FBI investigates passenger's death on LA-docked Royal Caribbean cruise ship

Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times on Dec 19, 2024

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LOS ANGELES — A 35-year-old man's death is being investigated by the FBI after he was reportedly bound by crew members while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Los Angeles.

According to a passenger who spoke with Fox 11, the man was bound with zip ties and hit with pepper spray by crew members on Friday after he allegedly became unruly. The cruise ship was traveling from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico, when the incident occurred.

Passenger Christifer Mikhail said the man appeared intoxicated and violent.

"The gentleman that was drunk said he was going to kill us," Mikhail told the news station. "He started chasing us down the hallway."

Video of the incident showed a man kicking a door to reportedly attack a crew member. He also spewed profanities and made racist comments, according to Mikhail.

Later in the video, multiple uniformed crew members are shown crowded around a person lying on the ground in a carpeted hallway. The man was on the cruise with his fiancée and young son, reports Fox 11. He died Friday aboard the Navigator of the Seas ship and there was no immediate information about a cause of death.

In a statement to the news station, Royal Caribbean Cruises said they are "saddened by the passing of one of our guests. We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation."

An FBI spokesperson said in a statement the agency "responded to a Royal Caribbean cruise on Monday to investigate an incident that occurred on board that resulted in death. Our investigation is ongoing."