A family group has been removed from a Carnival Cruise ship in southern NSW today after footage of a violent brawl on-board between passengers and security staff emerged.

In the dramatic footage, as many as 30 people on-board the 10-day Carnival Legend trip to the South Pacific can be seen fighting while others are screaming and attempting to hold them back, before the ship's security guards step in and pin them to the ground.

While one security guard is also seen to try and hit the mobile phone held by passenger filming, other guards kick at two male passengers who are grappling on the floor in an attempt to separate them.

The ship docked in Eden, north of the NSW-Victoria border today while NSW police officers boarded the cruise and removed multiple people from the vessel, before continuing on its path to Melbourne.

Jennifer Vandekreeke, vice-president of Carnival Cruises Australia, today told media the cruise line company alerted police and docked the ship after one particular family group became "violent and disruptive" during the voyage.

"We are deeply concerned by the incidents that occurred on-board board Carnival Legend last night, as the safety and security of our guests and our crew is our number one priority. We apply a zero-tolerance approach to excessive behaviour that affects other guests," she said.

"In line with this policy, we contacted NSW police this morning and we asked them to attend Carnival Legend in Eden today to remove a large family group from the ship that had been involved in violent and disruptive acts. The group has disembarked from the vessel and we are cooperating fully with employees.

"We are confident that this strong action has addressed the disruption on-board Carnival Legend and enabled our remaining guests to properly enjoy the closing stages of their holiday.

"These events are completely isolated to this family group and out of character with the on-board experience on-board Carnival Legend. We are also initiating a full internal investigation into what occurred."

Earlier, passengers described the trip as a "cruise from hell" after two groups allegedly clashed throughout the voyage, leaving people bloodied and injured.

A photo shared by one passenger, George Barkho, on the ship shows the back of a man's head dripping with blood.

Mr Barkho's father, David, told Melbourne radio station 3AW his son had called him urging him to call the Australian Federal Police after he saw
“a lot of people bleeding, a lot of people down on the ground” during a scuffle.

“He said, ‘please Dad, please, call the Federal Police’,” he said.

“I could hear a lot of screaming, crying in the background.”

He also alleged that security on-board the cruise liner had been confiscating mobile phones from passengers to delete photos.

Another passenger told 9NEWS that violence erupted on several occasions with threats made to stab and throw people overboard.

"We are so scared after witnessing a traumatic experience with yet again the same offenders. It was a bloodbath," the passenger said.

"We will not be leaving our cabins and are truly scared for our safety and what could happen in the next."

A woman whose son was with his girlfriend on the ship also described how he had been caught up in a shouting match between two groups at a nightclub during the trip and had managed to avoid getting into any trouble, but could sense the tense atmosphere among passengers. 

The ship's operator Carnival Cruise Line has issued a statement saying: "The vast majority of the guests onboard Carnival Legend are enjoying their 10-day cruise holiday to the South Pacific.

"The ship’s highly trained security staff have engaged with a small group of disruptive guests and ensured that they are fully aware of and are compliant with our zero tolerance policy.

"This strong approach is in line with our commitment to safety as the number one priority.”

In a separate interview, a woman named Kellie Peterson told 3AW that she was on-board with her husband and three children aged 6, 9 and 11 and said tension among passengers had been growing over a period of days.

“They were looking for trouble from the minute they got on the ship,” she said.

“My husband said to take it away, because there’s kids here, and five of them surrounded my husband.

“They told us to watch our backs.”

She also said security staff had locked some of the offenders in their cabins after targeting other passengers and leaving them with "cut heads and hands and bandages everywhere".

The ship returns to Station Pier in Melbourne tomorrow morning.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2018