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The death of a Royal Caribbean passenger has been ruled a homicide after crew members allegedly served him nearly three-dozen drinks at the ship’s bar before he died, according to a new lawsuit. Michael Virgil, 35, was served 33 drinks at one of the ship’s bars on the day he died in custody in December 2024, according to a wrongful death lawsuit recently filed by his fiancé and obtained by TMZ. Virgil was detained during a drunken rage, in which he allegedly attacked and threatened to kill crew members and passengers. But he died within hours after being restrained and...

A norovirus outbreak has affected the German cruise ship AIDAdiva, with 95 passengers and 6 crew members reporting symptoms of the highly contagious gastrointestinal illness. The cases were first reported to health authorities on November 30, making this the eighth day of active infection on board as of December 7, and ruining a holiday of a lifetime for many. The ship, operated by AIDA Cruises (a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation), is carrying 2,007 passengers and approximately 640 crew members. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infected individuals represent fewer than 6 per cent of...

Norwegian Cruise Line is alerting guests on Hawaii cruises in 2026 and beyond of the new Transient Accommodations Tax that levies an additional 14% on their cruise fare. While the cruise line is part of the legal challenges to the new tax, it may be some time before any court cases are resolved and in the meantime the tax goes into effect from January 1, 2026. Booked guests are reporting additional taxes on their cruise fares from $50-500 and higher, depending on the overall cost of their cruise and how much time their itinerary spends in Hawaii. Norwegian Cruise Line...

They’re sea-sick of it. Frustrated cruise passengers are sounding the distress signal over a rising trend toward nickel-and-diming, as lines find new and creative ways to upsell their customers on everything from drinks to arcade games. A queasy traveler started an interesting conversation on the subject online, recently about which lines fleece their guests and which actually deliver on the all-inclusive promise. The high seas set-to kicked off over a woman detailing her poor experience on an MSC cruise, where she said she was upsold significantly on spa treatments. Her account, posted elsewhere on Reddit, inspired a slew of salty...

Anna Kepner, a teen who died aboard a Carnival Horizon cruise ship earlier this month, was found dead under a bed, wrapped in a blanket and covered by life vests, according to a security source briefed on the investigation. The 18-year-old cheerleader from Titusville, Florida, was reported dead while aboard the Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Nov. 8. The Miami-Dade medical examiner has not specified a cause or manner of her death. Among the avenues investigators are looking at is whether there might have been some sort of altercation with her stepbrother prior to her death, the source told ABC...

Missing a boarding time for a cruise ship could end up fatal. An 80-year-old Australian woman was discovered dead on a remote island after she was left behind by the cruise ship she was traveling on. The woman was hiking on Lizard Island with a group of other passengers, but was separated from the group after she decided to take some time to rest. The Coral Adventurer cruise ship ended up leaving the woman on the island, but returned several hours later to find her after she was discovered not to be on board. On Sunday, she was discovered dead....

MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — Two people were hospitalized after being injured during a fight on a cruise ship. WSVN reported that the fight happened on Monday aboard the Royal Caribbean's "Wonder of the Seas." According to WSVN, the altercation began with a verbal argument that escalated into a physical confrontation. Because of the situation, the cruise ship made an unscheduled return to port in Miami. The cruise line stated that they provided medical assistance to the injured passengers with minor injuries until they could be taken to a hospital. At this time, the cause of the fight is still unknown,...

The actor cited "scheduling conflicts" in his refusal, according to sources. Tom Cruise has never had any issues jumping out of planes or riding motorcycles off cliffs, but boring old “scheduling conflicts” are apparently something even he can’t conquer. According to The Washington Post, Cruise was offered one of the Kennedy Center Honors that Donald Trump announced yesterday, but declined due to said scheduling conflicts. Former and current Kennedy Center employees speaking to the outlet did not disclose any specifics on those scheduling conflicts or any other reasons why Cruise might have declined. Considering the man could likely skydive in...

A Turkish court on Thursday charged a Syrian national suspected of plotting to slam speedboats packed with explosives into cruise ships loaded with Israeli tourists, lawyers and police said. According to The AP, defense lawyer Ilhami Sayan said the suspect, identified in the Turkish media as Lu'ai Sakra, was charged with membership in an "illegal organization." He was arrested earlier this month. Police said Sakra was linked to al-Qaeda. "I have no regrets," Sakra shouted to journalists as he was led into the courthouse. "I was going to attack Israeli ships. If they come, my friends will attack them." "I...

