Cruise Passenger Charged with Assault After “Barefoot Dancing” Incident

In recent years there have been many reports of passengers acting badly and even a few brawls aboard cruise ships. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and lawyers are confirming the CEO of a California-based title insurance company was charged in San Juan, Puerto Rico this week after an altercation that started with a fellow passenger dancing barefoot on a bar aboard Virgin Voyages’ ship Resilient Lady.

The widely reported incident took place last Monday night, March 31, approximately 70 nautical miles west of Martinique in the Caribbean after the cruise ship had departed bound for San Juan. The exact time was not reported, but it was said to happen in a cocktail lounge called “On The Rocks,” a venue Virgin Voyages bills as a martini and cocktail bar in Deck 6. On its website Virgin Voyages writes, “On the Rocks is the perfect place to make bold choices.”

A passenger only identified by initials in the complaint reportedly was on the bar dancing when Nichol DeGiorgio, made a remark to the order of “Look, we are all grown-ups here – can you put your shoes on?” The irony of course is that the cruise line is associated with Sir Richard Branson, famous for dancing on furniture, and other antics.

The unidentified passenger reportedly responded making crude remarks and an obscene hand gesture to Ms. DeGiorgio. This was later confirmed by the ship’s closed-circuit security cameras with the video handed over to the FBI as evidence.

According to the FBI statement and the complaint filed in the court in Puerto Rico, Kenneth DeGiorgio, age 53, CEO of First American Financial Corporation, confronted the individual who he did not know. He put his hands around the man’s neck and reportedly said he was going to kill the man.

The cruise ship’s captain later confined DeGiorgio to his cabin and handed the matter over to the FBI when the ship reached Puerto Rico. Crimes aboard cruise ships fall under federal jurisdiction.

The reports go on to say that DeGiorgio refused to answer questions from the FBI and requested a lawyer. In a statement, the lawyers are now asserting that he was responding to the actions of an individual who harassed his wife, making her feel threatened and intimidated.

DeGiorgio was charged with a simple misdemeanor. However, if convicted of assault, The New York Times reports he faces up to one year in prison. His lawyers said DeGiorgio “looks forward to being absolved of any wrongdoing.”