Cruise passengers charged for fighting in Antigua over a taxi fare
Here's something I have never witnessed before, and I am not talking about the over charging of cruise passengers at local ports (which does happen as we know from time to time). This story is about one such incedent getting completely out of hand and I would guess Alcohol is involved...no doubt the truth will emerge.
Six U.S. cruise passengers were charged with beating police in Antigua after a dispute over cab fare ballooned into a brawl.
The passengers were ordered to surrender their travel documents and released Tuesday on $5,000 bail each in a magistrate’s court in St. John's, Antigua's capital.
The passengers are expected to appear in court later this week to face charges of assault, battery, resisting arrest, indecent language, wounding and malicious damage, according to a report in the Antigua Sun.
The group of six was on a Carnival Victory cruise, which stopped in Antigua on a scheduled 10-hour port call on Sept. 4. The incident began after the passengers refused to pay a cab driver, saying the driver overcharged them.
The driver has allegedly quoted a price of $50 for a tour ending at Fort James beach, 10 minutes from the cruise dock. The dispute arose after he later told the group that the price was $100 to get them back to the ship. The tourists refused to pay $100, saying that they would not pay any more than the original fare quoted.
According to the Antigua & Barbuda Transport Board, the official one-way taxi fare from St. John’s to Fort James is $12 per car for four people, However, this tour allegedly included other island sites, according to reports.
To settle the fare dispute, driver Joey "Hungry Bird" Medica drove his passengers to the St. John’s police station, where a brawl broke out. One of the four female passengers appeared in court on Monday with a limp, which her attorney claimed was a result of the fracas.
According to reports in the Sun, Several police officers were injured in the melee as well.
The six tourists were then arrested and held at the station over the weekend.
The Carnival ship left without them and later released a statement saying that "Carnival has been in frequent contract with its port agent in Antigua regarding the guests’ status."
This is a cruise blog entry by Phil
