Another Missing Person Aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Freedom of the Seas (Brent Smith Missing)
A 24 year old man was reported missing aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, on Monday. The cruise ship was sailing from Miami to San Juan, PR before it reversed direction to look for the missing passenger.
A Royal Caribbean cruise ship turned around Monday to help authorities search for a passenger who was reported missing.
Royal Caribbean says the 24-year-old unidentified man was last seen on a balcony in his room aboard the Freedom of the Seas early Monday morning.
He was reported missing several hours later.
The 24-year-old unidentified man was last seen on a balcony in his room aboard the Freedom of the Seas about 1:45 a.m. Monday, according to the Royal Caribbean statement. He was reported missing at about 8:30 a.m.
The man may have been intoxicated, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr. Is there a reason why that cruise ships cannot be held to the same standards as local bars? Why is it that passengers are allowed to get so intoxicated on cruise ships and we consistently hear stories of people going overboard. At some point some responsibility does fall on the cruise line.
UPDATE I: FBI probing missing cruise ship passenger
Brent Smith, 24, was last seen around 1:45 a.m. Monday on his stateroom balcony aboard the Freedom of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International. Relatives reported him missing around 8:30 a.m., according to a cruise ship statement.
The ship turned around at that point to search for Smith, who was traveling with his brother, Matthew Smith, and his brother’s girlfriend, said FBI spokesman Harry Rodriguez. Coast Guard crews launched a search as well. (MSNBC)
Brent Smith
UPDATE II: Coast Guard Suspends Search for Missing N.C. Man
The U.S. Coast Guard said it has suspended its search for a North Carolina man who went missing from a cruise ship.
Brent Smith, 24, was last seen at around 1:45 a.m. Monday on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line vessel Freedom of the Seas. He was on the cruise with members of his family.
Coast Guard officials said a pair of sandals belonging to Smith were found on the deck of the cruise ship, but there was no sign of him.
UPDATE III: Service Set for Man Missing From Cruise Ship
There is no body and no real answers, but a Wayne County family will hold a memorial service Tuesday for a man who is missing from a cruise ship and is feared dead.
In a phone interview Monday, the FBI, which doesn’t investigate missing persons cases, said its agents were still poring over evidence just to make sure there had been no foul play.
“The FBI evidence response team processed the cabin that was secured once the victim was discovered missing aboard the ship,” Agent Henry Rodriguez said. The FBI also said agents had looked at copies of videotape taken from security cameras aboard the ship
So because of one drunken, irresponsible person, thousands of people’s vacations plans have changed. My son is on that ship with a grandparent for a graduation gift. It would be impossible for the cruise line to monitor people’s drunkeness. How about a little accountability placed on the passengers? It’s getting ridiculous with a drunk overboard every month. I guess it’s the culture we live in – no responsibility, no accountability, let’s blame somebody else for our ignorance.
_____________
M&E: Maybe you would to re-read the post and actually read other articles on this site. You may want to read this site every so often. If you were you would know that we believe in personal responsibility.
You don’t think the cruise ship should be responsible? Oh really? I guess bars and bartenders should not be responsible for the patrons they serve either? I guess police officers should just let public intoxication occur.
That is the point we are making. This happens all too often on cruise ships and the majority of the time it occurs because they are served by the ship’s bar. Maybe the bartender could cut them off … what say you?
R
Comment by Laurie Zahar | June 19, 2007
Cruise lines should not be legally responsible for the intoxication of its adult passengers for the same reasons that relatives, friends, and bystanders are not responsible. It would be impossible to develop coherent legal standards that could be understood by the myriad of cruise ship service personal who would called upon to enforce them. Many people who have consumed enough alcohol to be a danger to themselves are pefectly ambulatory and do not otherwise show symptoms that clearly announce their condition. Further, many cruise ship passengers bring aboard their own supply of contraband alcohol which the cruise line has no good way to control.
With the foregoing in mind, even with the investment of great resources, any systems cruise lines could institute to identify and regulate passengers who have consumed too much alcohol would be imperfect. All purveyors of alcohol aboard a cruise ship could administer breath tests before dispensing beverages to passengers. And room stewards could be trained to search through guests’ possesions to find and confiscate contraband alcohol. Cruise ships could be fitted with glass walls that make it impossible for passengers to go overboard even with great effort. Cruise lines could screen the public record of all potential passengers and refuse to provide passage for any that had a DUI or other drug/alcohol-related infraction. Getting even more accurate, and extreme, video cameras in all staterooms could be monitored by ship security personnel to detect passengers who might be behaving in a self-destructive manner.
Of course, the cost of any of these procedures would range from significant to enormous. Moreover, if the cruise line becomes legally responsible for injuries resulting from overintoxication, a flood of very-expensive-to-defend civil lawsuits will follow, brought by anyone who felt that the cruise line did not adequately regluate his or her drinking.
So, the question is, do I want to pay a much higher price for my cruise because a very small number of irresponsible passengers get overly intoxicated and jump overboard? The answer is an emphatic no!
____________
M&E: Ah Dave … you do not think that a bar tender and the establishment are held liable if someone is over served and kills themselves or another? You may want to look that law up.
