FBI investigating death on Royal Caribbean cruise after alleged incident with unruly passenger

Video showed a crew members restraining a man with towels.

ByLuke Barr, Ayesha Ali, Sam Sweeney, Ivan Pereira, and Lena Camilletti
December 18, 2024, 7:19 PM

The FBI is investigating an incident aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship allegedly involving an unruly passenger.

The incident took place Friday aboard the Navigator of the Seas, which was sailing from Ensenada, Baja California, to Los Angeles, officials said.

The unidentified passenger allegedly became unruly and crew members were called in, according to witnesses.

In this screengrab from a video, an unruly passenger aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Sea is restrained on Dec. 13, 2024.
Christifer Mikhail

A video of the incident showed crew members restraining the man on the floor with towels.

It is unclear when the man died after being restrained.

In this March 2, 2021, file photo, Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Sea cruise ship is shown docked at PortMiami in Miami, Fla.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE

"The FBI responded to a Royal Caribbean cruise on Monday when it docked in Los Angeles and is investigating an incident on board that resulted in death," the FBI said in a statement.

Royal Caribbean Cruises released a statement after the incident, saying, "We are saddened by the passing of one of our guests. We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation."

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