The family of a California man who died aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise in December 2024 has filed a lawsuit
The family of a California man who died aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise in December 2024 has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line, claiming that the company is responsible for his death. The wrongful death suit comes seven months after a medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Michael Virgil, 35, had boarded Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas with his fiancée and young son on December 13, 2024, for a short four-day cruise from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. According to the lawsuit, what began as a family vacation quickly turned tragic.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Florida, claims that Virgil was overserved alcohol and then restrained by crew members in a way that led to his death. His family alleges that the crew gave him at least 33 alcoholic drinks in a matter of hours and then used excessive force when he became disoriented while trying to find his cabin.
The lawsuit says that when the family first boarded the ship, their cabin was not ready, so they were told to wait in a bar with live music. Virgil’s fiancée left the bar with their then 7-year-old son, who has autism, to check on the room, while Virgil remained behind.