Comment by David Loomis | June 19, 2007
ANOTHER RCI missing pax ??? If ANY cruiseline has a bad reputation the last couple of years for overboards, Royal Caribbean is it. I cruise frequently and, honestly, I’d stay away from RCI. It’s just too creepy the number of paxs that have disappeared off that line.
Comment by Chica | June 19, 2007
I just can’t believe how many people go overboard. They have to jump or do something stupid as the balconey railings are quite high.
Comment by mary | June 19, 2007
I think they should have a device that lets the crew know if any thing or any body goes over board,this way they would have a heads up right away not 6 hours later. People make bad choices if they feel the need to drink too much no one will stop them.
Comment by Sharon Hazelet | June 20, 2007
I’ve been on many cruises. Royal Caribbean being my favorite. These idiots have to be jumping. There is no way you can accidently fall overboard.
And no I do not want my cabin steward going through my things.
__________
M&E: Would it be that far of a strecth for people to be searched like before going on an air plane.
There is obviously something that can be done, hell anything at this point. Our point is something must be altered to stop what is a trend. People do become overly intoxicated; however, do not for one second think that there is not rampid crime on cruises. Just because it may never have happened to you does not mean it does not occur.
Maybe I guess they need to move the rails in 5 ft around the ship. There’s the answer.
R
Comment by WTF | June 20, 2007
I am sick of everyone posting words like “idiot”…no one even knows what happened. This is someone’s son, brother & friend. Only an “idiot” would resort to name calling when they don’t even know what they are talking about.
Comment by Kim | June 20, 2007
I just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise last week. It was one of the nicest vacations I’ve been on in years. The cruise staff were great and very attentive.
We are so easy to blame others, anyone, for the bad choices we make. This isn’t the cruise lines fault, it’s not the family and friends of the passenger’s fault. It’s a horrible accident. No one should be to blame. No one needs to be sued.
For the family and friends of the person, our thoughts are with you during this tragedy.
For future cruisers, drink responsibly, if you see that the person you are traveling with has had a little to much to drink. Tuck them into bed and let them sleep it off. Try some intervention instead of just blaming innocent people after the fact.
And it’s not just a cruise ship problem. People die everyday due to drunk drivers. They just aren’t jumping off a balcony by themselves. They are taking other innocent people with them.
Very sad.
________________
M&E: Yes it is individuals fault sometimes. However, do not ever think that cruise ships are deemed safe just because nothing has ever happened to you. Thats pretty narrow thinking. Cruise lines should do better in how the protect passengers.
R
Comment by DPJ | June 21, 2007
I am going on the royal empress of the seas in 2 months please don’t scare me more then i am already.
Comment by Ana | June 21, 2007
I just returned from this cruise ship with this horrible incident, and my friends and family discussed with many crew members about the tragedy and they told us that in order to even work on a cruise ship they have to pass a standard test with the drinks that they do not cross the limit. Obviously the people working on there know a limit and won’t give out anymore alcohol, I had seen him the night he disappeared in the disco area and he was extremely intoxicated, now I never interacted with him so I don’t know if he was the type to just throw himself overboard. But what I do know is that at this point the cruises are not responsible for certain people’s actions, & how the hell he got over the railing I have no idea because they aren’t low. This was a selfish act and lots of people were disturbed by this but in my personal opinion this weird obsession with making larger and larger ships has been bazaare and it seems as though everytime I go on one they tend to get more and more unorganized and things that happen like this happen more often, it’s nearly impossible to control and watch over 3,000 people in the middle of the ocean.
Comment by Bri | June 25, 2007
I was on the cruise where Smith disappeared last week. My sympathies to the family. This is a tragedy, however, I do not understand why the cruise ships do not have an emergency team to handle this with a small rescue vessel instead of turning the whole ship around which takes a serious amount of time, major money, and inconviences the other 4,200 passengers???? They also had other ships turn around as well. He was already missing 8 hours before they turned around and it took us hours to get back to where they thought he might be..They had no idea where to look and he could have been in Cuba by then; sorry to say.
And they also did not update us on the progress after the search was over.
Comment by Tracy | June 27, 2007
What would you do if it were your child?
Comment by Wendi | July 1, 2007
I was on the Freedom when this poor chap was reported missing. It’s heartbreaking to say the least. How aweful his family must feel. I said many prayers then and still do. Without a body recovery there will never be closure for them. I have read through the posts and have to say that 1) It is not the cruise line’e responsibility to not serve a passenger until they are intoxicated and cause themselves or someone else harm (read “Dram Shop Law”), and 2) it probably isn’t even the presumed decedent’s responsibility.
That ship had over 4,300 passengers and 1,400 crew. How can anyone believe that that RCI did not do everything they could for the welfare of the man overboard as well as the passengers? It is recognized nautical tradition to search for a man overboard; were I in the drink (no pun intended) I would certainly hope for rescue – if I were alive to yell, the hope would keep me treading water.
The man was on the 9th deck. He had been thrown out of the “Olive or Twist” bar because he was getting out of hand. Instead of going “home” he chose instead another bar 6 decks below. Should he have been stopped? This was his responsibility for sure.
