Carnival-Dream

Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, died from asphyxiation resulting from a bar hold on the ' Carnival Dream'. The investigators found two bruises on the side of her neck. Preliminary information suggested there were no signs of sexual assault or that she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Kepner had been on the 'Carnival Horizon' on a cruise from Florida to the Caribbean with her family when she was found dead on Nov 8. The ship returned to port in Miami the same day. Her body was found stuffed under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests. The federal investigators were looking into her 16-year-old step-brother as a potential suspect, according to a court filing in an unrelated custody case. The filing came from Kepner’s stepmother, Shauntel Hudson, who was on the cruise with her children and Kepner’s father. She asked the family court to postpone a custody hearing because one of her children may face criminal charges.

On Nov 19, 2025, a lifeboat on the 'Carnival Dream' broke away from the ship and fell into the sea, suffering severe structural damage, while part of the boat remained attached to the ship's side. The 'Carnival Dream' was on a six-night Western Caribbean cruise, departing Galveston, Texas, on Nov 15. The ship was docked in Cozumel, Mexico, where passengers on other vessels noticed the damaged lifeboat 3. The boat appeared to have broken apart and fallen into the water, drifting until it is partially wedged under the dock. Lifeboat 3 was located in the bow on the starboard side of the ship. As the 'Carnival Dream' was docked on the port side, the lifeboat fell into the sea and not onto the adjacent dock. A portion of the lifeboat's orange upper structure remained attached to the ship after the incident. Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that the accident occurred during an unmanned test: a hook jammed in one of the cables, causing the lifeboat to first hang on one side and then fall into the water, with no injuries. The nearby lifeboats, Numbers 1 and 5, showed no damage, and the 'Carnival Dream's hull also appeared to have remained intact. Report with photos: https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-dream-lifeboat-falls-during-unmanned-test/192566

The FBI is investigating the death case onboard the 'Carnival Dream', which happened around July 23 in the area of Belize City during a 6-day Western Caribbean voyage. It returned to Galveston, Texas, on July 26. An FBI maritime liaison agent, based out of the Texas City resident agency, was coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and the cruise line regarding the incident as a standard practice for the FBI to review deaths that occur on cruise ships. The routine protocol ensures transparency. It does not automatically imply suspicious circumstances, and the facts of this matter did not suggest any such activity. The FBI is the primary federal agency authorized to investigate potential crimes on the high seas.

Multiple federal agencies started investigating a death on board the 'Carnival Dream'. An unidentified person died on the Galveston-based Dream on July 23, 2025. the FBI Houston office confirmed. The incident is being investigated by an FBI Maritime Liaison Agent based out of the Texas City Resident Agency, the US Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no additional details were provided by the FBI’s Houston office Passengers aboard the ship, which travels to Costa Maya, Belize, and Cozumel, woke up to sirens around 3 a.m., and there was an announcement requesting medical attention on the Serenity Deck.

The 'Carnival Dream', nearing the end of a 14-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary, suffered a technical difficulty impacting her speed while in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, on Oct 27, 2024. As a result, the ship remained in port longer than planned to give the engineering team time to try to fix the issue. The vessel was supposed to depart at 4 p.m. LT, but stayed in the port until the early morning hours on Oct 28, delaying the port call on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, where it was due to arrive at 7 a.m., but didn’t reach the destination until 2:30 p.m. There, the engineers continued the work, but they may need some extra time to complete these. Passengers were asked to return to the vessel by 7 p.m., whnile the ship was originally supposed to set sail again at 4 p.m. After, the unspecified propulsion were fixed, there was no expected impact to the remainder of this cruise or to the subsequent voyage.

A female crew member from the 'Carnival Dream' has been declared missing at sea after she failed to report for duty on Aug 9. The incident occurred while the vessel was en route from Cozumel to Galveston. Following an extensive onboard search, maritime authorities were alerted to what is believed to be a man overboard situation. The crew member wass presumed to have gone overboard ~2:30 a.m. on Friday as the ship navigated the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The head of Yucatan’s Harbour Master Office, Frigate Captain Jose Antonio Solano Claustro, was overseeing the ongoing search and rescue operations, with both the U.S. and Mexican Coast Guards involved. Authorities have called on the maritime community to stay vigilant and report any relevant information to the local harbour master offices.

The US Coast Guard medevaced a 67-year-old woman from the 'Carnival Dream' on April 27, 2024, approximately 160 miles south of Southwest Pass, Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report from the ship of a 67-year-old woman with symptoms of kidney failure. Watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to conduct the medevac. The aircrew arrived on-scene, hoisted the woman aboard the helicopter, and transported her to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at University Medical Center in New Orleans. The woman was last reported in stable condition. Report with video: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3758471/coast-guard-medevacs-67-year-old-woman-160-miles-off-southwest-pass-la/