P&O Cruises ship Aurora was subject to a drugs bust by US federal agents while docked in San Francisco.
US Customs and Border Protection seized 13 kilograms of cocaine from the ship last month.
A joint operation by federal agencies and local law-enforcement led to two separate discoveries of a large amount of the drug on the ship which had arrived from Curacao.
Federal agents discovered seven kilos of cocaine in the cabin of an Australian national. An additional five kilos were discovered in the cabin of two New Zealand citizens. All three passengers were arrested.
A border protection spokesman said the search of the ship was a routine inspection similar to those conducted on all vessels that arrive in San Francisco from foreign countries.
A P&O Cruises spokesman said: “There is an ongoing investigation and we are not at liberty to discuss this further.”