Later that night, accounts have it, that “he was on his balcony” at 1:45am. Well, personally, I would have been passed out, and was, in bed at that hour. In speaking with the bartender who threw him out of the bar that night, I gathered a few things; we don’t know his state of mind, was he depressed?, suicidal?, did he just break up with his best girl? We don’t know how drunk he really was or wasn’t, whether the booze interacted in some unanticipated way with a new medication he might have been taking, and we don’t know if his fall was accidental (likely), or intentional (doubtful).
He was probably so wrecked that he merely attempted to sit up on the railing of his balcony and yelled, “Oh shit!!!”, while he fell off the 9th deck. You have to go out of your way to get over the balcony folks! If it was a suicide it only proves that suicide leaves its victims behind. I believe it was an accident and a tragic one at that. 9 decks up is at least 100 feet down to the water so I doubt he knew what happened. If he wasn’t already unconscious the fall helped him.
My wife and I had a lovely time despite the “inconvenience” and frankly I was not put out by RCI’s attempt to recover him alive. I thought it was the right thing to do. RCI made more than a fair effort to appease the passengers that were put out. I was offended that some people actually wanted another ‘free’ cruise because of it. Can you imagine!
The captain kept us informed and in my view made every effort to ensure that the passengers knew what was going on. There was no announcement that he’d been found, like the history of sailing, he is presumed dead. No news was not good news. I pray God helps and watches over his family in this trying time. May his memory be eternal.
___________
M&E: If someone was that drunk, then the crusie ship bar should have recognized it and shut him off. Happens all the time in every bar in the US.
R
Comment by Kevin | July 5, 2007
brent did not get thrown out of Olive or Twist, and he did not go to a bar after that, he went to eat pizza.
Comment by sally | July 11, 2007
I waas also on the same cruise and my heart goes out to the Family, but I do think that royal caribbean could of compensated us better that $200 per person we missed a port so to me 3 ports 1/3 back which is a drop in the bucket with all the drinks being served.
Comment by Robin | August 1, 2007
It’s terrible for the family of this missing man. God made us free-will beings so therefore we can make our own choices in life, including drinking too much. It’s not the bartender’s responsibility (on land or sea) to cut someone off. This guy was 24 years old, he was not mentally challenged nor did it appear that anyone held him down and forced him to drink the mind-altering liquid that he freely ingested. HE INGESTED IT ON HIS OWN FREE WILL!! His choice his responsibility.
RCCL attepts to cater to every passenger’s whim. If they had refused him anymore drinks he probably would have sued them for discrimination or some other foolish charge. RCCL would have been criminalized either way.
Take my advice, if you don’t want to fall off a cliff don’t step over the edge.
His brother and his girlfriend should be first in line for blame not Royal Caribbean or it’s employees.
ry
_________
M&E:
Randy I beg to differ with you. You stated … “It’s not the bartender’s responsibility”
I hate to inform you, but it is. It is also the law.
I understand your point about personal responsibility; however, Royal Caribbean and its employees have responsibilities as well.
If he was cut off, they would have had no legal recourse. It is the law to cut people off.
Try having a party in your home, over serving someone and having that person drive and kill someone. I guarantee you … you will get a visit from the police and be booked on vehicular manslaughter. Trust me .
R
Comment by Randy Young | September 19, 2007
I just got off of an RC Cruise for two weeks. Everyone Returned! I personally witnessed the bartenders giving out water instead of drinks and cutting off intoxicated guests. (I wasn’t one of them) There were several of them doing this throughout the cruise. I just can’t see falling overboard. Someone made a silly choice.
Comment by Rhonda | November 19, 2007
I just returned from a crusie on norwegian who neglected to tell be that this was a springbreakers cruise. there were over 500 passeangers who were college students. Lets just say the crew had no control what so ever! Imagine the money they were racking in at about $7 a glass! do you really think they cared if the kids were drunk? the more they drank the more they spent! I didnt realize that you could be 20 and drink if you had a parents written permission! There was no accountability from the crew and as of yet none from the corporate office either!
Comment by roddy,c | March 11, 2008
I feel the same way the close relations of those missing feel.Please accept my sympathy.
Comment by Roseline | July 25, 2008
I was on that ship when it happened. They had to turn around to look for the guy making us miss a island. They refunded everyone $200 but then when we finally got to San Juan (which was a day late) they would not let us on our tour since or tickets had been for the day before even though Royal Caribbean had assured us that they were still good the night before.
They should just put cameras on the sides of the ship so they would know if someone jumped off the ship. They would then have the exact date and time it happened and could figure out the location so the coast guard could go and find the person.
Comment by Rick | August 5, 2008
this is a sad thing that keeps happening lately. we have been on two cruises and drank and had fun, but we know when enough is enough. everyone needs to be more responsible for themselves. our group constantly checked in with each other.
Comment by vicky | August 5, 2009
The “person” who many seem to presume so drunk that he committed suicide was my 2nd cousin. I knew Brent all of his life and I’m certain that he would have kept things in moderation. Please when making comments, let’s not forget that the missing persons have a family who still misses and loves them.
Comment by Molly | September 14, 2010