A Royal Caribbean passenger was arrested after allegedly beating up another person while on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas, according to court documents.
Documents obtained by WPLG show Michael White and others assaulted the victim to the point of unconsciousness. He, and another unnamed person, were arrested by Broward County police on Friday after the Liberty of the Seas returned to Port Everglades.
The police report says the victim and a woman asked a group of youths to “stop jumping up and down on the elevator,” which was causing it to sway. This happened last Thursday, while the ship was at sea.
The group started yelling and saying, “B----, who are you talking to?”
BSO Deputy Demetrius Williams wrote in the report, "At this point, (the victim) said he yelled to stop jumping in the elevator, but the kids wouldn’t stop; they kept arguing and fussing at them and calling them names."
The report continues that the elevator stopped on the eighth floor and the victim and the woman decided they needed to exit the elevator immediately, "We got to get out of here."
"The kids did not move when the door opened, so he pushed through the crowd to exit the elevator."
"Once he got out, he said he started getting struck by individuals in the face area, causing him to stagger backward. After staggering backward, he (redacted) fell to the floor and that’s when he started getting kicked. Also, at this point, (the victim) said he blacked out and the next thing he knew, he woke up in a pool of blood on the floor."
The 3,648 passenger Liberty of the Seas was sailing a four-night Bahamas itinerary that departed Port Everglades on Monday, April 14th.
Mr. White is from Siler City, North Carolina and was charged with a felony of aggravated battery causing bodily harm. The co-defendant's name was not listed in Broward court records.
BSO records show he was released from jail on Saturday after posting a $5,000 bond.
A judge ordered Mr. White have no contact with the victim.
Violence on cruise ships: what happens
While Royal Caribbean has not issued any kind of statement or update on the incident, they take security incidents like this very seriously.
A few months ago a man was detained after attempting to break down a cabin door in an altercation with other guests.
A cell phone video captured the moment a man was seen hurling threats and trying to kick down a door aboard Navigator of the Seas.
In an attempt to subdue him, the disruptive passenger kicked a crew member in the face and punched another.
Eventually, the ship's security team—armed with pepper spray, zip ties, and handcuffs—detained the shirtless guest who had also been spewing profanity and racial comments.
Unruly guests disrupt the experience for other passengers and risk the safety of guests and crew, which is of paramount importance to cruise lines.
Incidents like these often result in immediate intervention by the ship's security staff, with offenders facing fines, legal action, and permanent bans from the cruise line, especially when crew members are assaulted.
In fact, Royal Caribbean will ban passengers for life for far less violent attacks.
