by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:40 AM ET, Wed February 11, 2026
Federal government investigators from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) boarded the Carnival Encounter cruise ship in Darwin, Australia, this week following a whistleblower's allegation of unsafe working conditions, poor wages and worker exploitation.
The whistleblower sent reports anonymously to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) out of fear of retribution from the cruise line. In the reports, according to the union, the worker alleged cramped living conditions, causing the spread of skin infections, the potentially harmful quality of drinking water and the crew being forced to work while suffering serious illnesses.
MUA's NT Branch Secretary, Andy Buford, said the union is working with the International Transport Workers Federation inspectors and AMSA to investigate and "rectify the horrifying treatment of crew."
The ship is one of three Carnival cruise ships that homeport in Australia and sail almost exclusively in Australian waters. However, the union states that the cruise line uses loopholes in maritime law to employ crew who, as foreigners, are excluded from Australia's employment laws.
"This is exactly what happens when you allow foreign owned and controlled companies to sail the Australian coast, using Australian ports, carrying Australian passengers paying Australian fares, but who are completely immune from Australian law," said Buford, when talking about the American cruise giant.
ABC News Australia reported that the union's Sydney branch received hundreds of complaints about the crew conditions on Carnival Cruise Line ships over the past six months, alleging crew wages as low as $2.50 an hour, that the only safe drinking water is bottles of water costing $0.70 per bottle, and, in addition to 10-hour workdays, having no days off.
"Carnival is bringing in workers from some of the poorest economies on earth, paying them as little as $2.50 an hour and subjecting them to horrifying conditions that no worker should accept, all while Carnival continues to generate billions of dollars in profit worldwide, and many tens of millions of dollars here in Australia," Buford continued.
Buford and the MUA have reminded Carnival of its obligation to recognize the crew's right to organize and bargain collectively, in line with international labor standards.
MUA's Sydney branch organizer Shane Reside attempted to board the Carnival Encounter in December but was refused access.
"I don't think that any holiday is worth workers facing the kinds of exploitation that we've seen on these vessels," said Reside. "Seventy cents a bottle doesn't sound like an enormous imposition by Australian standards, but if you're only earning $2.50 an hour, then 70 cents for a bottle of water is actually a significant imposition."
While this latest incident is mainly about the Carnival Encounter, Reside said he believes the problems are "endemic across the Carnival cruise fleet," adding, "It doesn't seem like an aberration, it seems like a pattern."
As for Carnival, they told ABC News Australia in a statement that "AMSA routinely conducts robust inspections as part of its responsibility to ensure strict adherence with international crew welfare requirements. We respect this process, and we hold our shipboard team members in the highest regard. We welcome AMSA's oversight as an important assurance mechanism for our crew and our operations."
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