Cruise Law News : Maritime Lawyer & Attorney : James M. Walker : Walker & O'Neill Law Firm : Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents & Injuries

Last night ABC News aired a cruise ship special on its 20/20 program about the Costa Concordia disaster.  Narrated by Chris Cuomo from Italy, the one hour program contains an inside look at this latest cruise ship disaster based on interviews with surviving passengers.

You can watch the first segment of the show, which focuses on details of the cruise disaster, here. 

The 20/20 program also took a hard look at the problem with excessive drinking during cruises.  I learned a new phrase last night, of being "cruise-ship drunk."  You will see lots of videos of passengers being "knee-walking" or "fall-down" drunk.  Not a pretty sight.

The show correctly points out that there is a direct correlation between excessive drinking and violence, which is compounded by the tendency of the cruise lines to push the sale of booze, the insufficient number of security guards, and the absence of an independent police force.  We looked into these problems over the last few years in our articles:

Cruise Ship Brawls - A Problem that Will Get Bigger with Bigger Ships

More Cruise Ship Violence - A Drunken Brawl On Carnival's Dream

Cruise Refunds and a Drunken Backstreet Boy?

Latest Royal Caribbean Rape Allegation Reveals Problem of Underage Drinking on Cruises

Carnival Murder Case Reveals Out of Control Cruise Booze

The 20/20 program includes a few clips of me at the port of Miami explaining the problems of cruise ship drinking and violence.

The segment below is about 5 and 1/2 minutes:  

Watch the entire 20/20 "cruise confidential" program here.

Video credit:  ABC NEWS / ABC 20/20

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Yesterday there were multiple news accounts of the sentencing of Carnival cruise passenger, Robert McGill, to life in jail for the brutal murder of his wife aboard the Elation cruise ship.

The crime occurred after McGill reportedly drank a half bottle of Mezcal and seven or eight beers while ashore in Cabo San Lucas.  The Southwest Riverside News reports today that McGill was "so inebriated he could not negotiate the ship’s gangplank without assistance upon returning from a shore visit."

After he killed his wife in an intoxicated rage, he cleaned himself up, placed a "do not disturb" sign on the cabin door, and proceeded to the top deck where he drank beers from a bucket as the cruise ship sailed back to San Diego.

It is disturbing to me that the shipboard security would permit a passenger who is so-drunk-that-he-can't walk-straight onto the ship without escorting him to the ship doctor or placing him in the brig until he sobers up.  Certainly the security guards manning the gangway entrances are going to notice someone reeking of booze and stumbling through the metal detector like this.

What are Carnival's procedures when security observes passengers in such a high state of intoxication?  I'm not sure.  I know that many cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean, consider such intoxication to be a violation of the passenger's code of conduct, which permits the cruise line to intervene and place the passengers in the brig for their own safety and that of other passengers.  

But in reality does any cruise line actually enforce this policy?  Did anyone on the Carnival Elation care when McGill stumbled aboard with a gut full of Mezcal and 90 ounces of cervezas consumed ashore in Cabo?

If Carnival had acted responsibly, McGill would have spent the evening and night in the brig to sober up and no one would be reporting on such a violent crime.   But it didn't.  Not only did Carnival let such a drunken passenger onto its ship, but it served McGill a bucket of beer after he killed his wife.  So much for not serving drunks. 

I know, many people reading this will say its not Carnival's fault, its a matter of personal responsibility.  Yes, personal responsibility plays a big part in life.  McGill should have acted responsibly and not drank to excess, assuming that alcohol played a part in the murder.  But Carnival has a legal obligation of exercising its corporate responsibility to protect its guests as well.  There is a correlation between drunken passengers on cruise ships and violence, just like a connection between drunken bar patrons and bar fights.  

Two years ago, I blogged about the danger of violence and drunk Carnival passengers - Cruise Ship Brawls - A Problem that Will Get Bigger with Bigger Ships.

You can watch video of drunken passenger fighting in this article from last year - More Cruise Ship Violence - A Drunken Brawl On Carnival's Dream.

In this case, Carnival looked the other way when McGill staggered aboard.  Carnival profited by selling McGill beer later.  Buckets of bud lite beer on Carnival ships go for $25 for five beers, which would cost less than $5 a six pack ashore.

The LA Times has an interesting photo of Mr. McGill being escorted off the crew gangway by a FBI agent, as passengers are seen boarding the passenger gangway above to begin their cruise on schedule.

It seems that Carnival's motto is load em' off, load em' in. Let the drinking begin . . . 

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The Miami New Times published a disturbing article this afternoon "Royal Caribbean Sued After 17-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Raped by Cruise Singer." 

The article by Michael Miller involves an encounter between a 17 year old passenger ("Jane Doe") and a 31 year old Royal Caribbean crew member employed as a singer in a band on the unidentified cruise ship.  After the crew member bought the minor a piña colada, two rounds of "Jaeggerbombs" and "a few more drinks," they ended up in the crew member's cabin where the rape allegedly occurred.  "Another man" (apparently another passenger) then ended up in the cabin and took pornographic photos of the drunken girl, according to the article.

