A Florida mother is facing four child neglect charges after police say she left her four young children home alone for the weekend while she boarded a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas.
Nathalie Belizaire, 29, was arrested Monday morning after the Carnival Conquest returned to PortMiami.
North Miami Beach police say Belizaire left all four of her children inside their apartment without adult supervision before departing Friday for the three-night cruise.
The children included a 2-month-old infant and a 2-year-old toddler. Authorities have not publicly released the ages of the other two children.
The disturbing situation came to light Saturday night when the father of the 2-month-old became concerned about where the children were.
According to an arrest report, the father had seen a WhatsApp post from Belizaire that appeared to show she was aboard a Carnival cruise.
He said Belizaire had previously told him she planned to leave the children with their great-grandmother.
But when he checked with the relative, she reportedly told him the children had never been dropped off.
The father then went to Belizaire’s apartment in the 1400 block of Northeast 170th Street in North Miami Beach.
From outside, he could reportedly see the glow of a television through the blinds and could hear children talking inside.
Concerned that they were alone, he called police.
Officers responded at around 8 p.m. and eventually entered the apartment.
Inside, authorities said they found all four children hiding together in a bathroom with no adult present.
Fortunately, police said the children appeared to be unharmed.
Investigators then began trying to reach Belizaire, but according to the arrest affidavit, repeated phone calls went unanswered.
Her brother later told police that Belizaire had sent him a message asking him to check on the children, but he had not made it to the apartment before officers arrived.
Police determined that Belizaire had left Friday on the Carnival Conquest for a weekend cruise to the Bahamas.
The ship’s itinerary included a stop at Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island before returning to Miami Monday morning.
Instead of simply heading home when the ship docked, Belizaire was met by authorities.
Police were waiting at PortMiami and took her into custody after she disembarked.
She was charged with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, one count for each child.
According to police, Belizaire declined to provide a statement to investigators following her arrest.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has also opened an investigation into the case.
Belizaire has had at least one previous encounter with law enforcement.
Local news reports say she was arrested in January 2025 after allegedly pepper-spraying a neighbor during a dispute involving claims that the neighbor had been harassing her daughter. She was charged with aggravated battery in that separate case.
That earlier allegation is unrelated to the current child neglect charges.
Belizaire remained in Miami-Dade custody following her arrest. The new charges are allegations, and she has not been convicted.
The four children were found physically unharmed, but investigators are now working to determine exactly how long they were left without an adult and what arrangements, if any, Belizaire believed were in place for their care.
What a skank!!! How does she even have money for cruise with 4 kids at 29. Typical black skank