Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger allegedly served '30-plus' drinks before custody death: Lawsuit

Royal Cruise passenger fed '30-plus' drinks: Lawsuit

A cruise ship passenger who died after he was detained for unruly behavior was served “30-plus drinks" while aboard the Royal Caribbean, according to the lawsuit.

LOS ANGELES - A cruise ship passenger who died after he was detained for unruly behavior was served "30-plus drinks" while aboard the Royal Caribbean, according to the passenger's family lawyer.

The backstory:

Back in 2024, 35-year-old Michael Virgil was seen trying to kick down one of the doors on the cruise ship, scaring other passengers. He was also heard spewing profanity and other passengers accused Virgil of going on a racial tirade during the 2024 incident.

The cruise's security eventually placed Virgil in custody using zip ties, handcuffs, bear or pepper spray. Virgil eventually died while in custody.

What they're saying:

Now, Virgil's family is suing the Royal Caribbean, claiming the cruise line was responsible for the 35-year-old dad's death. At the time of Virgil's death, family members had previously told FOX 11 that his violent behavior was out of character. The attorney representing Virgil's family in the lawsuit claims the cruise line overserved the 35-year-old prior to the detainment.

"They have a legal duty not to do so. And if you're serving someone 25, 30-plus drinks, in no world could you not see that the person is intoxicated," attorney Kevin Haynes told FOX 11's Phil Shuman. "Once they created that situation, he acted out. He did not act as a normal person would. Clearly he was intoxicated. He is not a big drinker. He was known by his family as a gentle giant."

Haynes added the security who detained Virgil also contributed to the 35-year-old's death.

"The first domino that fell is that they physically restrained him with five people physically on top of him and committed, or which resulted in rather mechanical asphyxiation, which is what George Floyd suffered. It's the same kind of concept that George Floyd suffered, except in this case, it persisted for three minutes, and there were other factors at play that causes death," the attorney told Shuman.

FOX 11 reached out to Royal Caribbean for a comment on the incident. The cruise line responded with the following statement:

"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."

While Virgil voluntarily drank the alcoholic beverages, Haynes accused the cruise line of pushing the drink packages onto their passengers.

"They say that it's a good deal. So any person who's going to go on a cruise ship is going to want to get their money's worth, right?" the attorney said. "They don't let your glass get half full at Royal Caribbean. And he was not pouring the drinks."

Virgil's family previously told FOX 11 that the 35-year-old leaves behind a fiancé and a son with autism who is now 8 years old.

"The bottom line is that they need to pay for what they did to this family and they need to take accountability. The only way to do that is through a lawsuit. They're never gonna self-correct on this," Haynes said.