Family of guest who died on Royal Caribbean ship sues cruise line

The family of a Royal Caribbean passenger who died on a cruise is suing the cruise line.
The lawsuit alleges the passenger was overserved alcohol and then physically subdued by crew members.
The passenger’s death was ruled a homicide caused by multiple factors, including mechanical asphyxia.
The family of a Royal Caribbean International guest who died on board one of its ships last year is suing the cruise line.
Michael Virgil, 35, was killed aboard Navigator of the Seas during a cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico in December 2024. He and his fiancée, Connie Aguilar, were sailing with their son and other family members at the time.
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida by Aguilar on behalf of Virgil’s estate, alleged the cruise line is responsible for his death after he was overserved alcohol and physically subdued by crew members.
Virgil was allegedly served at least 33 alcoholic drinks on the day of his death, and got lost while trying to find his cabin.
“Decedent became agitated,” the complaint said. “Royal Caribbean crew members, including security personnel, approached decedent in an attempt to subdue him. Royal Caribbean crew members, including security personnel, then tackled decedent to the ground, stood on decedent’s body with their full weight, and compressed decedent’s body, causing decedent to stop moving.”
The passenger had allegedly attacked two crew members, local news outlet KTTV reported at the time, and video footage appeared to show him attempting to kick down the door to a room where a crew member was hiding.
The crew also used multiple cans of pepper spray on Virgil, according to the filing, and injected him with haloperidol as a sedative. His death was ruled a homicide caused by the “combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, obesity, cardiomegaly, and ethanol intoxication,” according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
The lawsuit alleged that the cruise line “breached its duty of reasonable care” by failing to monitor passengers’ excessive alcohol use and hiring employees who were not adequately qualified, among other claims.
“Michael’s family has suffered unimaginable heartache and torment caused by Royal Caribbean, a mega cruise line that prioritizes profit over passenger safety,” Kevin Haynes, partner at the law firm Kherkher Garcia, LLP, that filed the suit, said in a news release. “Crew members, including security and medical personnel, are required to undergo rigorous competency training; it is very clear that Royal Caribbean is completely negligent in the hiring, training and supervision of its vast fleet of maritime employees. What was supposed to be a beautiful family vacation came to an unimaginably tragic end due to the reprehensible way the situation – that should have never occurred – was handled.”
Royal Caribbean Group, the cruise line’s parent company, told USA TODAY in an email, “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.”
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.