The lawsuit alleges that the minor was required to prepare a written statement while she was still intoxicated.  She was then permitted a medical examination, where her blood alcohol level was .101. 

The curious part of the article is the newspaper writes "Royal Caribbean, which is based in Miami, could not be reached for comment regarding the lawsuit."  This is odd because the Miami New Times is here in Miami and a short distance down Biscayne Boulevard from the port where Royal Caribbean is located.  It is less than clear whether the reporter called the cruise line or tried to make contact with any law enforcement who may have been involved.

It is my understanding that the cruise line notified the FBI which quickly ended its investigation and arrested no one.  The cruise line then undoubtedly terminated the crew member involved.  Like most (alleged) cruise rapes, this case ended as soon as it was reported.  The (alleged) victim will be left with no recourse except to file a civil case.  The fired crewmember will probably end up working on a Carnival cruise ship in six months. 

What happened in the cabin?   Did a rape occur?  I don't know, I was not there.  There will be no criminal jury impaneled to weigh the evidence. 

But whatever happened, one thing is certain - the minor was served a great deal of alcohol, sold by a crew member to another crew member, both of whom knew that the cruise line has a policy against serving minors with alcohol.  The minor appears to have been drinking the piña colada, two "Jaeggerbombs" and "a few more drinks" in public, undoubtedly in view of other crew members who were aware that minors can't be served alcohol and that crew members cannot "fraternize" with passengers, whether they are adults or minors.

Incidents like this do not happen in a sober environment or in a serious setting where security personnel are on alert.  When I read these type of stories or am contacted by women in similar situations, I am quickly reminded of the "anything goes" mentality of shipboard life on cruise ships.  Did the parents of the girl (who are not mentioned in the article) have any idea how many incidents of overserving minors and sexual assaults occur during cruises?

Royal Caribbean needs to improve its alcohol policies and procedures. It needs to warn parents about dangers like this.  Cruise lines earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year pushing the sale of alcohol, some of which is consumed by young girls who end up in places on cruise ships where they should not be alone. 

Photo credit:  Royal Caribbean drink menu via Cruise Critic  

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We receive a lot of weird emails and telephone inquiries from cruise passengers about all types of things.  Can we get our money back because the waiter was rude?  Can we get a free cruise because the weather was bad and we missed a port, etc . . . etc. . . . etc.

I'll be honest.  I hate these type of inquiries.  They are a waste of everyone's time.

Last month we received one of these type of complaints.  Passengers on some type of music fan cruise on a Carnival cruise wanted us to help them obtain a refund because they claimed that some of the band members were drunk and disrupted their enjoyment of the cruise.  We couldn't help them.  Bad cruise experiences (not involving a serious injury) like this have no place in our legal system.  The passengers we talked to agreed with us after a few minutes.

This weekend one of the passengers emailed me a link to the TMZ web site (not something I read everyday), joking about their experience.  TMZ gossiped about one of the members of the Backstreet Boys becoming so intoxicated that many passengers wanted a refund.  Its turns out that the Backstreet Boys had a fan cruise in December on a Carnival cruise ship leaving from Miami to Cozumel and back.  TMZ claims that A.J. McLean (who I learn is a Backstreet Boy) "was so hammered and rowdy on a BB fan cruise last month, that several passengers lodged complaints ... with some even demanding a refund .  .  .  one cruise staffer tells us A.J. and his crew acted like 'drunken fools' for the entire five-day trip." 

Drunks during a Carnival cruise?  Sounds like business as usual on the Carnival "fun ships."

Photo credit:  TMZ

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Last year I wrote a blog entitled "Cruise Ship Brawls - A Problem that Will Get Bigger with Bigger Ships" addressing the increasing violence on cruise ships.  I posted the following comments and questions: 

"Complicating matters is the huge amount of alcohol which the cruise lines sell to the passengers, which often leads to drunken brawls in the bars and discos and sometimes around the pools. It will be interesting to see how Carnival and the other cruise lines handle the "wider audience" flocking onto the larger cruise ships. If cruise ships are like cities and "stuff happens," what steps are they taking to protect U.S. families?

Will the cruise lines elect to hire a full complement of well trained and experienced security guards?  Or will they continue to try and save money with only 2 or 3 inexperienced "guards" trying to protect 2,000 or 3,000 passengers?"

Well, the answers to these questions may be found in YouTube videos which have surfaced regarding a brawl which broke out in the Caliente Club on Carnival's Dream cruise ship three weeks ago.

The August 12th fight was widely reported by the news media, including Professor's Ross Klein's Cruise Junkie which contained the following account from a passenger: 

"We were on the Carnival Dream sailing 08/07 to 08/14 and heard that a brawl broke out in the dance club around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of the 12th. We heard from passengers and a bartender that the brawl started over a song. It involved so many young people (men and women) that the security on board was unable to handle everyone and had to call in assistance from wait staff and other crew members. The fight spilled over into the art gallery located next door and apparently a $10K painting was ruined with blood spatter. Flat screen tvs were smashed and there was a lot of damage done. We heard that people on the ground were getting kicked in the head by men and women and that one person needed to be revived because he was hurt so badly. We also heard that the crowd spilled out of the dance club and that innocent people were getting punched in the face as they were walking by.

