Carnival Cruise Lines said it called police to "remove a family group of passengers" and officers boarded the ship on Friday morning once it reached Eden on the NSW South Coast. Scared passengers said people were left bleeding and traumatised after the violent outburst on the Carnival Legend, which had been on a 10-day journey to the South Pacific.
They removed six men and three teenage boys.
Another 14 passengers, including women and children, also left the ship.
She said she believed the violence had all been instigated by one large family group of at least 20 people who "came onto the boat wanting to fight people" and were using any excuse to start trouble.
"Yesterday the friend we were travelling with was subjected to a large violent outburst ... he was essentially thrown to the ground, it was completely unprovoked. They had him by the neck and they were punching and kicking him," she said.
The woman and her partner spent the past two days hiding in their cabin and were looking forward to getting on with what was left of their holiday.
Another passenger identified only as Zac said he was going to be removed from the ship on Friday after being locked in his room by security overnight.
Zac claimed the drama between his family and another party on the ship started following a misunderstanding over a thong. "This is all over a thong, not a foot, a thong being stepped on and being instantly apologised for. What happened there and then was apologised for," he said. "My nephew was threatened as he was returning a soccer ... when four or five blokes walked up to him and said 'Don't worry we're gonna get ya.' "
Zac also claimed security guards followed his family at "every possible moment" and suggested they further aggravated the situation. "The first hit was thrown by security towards, not just my daughter and my sister-in-law, but my wife as well," he said. When the brawl broke out, Zac further claimed security guards assaulted him and his son, "taking turns pounding us in the face with knuckle dusters and steel-cap-boots".
Confronting footage of the brawl obtained by 3AW shows security guards were involved in the melee, although it does not show who instigated the fight. Several guards and at least one staff member can be seen kicking a passenger while he is on the ground. People can be heard crying and screaming in the background.
George called him crying from the ship about 1am on Friday. His son said "a lot of people are bleeding, a lot of people down". "He has a head injury," he said. "He said: 'Please, Dad, please Dad, call the federal police. "I could hear a lot of kids crying, women screaming, swearing."
One passenger, known only as Michael, told 3AW he was kicked while lying on the ground, and received cuts and bruising to his face, back and legs.
Melbourne mother Kellie Petersen is on board with her husband and three children, aged 11, nine and six. She told 3AW she and her husband had been threatened by the large and aggressive family group responsible for the chaos. "Fights have been going on for a few days now," she told the radio station.
"We're scared. We've been told to watch our backs by this group so we're scared to go anywhere alone in the ship. "We can't wait to get off." Ms Petersen said some violent incidents had occurred in front of children in the pool.
"People are walking around with cut heads and hands, bandages everywhere," she said. Other passengers said they refused to leave their cabins as they were scared for their safety.