Royal Caribbean room steward sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography using a spy camera on the Symphony of the Seas

A Royal Caribbean cabin steward on the Symphony of the Seas was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a federal judge for producing child pornography.

Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34 years old and a Filipino citizen, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Miami.

During a cruise from Fort Lauderdale in late February, an adult guest traveling with her mother and sister discovered a small spy camera (less than a quarter) in her bathroom. The tiny camera was mounted just below the sink and was designed to record people using the toilet. Guests immediately reported the spy camera to guest services and security officers eventually responded. While security personnel were present in the guest cabin, Mirasol appeared in the cabin and admitted the camera was his. Guests were smart enough to record the location of the camera as well as Mirasol's comments when he returned to the cabin.

When the Royal Caribbean cruise ship returned to Port Everglades on March 3, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searched Mirasol's electronic devices and “discovered numerous videos of children in various stages of undressing,” according to Local News 7.

Federal agents discovered “numerous videos of nude women” as well as images of child sexual abuse while searching his phone, an SD card and a USB drive. One video showed Mirasol installing a camera in a cruise ship guest's bathroom.

Mirasol began working as a flight attendant for Royal Caribbean in December 2023. The investigation found that Mirasol had been “secretly recording passengers, including children as young as two years old,” since starting work on the Royal Caribbean ship three months ago.

According to federal investigators, Mirasol entered guests' rooms “while they were showering and hid under their beds to film them coming out of the shower.”

In addition to the federal criminal charges of producing child pornography, Mirasol was also charged with six counts of video voyeurism in state court after being questioned by the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Child pornography and the use of spy cameras on cruise ships have come to light in the last year. This incident in just one of at least sixteen incidents during a six-month period in which cruise ship crew members were arrested for child pornography.

To date, crew members from five companies have been arrested for child pornography: Carnival – 6 (or 7) (see explanation below*); Royal Caribbean – 4; Disney – 3; Celebrity – 1; and Holland America Line – 1.

We know of at least two cases where spy cameras were installed on cruise ships to film unsuspecting guests. In one case, the Carnival Fantasy: