Carnival-Horizon

The stepbrother of Anna Kepner, an 18-year-old teenager from Titusville, who died aboard the 'Carnival Horizon' appeared in federal court in Miami on FEb 6, 2026,, as investigators continued probing the circumstances surrounding her death. She was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon on Nov 7, 2025, at 11.15 a.m. while on a family vacation. Authorities later ruled her death a homicide caused by “mechanical asphyxiation”. According to investigators, Kepner was found under the bed in her cabin, wrapped in a blanket and covered with life jackets. The cabin was shared with her stepbrother. Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother was seen leaving juvenile court before entering adult federal court. Although the FBI has not publicly identified a suspect or filed charges, filings from a separate family court dispute indicated the 16-year-old was being investigated in Anna Kepner’s death. The FBI was leading the investigation because Kepner’s death occurred in international waters as the cruise ship was returning to Miami after the weeklong Caribbean trip.

The FBI’s Miami office was investigating under the jurisdiction of law enforcement, after a passenger, the 18 year old Anna Kepner, a senior at Temple Christian School in Titusville, died while traveling aboard the 'Carnival Horizon'. FBI agents at the port were collecting evidence.The Carnival Cruise Line was cooperating fully with federal authorities and focusing on supporting the passenger’s family. The ship returned to Miami as scheduled on the morning of Nov 8, 2025, where the body was taken away in an ambulance. Reportedly, the body of the Georgia Bulldogs fan was found wrapped in a blanket and shoved under a bed. It has not been revealed why her remains were under the bed, how long her body had been there for, or how she died. The Miami-Dade investigators confirmed her date of death as Nov 7. The FBI has been leading the investigation into her death as she passed away in international waters. The FBI has not revealed whether it has launched a murder probe. She had complained of feeling unwell on the evening of Nov 6 while she was eating dinner. The next day, her dad, Christopher Kepner, 41, and stepmom Shauntel Hudson, 36, met the family for breakfast. But upon realizing that she was not there, they began a desperate search for the missing teen. Eventually a maid found her body, after she entered the cabin to service the room at about 11 a.m., wrapped in a blanket, and covered over with life jackets. Reports with photos: https://wsvn.com/news/local/miami-dade/fbi-investigating-passengers-death-aboard-carnival-horizon-cruise-ship-that-returned-to-portmiami/ https://www.thesun.ie/news/16121432/body-anna-kepner-dead-carnival-cruise-grim-location-fbi/

The 'Carnival Horizon' has suffered a propulsion problem, which reduced its cruising speed, and had a delayed return to Miami on Nov 16, 2025. This impacted the embarkation for the next cruise. The shipwas on an 8-night Southern Caribbean “ABC” itinerary that departed Miami on Nov 8. The operator Carnival Cruise Line has reached out to guests booked on the next departure, scheduled to leave on Nov 16 for a 6-night Western Caribbean itinerary to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios. That cruise would be impacted by the ship’s delay. Both shipboard and shoreside engineers were planning repairs to get the 'Carnival Horizon' back up to speed, which seemed to indicate that the problem has already been identified and could be repaired. All features and venues were fully operating, so that the ship’s safety and navigational were are not compromised, and all onboard dining, hotel, and entertainment was moving along as planned.

Officials are searching for a missing American cruise passenger, Jessica Collins, 47, who failed to return to her trip aboard the 'Carnival Horizon' during a stop in the Caribbean. She had been taking an eight-day trip visiting the southern Caribbean, but did not return to the ship following its stop in Bonaire on Sep 17, 2025. The ship departed on the evening with some of her luggage and personal belongings still on board. She did, however, take all her identification with her. The local authorities were working with the Public Entity of Bonaire, the Port Authority, Tourism Corporation Bonaire, Carnival Cruise Line Security, the ship's security chief, and other partners and were also in direct contact with Carnival Corporation and the US authorities. Surveillance pics of the missing woman were showing her leaving the vessel for the final time, wearing a Hawaiian-style T-shirt with denim shorts. She had a grey backpack on her back. A spokesperson for Carnival stated that Collins apparently did not want to be found: "This guest appears to have taken deliberate action to be alone and on her own.," There was no mention of where she had gone or why she had quit the holiday. Collins had replied to a concerned crew member who had tried contacting her. She texted the employee to confirm "she was safe and did not want to be found or contacted again." Collins had removed "all her belongings in her backpack and left a cash gratuity for the stateroom attendant with a thank you note.” Report with photos: https://www.the-sun.com/news/15238044/jessica-collins-carnival-horizon-cruise-missing/

On Sep 12, 2022, at 8 a.m. the 'Carnival Horizon' has assisted five Cuban refugees on its Western Caribbean itinerary. The ship rendered aid to a small boat adrift north of Cuba, providing supplies to the occupants and permitting the craft to continue on its way, as was the occupants’ choice. The cruise ship was slowly cruising east along the north coast of Cuba when the small craft was sighted, which appeared to be drifting. The cruise ship could have brought the individuals aboard, and they would have been transferred to the proper authorities, likely the US Coast Guard. They instead opted to remain with their craft and continue on their planned journey. The small boat was deemed safe for the refugees to continue, and the cruise ship continued on its route. Report with photo: https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-ship-assists-drifting-boat-in-the-caribbean/81444

A body has been recovered late on March 15, after a man jumped overboard from the 'Carnival Horizon'. Together with the US Coast Guard, the ship’s crew located and recovered the body of the passenger. The Carnival’s Care team is providing assistance to his family. The man had jumped overboard" from Deck 11 around 7 p.m. ET after the ship departed from Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos at 5 p.m. on a 6-day cruise from Miami. Camera footage confirmed a person went overboard. Immediately after the announcement was made, crew members threw life preservers with attached lights off the stern and port side of the ship. The ship was sailing near the Turks and Caicos Islands just before 9:00 p.m. and is scheduled to be in the Mexican resort of Cozumel on March 17.

After an unexpected dry dock following technical issues with the 'Carnival Horizon', the ship was now making its return trip from Palermo back to Miami, Florida, with an ETA as of Jan 20, 2022. Carnival Cruise Line had temporarily pulled the vessel from service after experiencing an issue with the vessel's maximum speed in late November 2021. The ship was drydocked in Palermo on Dec 22. Although the repair works were initially expected to take less than two weeks, Carnival later determined that a longer dry dock would be necessary. The 'Carnival Horizon' completed its unexpected drydock period in Palermo on Jan 8.