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The case involving a Royal Caribbean cruise passenger who died on board the vessel after being served nearly three dozen alcoholic drinks showcases how rules on cruise lines are often “played fast and loose,” potentially putting vacationers at risk, according to a personal security expert.
Michael Virgil, 35, and his family boarded Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas in Los Angeles on Dec. 13, 2024, to embark on a four-day-long getaway to Ensenada, Mexico.
However, their dream vacation quickly turned tragic.
Virgil’s family – which includes his longtime fiancée and the couple’s young son who has autism – has filed a wrongful death complaint against Royal Caribbean in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging the cruise line is liable for Virgil’s death.
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Michael Virgil died on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. (GoFundMe)
According to the complaint, the family boarded the ship and were subsequently instructed to visit a bar with live music while they waited for their cabin to be ready for check-in. While waiting, Virgil’s then 7-year-old son grew restless, resulting in both mother and son leaving to check on the status of their cabin.
“When you’re in international waters, even to this day, while they may say they have a strict code of ethics and protocols, things are played fast and loose,” Bill Stanton, a retired NYPD officer and author of the book “Prepared Not Scared,” told Fox News Digital.
“Policies vary from cruise line to cruise line, but very much like hotels – because it’s essentially a floating hotel – their number one priority is accommodation. They always want to say yes, because that’s what their business model is trained on.”
The lawsuit alleges that within hours of the ship leaving port, crew members overserved Virgil at least 33 alcoholic drinks, causing him to become agitated as he tried to locate his cabin later in the evening.
As an intoxicated Virgil became increasingly irritated, security and crew members allegedly tackled and restrained him. The complaint adds that Virgil’s body was compressed for about three minutes until he stopped moving, and – at the direction of the staff captain – crew members injected him with the sedative Haloperidol and deployed three cans of pepper spray to subdue him.
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Michael Virgil, 35, can be seen kicking a door prior to being taken down by security on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. (Obtained by FOX 11 Los Angeles)
Following the altercation, body camera footage indicated Virgil had a pulse and was still breathing – but he was pronounced dead roughly 2.5 hours after the incident began, according to the lawsuit.
“The first domino that fell in terms of causing his death was mechanical asphyxiation, and that is where approximately five, maybe more, Royal Caribbean employees were trying to restrain him by putting their full body weight on him,” the family’s attorney, Kevin Haynes, told the Daily Mail. “And they did that for three minutes.”
Virgil subsequently died while in custody, with an autopsy report revealing he had a blood alcohol level of 0.182 to 0.186% – more than twice the legal driving limit, according to the autopsy report.
Following Virgil’s death, his grieving fiancée pleaded with the ship to return to port, but the cruise line refused, according to the Daily Mail.
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“They would not do it,” Haynes told the outlet.
Instead, the family alleges crew members stuffed Virgil’s lifeless body inside a morgue refrigerator and resumed the voyage, the Daily Mail reported.
“They put Michael in a refrigerator and continued the cruise for multiple days,” Haynes added.
Virgil’s body remained refrigerated on board until the ship returned to Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2024.
The medical examiner later ruled Virgil’s death a homicide, adding that the cause of death was “combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, obesity, cardiomegaly and ethanol intoxication.” The report also indicated the life-ending injury was sustained from “body compression during restraint by multiple ship security personnel” and “ingestion of ethanol.”
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An overhead view of Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cruise ship. (Royal Caribbean)
The suit also points out that Virgil purchased the ship’s “Deluxe Beverage Package,” which provides passengers with unlimited access to nearly all the drink offerings on the ship’s menu, including alcoholic beverages. According to the complaint, alcohol sales remain one of the company’s top revenue streams and that Royal Caribbean’s vessels are designed to include numerous points at which customers can order drinks.
“We are seeing an incredibly alarming number of serious injuries and fatalities on cruise ships of late,” Haynes said. “Our goal is to force systemic change in the way this industry operates to ensure that no person or family experiences a tragedy like this again.”
Haynes went on to compare Virgil’s death to the death of George Floyd, pointing to alleged similarities in the events leading up to both men’s final breath, according to the Daily Mail.
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“Everyone remembers that very tragic story with George Floyd, and this is similar in the sense that they suppressed someone against their will, restrained him and caused him to stop being able to breathe,” Haynes told the Daily Mail.
The lawsuit says Virgil’s estate is seeking judgment for damages under the Death on the High Seas Act, including loss of support, inheritance, past and future earnings, and net accumulations. Additionally, the family is also seeking repayment for funeral and medical expenses, mental pain and suffering, and loss of companionship and protection.
Stanton pointed to the reality that while in international waters, oftentimes law enforcement duties are relegated to security personnel on the ship.
“[When crimes are committed] in international waters, you know, they have Interpol, but they’re not holding the members on the ship for questioning,” Stanton said. “If this were done with the NYPD or the LAPD or any major police department that had to take action against an individual, they’re going to have a chain of evidence.”
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Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but previously refrained from issuing a statement on the specific details of the case due to the pending legal matter.
“We were saddened by the passing of one of our guests, worked with authorities on their investigation, and will refrain from commenting any further on pending litigation,” a spokesperson said in a prior statement to Fox News Digital.
According to Stanton, the case emphasizes cruise ship passengers’ need to remain vigilant while on vacation to keep themselves safe.
“You can lower your guard a bit, but you still need to administer all the things [involving] situational awareness,” he said. “Because the bad guys, and sometimes people with the best intentions, will take advantage of the fact that you’re on vacation.”
Fox News Digital’s Tessa Hoyos, Michael Ruiz and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.