An investigation is underway after a death on the Carnival Dream cruise ship based out of Galveston, Texas, according to reports. At around 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, July 23, passengers woke up to the sounds of sirens alerting them to an incident on board the ship as it was traveling to Costa Maya, Belize, KHOU and the Houston Chronicle reported. One passenger reported hearing an announcement saying that medical assistance was needed on the Serenity Deck, according to the outlets

Alaskan authorities say they've found the body of a 62-year-old woman who disembarked from a cruise ship to take a hike and didn't return. Marites Buenafe — who's listed on the University of Kentucky Healthcare system's website as a doctor — was traveling aboard the Norwegian Bliss, according to a missing persons bulletin issued by the Alaska State Troopers. The ship was on a weeklong round-trip tour of Alaska that departed from Seattle, according to ship tracking site CruiseMapper. Around 7:30 a.m. local time on July 1, Buenafe texted family members that she was heading up Mount Roberts Tramway in...

A woman who lives on a cruise for free for half the year has revealed all the perks that come with it – and the one “weird” thing she can’t do. Christine Kesteloo, who is originally from the US and lives in the Netherlands when she’s not sailing, has visited a whopping 109 countries and counting. The 44-year-old doesn’t cook, clean, make her bed, do laundry or pay for food, and it’s all thanks to her husband Pete’s role as a chief engineer for the Holland America Line cruise company. Christine, who documents her life at sea for her almost...

More than 200 people aboard a still-at-sea Cunard Line cruise bound for New York, including members of the crew, contracted norovirus in the latest cruise ship outbreak of the nasty stomach bug. Of the 2,538 guests on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, 224 reported getting ill on the current voyage along with 17 crew members, this month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cruise departed from Southampton, England on March 8 to set out for New York and later the Caribbean. The entire journey, however, doesn’t conclude until April 6, leaving the rest of the guests stuck...

“Kelley has an alarming history of allegations of sexual assault from males and females spanning from early 2017 through September 2023,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.

A 72-year-old American man traveling on a Princess Cruise ship mysteriously vanished from the boat, prompting officials to believe he fell overboard at some point during the five-day voyage around Mexico. Authorities launched a search for the passenger after the Ruby Princess docked in San Francisco just before 7 a.m. Monday and crews realized the passenger was nowhere to be found onboard, the cruise line said. The man, who hasn’t been identified publicly, was traveling alone and is feared dead. “Princess worked throughout the day with local authorities. CCTV footage has also been extensively reviewed and the ship was searched...

A cruise line has announced a “skip forward” vacation for wealthy Americans who want to sail around the world for four years instead of living under President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. Villa Vie Residences, a luxury vacation company that offers “residential cruising,” began advertising their cruise on November 7 with different plans all the way up to a four-year cruise covering all of Trump’s time in the presidency. The one-year plan is called “Escape from Reality,” the two-year is called the “Mid-Term Selection,” the three-year is called “Everywhere but Home,” and the four-year option, covering the entire span of Trump’s...

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology advocates tout a variety of potential benefits when it comes to widespread AV implementation. However, the most important benefit is an increase in safety compared to the average human-driven vehicle. Nevertheless, with high-profile incidents like the Cruise accident last year that resulted in a pedestrian injury, convincing the public that AVs are indeed safer might be something of a challenge. Now, a new website published by Alphabet’s Waymo AV division highlights some of the statistics around driverless vehicle safety. Waymo currently operates a fleet of autonomous, all-electric vehicles across the U.S. as a means of developing...

The world's largest cruise ship caught fire while docked in Costa Maya, Mexico. Flames hit the Icon of the Seas on Tuesday afternoon, but Royal Caribbean told Cruise Law News that they were "quickly extinguished." At one point, "power failed throughout the ship, impacting elevators, air conditioning, service stations, and cabins," according to Cruise Radio. There were no reported injuries.

A cruise line has offered the adventure of a lifetime for retirees to explore the world in luxury and give them a chance to beat inflation. Villa Vie Residences has launched their Endless Horizons program, which allows passengers to set sail on the Villa Vie Odyssey ship and take off on a seven-continent adventure on May 30. The luxury cruise liner requires a one time payment of $299,999 for a single room and $499,999 for a double occupancy cabin. 'One aspect most people nearing retirement age are concerned about is ongoing living expenses and the possibility of outliving their savings,'...

VIDEOI'm on my way to the ABC Islands of the Caribbean for eight days aboard the Celebrity Beyond starting Saturday April 27. The first place I hit will be the Ocean View Café BUFFET bar where not only a plethora of delicious food is awaiting me for lunch tomorrow but also I can start drinking again. In fact, I think I might start drinking a few beers today so all those drinks won't be a complete shock to my system. Oh, and our Steve Kane Radio Show group also has a serious mission project aboard ship. Namely to try out...