are a survivor of sexual misconduct, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org/online and receive confidential support.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruise safety tips: How to keep kids more secure onboard