The fiancée of a cruise ship passenger who died after being detained during what authorities described as a drunken, threatening outburst aboard a Royal Caribbean vessel bound for Mexico has filed a lawsuit against the cruise line.
Michael Virgil, 35, died within an hour of being restrained by security on the Navigator of the Seas on Dec. 13, 2024 — the same day he boarded the ship from the port of San Pedro, near Los Angeles.
According to the wrongful death complaint, Virgil was traveling on the cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, with his fiancée, his then 7-year-old son and other family members.
The filing alleges that beginning around 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, Virgil, who had purchased the ship’s all-inclusive drink package, was “negligently served” at least 33 alcoholic drinks.
“[Virgil] was visibly intoxicated such that each of Royal Caribbean crew members should not have continued to serve alcohol to him while he was exhibiting these visible signs of intoxication, and each of these crew members were negligent for continuing to serve [Virgil] alcoholic beverages in his intoxicated state,” the complaint states.
The complaint further alleges that Virgil became disoriented while trying to locate his cabin, got lost, and grew increasingly agitated.
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A video recorded by passenger Christifer Mikhail and obtained by Fox 11 shows Virgil repeatedly kicking at a door in a hallway on the ship and shouting, “I’m going to knock you the f— out,” as members of the ship’s security team surround him.
Mikhail told Fox 11 that Virgil began making threats after exiting an elevator on the wrong floor.
“The gentleman that was drunk said that he was going to kill us and then he started chasing us down the hallway,” Mikhail said, referring to himself and a crew member who “locked himself in one of the towel rooms.”
According to the lawsuit, crew members tackled Virgil to the floor, stood on him “with their full weight,” and “compressed” his body until he stopped moving.
Virgil was allegedly “subjected to prolonged prone restraint with multiple Royal Caribbean crew members applying compressive force to [his] back and torso, impairing chest expansion, limiting diaphragmatic motion, and obstructing venous return, leading to impaired breathing and hypoxia,” the complaint claims.
The suit also alleges that, at the direction of the staff captain, crew members administered an injection of the sedative haloperidol and deployed multiple cans of pepper spray on Virgil.
The complaint states that his death was ruled a homicide “as the use of force by Royal Caribbean crew members, as well as over service of alcoholic beverages leading to intoxication, directly contributed to and caused the physiologic conditions leading to [Virgil’s] death.”
According to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Virgil died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxia, obesity, cardiomegaly and ethanol intoxication. The medical examiner confirmed that his death was classified as a homicide.
The complaint also alleges that Virgil’s body was stored in a refrigerated area on board as the ship continued on to Ensenada. The vessel returned to Los Angeles on Dec. 16.
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying, “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.”
