THE grieving family of a cruise passenger who went overboard is suing Royal Caribbean for allegedly serving the mum too much alcohol.
Dulcie White, 66, fell to her death in front of her daughter during a five-day Taylor Swift-themed cruise in the Bahamas with her body still yet to be found.
Her loved ones are now fighting for justice after they claimed Mrs White’s death was due to negligence from staff.
In a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida on October 28, Mrs White’s family says the crew on board the Allure of the Seas should have limited her alcohol intake.
They claim that she was served “at least seven alcoholic beverages continuously within a span of approximately six hours and eight minutes”.
The lawsuit alleges: “She was swaying, stammering, slurring her speech, had alcohol on her breath, couldn’t keep her composure straight, had glassy eyes, while she was in plain view of the crewmembers.
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“Each of these crewmembers were negligent for continuing to serve her alcoholic beverages in her intoxicated state.”
It was a concerned fellow passenger on board who ended up preventing Mrs White from drinking anymore, according to the suit.
They took the mum back to her cabin at around 7:30pm.
Shortly after, Mrs White fell overboard in direct view of her daughter Megan Klewin.
Megan remembers seeing her mum go on the balcony and start climbing up the railing before falling in the water below.
The family is suing on one count of over-service of alcohol, one count of negligent search and rescue operation and one count of negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The suit says Mrs White had purchased an all-inclusive “CHEERS!” alcohol package.
Costing $69.95 per day, the offer allows guests to consume 15 alcoholic drinks every 24 hours, according to Royal Caribbean’s website.
Megan told CBS Miami that her mum was likely trying to get her money’s worth by trying to get as many drinks as possible.
“She was completely intoxicated in a way I haven’t seen before. It saddens me that this is my last memory of her,” she added.
The suit goes on to accuse the cruise company of improper rescue protocols.
It claims that the Allure of the Seas never made a Williamson or Anderson turn – a common maneuver used in man overboard situations.
The suit also alleged that the crew never gave the command to launch a rescue boat to search for Mrs White.
Royal Caribbean say they immediately alerted authorities per procedure.
Within 24 hours of Mrs White first being reported missing, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force suspended the search.
There remains no trace of a body.
Megan said: “It will haunt us for the rest of our lives.
“I feel the overconsumption of alcohol and the over service of alcohol was the cause of this.
“These crew members are incentivized to continue to serve them because that’s how they make their tips.”
Attorney Spencer Aronfeld told PEOPLE they believe Royal Caribbean is “putting profits ahead of passenger safety with these all you can drink packages.”
Aronfeld continued: “We hope to hold [Royal Caribbean] fully accountable for Dulcie’s death and create and inspire industry change to discontinue these all you can drink packages.”
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean announced they will not make any further comments on the suit.
