MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A South Pacific cruise was interrupted by brawls apparently caused by a 23-member family who threw punches at other passengers, some of whom said they locked themselves in cabins to escape three days of violence.

The Carnival Legend arrived in its home port of Melbourne on Saturday, a day after a family was offloaded in an unscheduled stop in Eden, New South Wales in Australia. Police said they were investigating the incident and the operator apologized for the "disruptive behavior" by the group that was removed from the cruise liner.

The "big Italian family" spent days attacking Australians aboard the ship, with people "getting strangled and punched up," passenger Lisa Bolitho told reporters.

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You hate to see stories like this that perpetuate stereotypes, but that’s exactly what this is. You have a bunch of innocent Australians, or “Aussies” as they’re more commonly referred to, just trying to enjoy a ten-day cruise. You’ve got a huge 23 member Italian family, known for delicious eggplant parmigiana recipes and fiery tempers, looking for an excuse to brawl. One stepped-on flip-flop later and you’ve got the Purge: Carnival Cruise Edition. I would pay an unseemly amount of money I don’t have to be a fly on the wall. We’ve got security putting everybody in handcuffs, we’ve got an angry group of Italian cousins roaming the hallways, we’ve got six all-you-can eat buffets running around the clock, and we’ve got young families locked in their rooms FOR DAYS waiting for the stormy passions of the transgressed Italians to pass. This went on for DAYS. This wasn't just a quick exchange of fisticuffs, this was a goddamn multi-day melee.

Who goes on cruises anymore? If people aren’t shitting themselves to death, they’re going on witch-hunts with angry mobs. Basically, everybody on a cruise basically acts like they’re in the dark ages. That’s right: if you think Medieval Times is a trip down memory lane, then just wait until you try Carnival Cruises. You either get the bubonic plague or you end up in a blood feud. It makes total sense too, people just bored out of their minds in international waters for ten days making up the rules to their own society- returning to a state of nature.