Two passengers are suing Carnival Cruise Line, claiming their dream vacation turned into a nightmare after they woke up covered in bed bug bites aboard the company’s Horizon cruise ship in February 2025.
According to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Southern District of Florida, Catherine Shockley and William Maycock boarded the Horizon expecting a relaxing getaway. But just one day into the trip, on February 17, they awoke with dozens of red, itchy welts on their arms and legs.
The complaint states the pair “felt something itchy on their legs and arms which resembled insect bite marks.” Unsure of the cause, they tried to endure it and spent another night in the same cabin. The next morning, they discovered even more bites, this time covering their bodies from head to toe.
Shockley searched their stateroom and allegedly found live bed bugs “in multiple stages of life,” along with eggs and fecal spotting. She then realized the red marks were the result of bed bug bites, according to the lawsuit.
The couple immediately reported the infestation to their stateroom attendant and guest services, but they claim Carnival staff failed to take proper action. The company’s own website states that cabin attendants are trained to detect bed bugs and are required to inspect each stateroom weekly. If evidence of infestation is found, the policy says, the affected room and surrounding cabins must be chemically treated.
Shockley and Maycock allege that those procedures were not followed, leading to more than 30 bites by the end of the voyage. They report suffering “painful welts that required medical treatment, dark splotches, loss of sleep, mental distress, and economic loss.” Their lawsuit accuses Carnival of negligence on three counts, arguing the ordeal could have been prevented with proper inspection and maintenance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program inspected the Horizon on February 23, giving it a score of 93 out of 100. Records show the ship has consistently scored 91 or higher on inspections since 2018. However, the CDC notes that cleanliness alone does not determine whether a facility is free of bed bugs: “Bed bugs are in five-star hotels and resorts. How clean a place is does not determine whether bed bugs are present,” the agency states.
Carnival Cruise Line has been contacted for comment.