33 drinks led to the death of a cruise passenger, Miami lawsuit says

The fiancée of a Southern California man is suing Miami-based Royal Caribbean, saying the company is responsible for his death onboard after serving him 33 alcoholic drinks in under 12 hours and then using excessive force to subdue him.

Michael Virgil, 35 and from Riverside, California, boarded Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas in Los Angeles on Dec. 13, 2024, with fiancée Connie Aguilar and their 7-year-old son. They were starting a four-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico.

Their room wasn’t ready, so they were sent to a bar, according to their lawyers. Later, Aguilar and the boy, who was getting restless, went to check on their cabin. Meanwhile, the cruise staff served Virgil drink after drink, 33 in total, the complaint alleges.

Intoxicated, Virgil tried to find his room but got lost, the lawsuit said. Then he grew agitated. Crew members who saw him, including security personnel, tackled him to the ground, stood on his body “with their full weight,” compressed it and caused him to stop moving, according to the filing.

Vigil died shortly later.

His body remained on board, stored in refrigeration, until the Navigator of the Seas returned to Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2024. His death was classified as a homicide by the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office, which conducted an autopsy.

“The use of force by others directly contributed to the physiological conditions leading to death,” according to the autopsy report.

The FBI launched an investigation, but no charges were filed, an agency spokesperson told the Miami Herald. The agency didn’t release other information about the case. Aguilar’s attorneys told the Herald they’re not aware of any criminal charges.

On Dec. 5, Aguilar filed the wrongful death civil lawsuit in Miami federal court against Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., which has an address of Plantation, Florida, but is incorporated in Liberia. Aguilar is represented by Texas firm Kherkher Garcia and Boca Raton-based The Russo Trial Lawyers.

While the ship departed from and returned to California, where Aguilar lives, the contract that passengers sign before boarding a Royal Caribbean cruise requires that any litigation must be filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Royal Caribbean was notified of the lawsuit on Dec. 10 and has 60 days to respond in court.

“We were saddened by the passing of one of our guests, worked with authorities on their investigation, and will refrain from commenting further on pending litigation,” the carrier’s chief communications officer, Heather Hust Rivera, said in an email statement to the Miami Herald on Dec. 11.

Aguilar’s lawsuit contends Royal Caribbean is liable for Vigil’s death. It also accuses the company of negligence, including in hiring, retaining, training and supervision.

“This could have been avoided,” Anthony Russo, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys and founding partner of the Russo Trial Lawyers, told the Miami Herald.

What happened aboard the Navigator of the Seas?

On Dec. 13, 2024, between approximately 10:30 a.m. and 8:32 p.m., the time of death according to the autopsy report, Royal Caribbean crew members served Vigil “at least 33 alcoholic beverages.” As a result, Virgil “exhibited obvious visual signs of intoxication, while in plain view of the crew members serving him these alcoholic beverages,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit says that the ship had the right to refuse to serve guests who are visibly intoxicated, and said crew members who kept serving him drinks were negligent, causing the passenger to be “substantially impaired.”

The lawsuit also faults the cruise line for doing “as much as possible to encourage and facilitate alcohol consumption aboard its vessels.” It alleges the “Deluxe Beverage Package,” which Virgil bought, “encourages its passengers to over-consume beverage, including alcohol.”

An intoxicated Virgil started looking for his cabin room and got lost. He then became agitated.

The autopsy report states that Virgil “was observed engaging in violent and threatening behavior aboard a ship, including shouting profanities and confronting guests and security personnel.”

Based on a review of ship video by the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office, at 6:07 p.m, Virgil “appears to charge at ship security personnel and ends up on the floor of a large stairwell,” the lawsuit says. At that time, “approximately 5 ship security guards are on top of him in a prone position; some standing on him possibly using their full body weight.”

After three minutes, he stopped moving. He was still breathing and had a pulse, the autopsy report said.

The lawsuit says that crew members compressed Virgil’s back and torso, and crew members also injected the sedative medication Haloperidol and used multiple cans of pepper spray “at the request of the Staff Captain.”

The compression of Virgil’s body by crew members, including security personnel, “directly caused significant hypoxia and impaired ventilation, respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability, and ultimately cardiopulmonary arrest,” which led to his death, according to the lawsuit.

Russo, the lawyer, said from the number of drinks to the way crew members and security handled Virgil after he was intoxicated, “this was a perfect storm of negligence.”

This story was originally published December 13, 2025 at 7:20 AM.