Cruise Passenger Beaten Unconscious After Asking T...

A Royal Caribbean cruise on Liberty of the Seas turned violent final week, ensuing within the arrest of an 18-year-old North Carolina man.  The violent altercation befell after a pair requested {that a} group of youthful passengers cease leaping within the elevator.

Michael White, of Siler Metropolis, faces felony prices based mostly on the altercation that left one other passenger unconscious.  This occurred throughout the ship’s four-night Bahamas crusing from Port Everglades.

CUFFED AFTER CRUISE: A North Carolina man is going through a felony cost in South Florida after they stated he joined others in beating and bloodying a fellow cruise passenger to the purpose of unconsciousness over an elevator dispute. https://t.co/0HgG5Dbkj5

— WPLG Native 10 Information (@WPLGLocal10) April 23, 2025

Elevator Assault

In keeping with news reports and a policeHome report from the Broward Sheriff’s Workplace, the incident befell final Thursday whereas Liberty of the Seas was at sea. The sufferer and a feminine passenger who was additionally within the elevator reportedly requested a gaggle of younger folks to cease leaping within the elevator. 

Stories say that they’d expressed concern that the motion was inflicting the elevator to sway.  If this motion is just too excessive it may trigger an elevator to cease working quickly, one thing nobody desires to expertise on any elevator, by no means thoughts one at sea.

The group of youths allegedly replied to the request with verbal threats, shouting profanities on the couple. The scenario solely bought worse when the elevator reached the eighth deck, and the 2 cruise passengers tried to depart.

The report states that the group blocked their path, main the sufferer to push previous them.

“We bought to get out of right here,” the sufferer reportedly stated.

Broward Sheriff’s Workplace Deputy Demetrius Williams wrote within the report,

“As soon as he bought out, he stated he began getting struck by people within the face space, inflicting him to stagger backward. After staggering backward, he (redacted) fell to the ground and that’s when he began getting kicked.”

Williams acknowledged that the sufferer blacked out and later awoke in a pool of blood.

Arrest Aftermath

White and an unidentified co-defendant had been arrested by BSO deputies on Friday, April 18th, after the ship returned to Fort Lauderdale. Court docket data point out that White was launched the next day after posting a $5,000 bond.

A choose has issued an order for him to haven’t any contact with the sufferer. No info relating to the second suspect has been instantly launched.

Whereas Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on this particular incident simply but, the cruise line is thought to take passenger misconduct critically.  Incidents like this often end in lifetime bans from each the cruise line and its sister cruise strains.

Liberty of the Seas continued its scheduled itinerary after the incident, with nearly all of passengers unaffected. Michael White’s subsequent court docket look has not but been scheduled.

Elevator Classes

The common cruise passenger on a 7-day crusing spends anyplace from 15-Half-hour in an elevator over the course of a crusing.  Whereas most of those vertical journeys vary from entertaining to barely annoying, I at all times encourage passengers to comply with fundamental cruise ship elevator etiquette.

You may learn the 16 rules for avoiding the madness of cruise ship elevators here, however after this horrible story, I’ll have so as to add a number of extra to the record.