When Cruise Vacations End Tragically, Who's to Blame?

What Happened to Merrian?

But even with improved security and training, accidents happen.

Ken Carver said the disappearance of his daughter Merrian Carver aboard a Celebrity Cruises ship was not handled properly. He has since lobbied for industry reforms.

(Courtesy Ken Carver)

Ken Carver founded International Cruise Victims, an advocacy and support group for cruise crime and accident victims and their families, after his daughter Merrian Carver disappeared during an August 2004 cruise to Alaska aboard the Celebrity Mercury.

Carver, who at 72 has made ICV his new full-time job, said he got a phone call from Merrian's daughter saying her mother hadn't been returning phone calls. Unbeknown to the family -- Carver said his daughter was somewhat of a free spirit -- Merrian, 40, had booked the cruise and boarded on Aug. 27, as noted by credit card receipts and documents from Celebrity.

But cruise officials couldn't tell Carver whether his daughter had ever disembarked. And, he later learned, a cabin attendant reported to a ship supervisor that Merrian ceased using her room after the cruise's second night.

The supervisor never reported the attendant's findings.

"He was told to forget it and do his job," Carver said.

Merrian Carver was never heard from again. Carver said he's heard rumors over the years that his daughter was romantically involved with the supervisor who declined to report the cabin attendant's concerns, but said that would be "impossible to prove."

Carver said he hired a private detective and spent tens of thousands of dollars researching his daughter's last known activities before he sued Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Related

WATCH: Cruise Ships: Danger on Board

Man Dies Aboard Mediterranean Cruise

Crew Abandons Sinking Ship, Leaves Teens

In a statement, Royal Caribbean noted that an FBI investigation had concluded that there was no evidence of foul play regarding Merrian Carver's disappearance.

"During that same time, we learned from her father that Ms. Carver had emotional problems and had attempted suicide before, which she appears to have done on our ship," the statement read.

The cruise company ended up settling with Carver out of court for an undisclosed amount.

"Do I know what happened to Merrian?" he said. "God only knows."

Bald said the Carver incident spurred Royal Caribbean to make procedural changes, including requiring all passengers to swipe ship-issued identification cards not only when they get on the ship but when they get off.

That might have helped in the Carver case, because authorities don't know if she went overboard or if she left the ship on her own at a port of call.

"We learn from every incident," he said.

Still, Bald said, "we made mistakes in this and there's no denying it."

First, he said, there was a mix-up in communication about the surveillance tapes from Merrian Carver's cruise. Ken Carver was erroneously told the tapes had been thrown out just weeks after the cruise ended, which they hadn't.

The tapes, analog at the time, did not show any images of Merrian Carver at all, Bald said, but the tapes were put back on a shelf and eventually lost when they should have been saved.

The supervisor who'd apparently failed to report the cabin attendant's report of Carver's disappearance was terminated, Bald said.

Since Merrian Carver's disappearance, Ken Carver has been a vocal advocate for legislation on cruise industry reform.

Bills have been introduced in the United States in the last couple of years aimed at the cruise industry, including joint House and Senate bills that called for more uniform crime reporting and improved response.

So far, none of the bills have been passed.