The next morning in Costa Maya there were a bunch of people (10 people) sitting by the side of the ship with all of their luggage as they were kicked off the ship and their relatives were shipped off to Mexican jails. Carnival needs to learn a lesson here and not serve alcohol after a certain time and perhaps shut down the 18+ dance club before 3:00 a.m. Nothing good can come of drunk teenagers at 3:00 in the morning."

An article in Florida Today "10 Cruise Passengers Evicted After Brawl" contained a rather understated PR statement by Carnival:

"A fight occurred on the vessel. It was broken up by ship's security and the cause of the fight was investigated which resulted in 10 guests being disembarked in Mexico . . .  The safety and security of our guests and crew is of utmost importance and we will not tolerate behavior that could put any of them at risk."

Carnival has a problem with way too much alcohol served on their cruise ships and way too few security guards to handle the unruly drunks.  Here are two videos of the fight.  

Video credits:    i008 YouTube

Photo credit:      Szymek S.'s Flickr photostream

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The San Diego Union Tribune reports that federal prosecutors are considering seeking the death penalty against a passenger who is charged with beating his wife to death while on a Carnival cruise last summer.

The newspaper reports that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego charged Robert John McGill with first-degree murder and kidnapping of his wife, Shirley.

Mr. McGill is charged with beating his wife to death in their cabin aboard the Carnival cruise ship Elation on July 14, 2009. The newspaper reports that court records quote witnesses as saying Robert McGill appeared extremely intoxicated - not an uncommon occurrence on cruise ships.

Mr. McGill also reportedly admitted killing his wife to passengers, cruise ship line employees, and FBI agents who arrived on the cruise ship. 

The Los Angeles’ Daily News previously reported that “Defendant Robert McGill stated he killed his wife in the bathroom of their cabin with his bare hands,” according to a criminal complaint filed by a FBI special agent. 

An autopsy conducted by the San Diego County medical examiner concluded that Ms. McGill died of strangulation and blunt force injury to her head and body.

According to the Cruise Ship Forum, Carnival stated that notwithstanding the murder and the arrival of 20 FBI agents, the Elation’s scheduled departure would not be delayed.

Mr. McGill is shown to the right being escorted off the crew gangway by a FBI agent, as passengers are seen boarding the passenger gangway above to begin their cruise on schedule.  

Carnival's motto: Load em' off, load em' in.  Let the drinking begin . . .     

Credits:

Robert John McGill with FBI      L.A. Times

Carnival Elation cruise ship      Cruise Ship Forum "FBI Involved in Carnival Elation Murder"

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Paul Ash, who writes columns for the Times Live in Johannesburg under the name "The Wanderer," addresses the issue of violence by cruise passengers in an interesting article entitled "Punch-Ups and Brawls on Cruise Ships: Whose Fault is it Anyway?"

The article mentions what is described as a "mini-rampage" on the P&O cruise ship Ventura while the ship was at sea. Also mentioned is the brawl between six Carnival passengers who punched, scratched and bit it out with police in Antigua over a dispute with a taxi driver over, depending on who you believe, either a $50 or $100 taxi fare.

Mr. Ash's article raises a couple of interesting issues. 

Are cruise lines inviting rowdier crowds on board with discount tickets?  And what happens when, as Mr. Ash puts it, "the happy and careless rich collide with the hungry and resentful poor?"

One of the subscribers to this blog commented on an earlier article about the danger presented when vacationing families intersect with the hard partying younger crowd who are enticed to cruise with the lure of cheap three-day booze cruises. I compare the situation to going on a cruise with Kid Rock - I love his music but I wouldn't want to take my family on a cruise with his posse partying next door. 

As reported by Mr. Ash, a BBC2 television host Jeremy Vine recently questioned Carnival CEO Micky Arison about this problem of violence associated with cheap cruise tickets and a more diverse group of passengers.

“Cruise ships are a microcosm of any city or any location and stuff happens . . . The negatives of discounting might be less commission for agents and less revenue for us but the positive is it opens up the product to a wider audience.”

The "wider audience" will undoubtedly include a younger crowd from a different demographic, including what I call the hard partying "Bud Light - tank top" crowd.

Mr. Ash concludes his article with the following thought: 

"I can’t think anything I’d rather less do than go on holiday with five thousand three hundred and ninety-nine other people. Imagine the rush for the boats – or taxis – during shore excursions. Imagine the stress of finding a space by the pool. Or queuing for dinner. One may as well go to the Med and scrap with the Russians and Germans for sun loungers. No wonder people get punchy. Who wouldn’t?"

Complicating matters is the huge amount of alcohol which the cruise lines sell to the passengers, which often leads to drunken brawls in the bar and discos and sometimes around the pools. It will be interesting to see how Carnival and the other cruise lines handle the "wider audience" flocking onto the larger cruise ships. If cruise ships are like cities and "stuff happens," what steps are they taking to protect U.S. families?

Will the cruise lines elect to hire a full complement of well trained and experienced security guards?  Or will they continue to try and save money with only 2 or 3 inexperienced "guards" trying to protect 2,000 or 3,000 passengers? 

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