NCL cruise passengers jailed in Bermuda for beating third passenger

A minor brawl outside a Bermuda nightclub has left two American tourists who arrived aboard Norwegian Crown cooling their heels for 90 days in a Bermuda jail. The two pled guilty to inflicting grievous bodily injury to another passenger outside of a Hamilton nightclub, and had apparently expected to be released after paying a substantial fine. But Bermuda Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner had other ideas, and sentenced the two to jail.

Michael Donovan of New Jersey and Joseph Pontieri of Staten Island pled guilty to beating and breaking the jaw of American tourist Christopher Emanuel on October 5, after a dispute in the nightclub involving a woman. Their prison sentence has since been upheld on appeal.

Bermuda police boarded the Norwegian Crown, in Hamilton for a three-day stint, to arrest the pair after the incident. The men had faced up to three years in jail and a $7,500 fine.