Key Aspects:
- Royal Caribbean is facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a woman who went overboard on Allure of the Seas in 2024.
- The lawsuit contends that the cruise ship enabled the woman to become severely intoxicated at three lounge venues before falling to her death.
- It also charges that crew members did not adequately search for the woman after learning that she had fallen from her balcony.
The family of a woman who fell overboard from her balcony aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas in 2024 has filed a wrongful death suit against the line in the US District Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.
The lawsuit centers on two elements: that servers continued to provide the woman, 66-year-old Dulcie White, with alcoholic beverages when she was already severely intoxicated, and that the cruise ship failed to adequately search the water for the guest.
Filed on behalf of White’s husband and daughter, the suit notes that the woman had purchased Royal Caribbean’s unlimited alcoholic beverage package to enjoy during the Caribbean cruise from PortMiami.
White had booked the 4-night Taylor Swift-theme cruise with her daughter, Megan Klewin, and departed Miami on October 21, 2024. The overboard incident occurred the next evening as the ship sailed near Nassau, Bahamas.
The lawsuit, filed by Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, a Miami-based firm, charges that servers at three venues — Sorrento’s Pizzeria, the Sand Bar, and Studio B, served White at least seven alcoholic beverages between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Klewin told local media that her mother was “completely intoxicated” and that another passenger had assisted her back to her balcony stateroom. Klewin said she saw her mother enter the cabin balcony but assumed she was retrieving something from a suitcase stored there.
Klewin’s last sighting of her mother was as she sat on the balcony railing, but then fell overboard.
“This isn’t an accident; it’s an industry pattern. We’re putting the cruise lines on notice: the days of profiting from over-service while passengers die at sea are over,” said Spencer Aronfeld, of Aronfeld Trial Lawyers.
Lawsuit Charges Inadequate Search Operation
The lawsuit, which was announced by the law firm on October 28, 2025, also charges that Royal Caribbean’s search for the woman was not adequate. However, Cruise Hive’s reporting of the incident at the time indicates that a search and rescue operation was immediately launched.
The “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar” alert was reported at about 9:40 p.m. on October 22, 2024, and searchlights were used in the area where the overboard happened.
Emergency watercraft was dispatched to the scene to search for White, and Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas, which was sailing nearby, changed course to join the search effort.
Allure of the Seas had contacted the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard, and those entities dispatched watercraft and aircraft and joined the search as well.
Fifteen hours later, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force called off the search. White’s body has never been found.
According to the law firm, White’s family wants a trial jury and is seeking all damages allowed under maritime and state laws.
Passengers and crew members going overboard are not common occurrences on cruise ships, but they do happen from time to time. There were two instances just within the last two weeks.
More From Cruise Hive
On October 21, 2025, a guest was reported overboard from Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Jewel as it sailed off the Azores during a transatlantic crossing to Miami. A 10-hour search yielded no results.
And on October 27, 2025, a crew member went overboard from Viking Cruises’ Viking Star as it sailed in the Aegean Sea. The ship, which was sailing between Crete and Sicily at the time, searched the area with the Italian Coast Guard before continuing on her itinerary.
