Mom who fell overboard on Taylor Swift-themed cruise was ‘overserved’, lawsuit claims

A mother who plunged overboard during a Taylor Swift-themed cruise was allegedly overserved alcohol, according to a new lawsuit.

Dulcie White died after she fell off the ship from a balcony on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas cruise ship on October 22 last year while on a girl’s trip with her daughter Megan Klewin, the lawsuit reviewed by the Daily Mail stated.

To this day, the 66-year-old New Yorker’s body has not been found after she fell near the Bahamas in front of her horrified daughter.

The pair were on a four-day cruise that was dedicated to the pop star and run by Marvelous Mouse Travels, a travel agency that planned the voyage following Swift’s visit to Miami, Florida for her Eras Tour, according to Royal Caribbean Blog.

The Love Story singer is not affiliated with the cruise.

Klewin, who is suing the cruise line in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on Tuesday, said her mother purchased the unlimited drink package, which led to her intoxication prior to the fatal fall.

According to the legal filing, White was served ‘at least seven alcoholic beverages continually within a span of approximately six hours and eight minutes’.

She then started to exhibit symptoms of intoxication, including swaying, slurred speech, stammering, and glassy eyes. White also ‘had alcohol on her breath’ and ‘couldn’t keep her composure straight,’ the filing added.

White was brought back to her cabin around 7:30pm by another passenger and went out on the balcony later that night, Klewin said, per the lawsuit.

She thought her mother was grabbing clothes from suitcases they had placed on their balcony to save space in their room, but when she looked back she saw White seated on the balcony before falling off, Klewin told CBS News.

‘I assumed that’s what she was doing was going to check her suitcase,’ her daughter told the outlet.

‘I wasn’t looking and the next chance that I did look up, I saw her back. She was seated on the edge of the balcony like she had climbed up. She was seated and then fell over before I could get to her.’

After her mother fell into the water, Klewin immediately notified ship personnel, but the ship was never turned around to the ‘man overboard’ (MOB) location, the family claims.

Rescue boats were also not launched and crewmembers did not immediately report her missing, the lawsuit claims.

Although she was allegedly ‘visibly intoxicated,’ Royal Caribbean crewmembers continued to serve alcohol to the grandmother of four that night, per the lawsuit.

According to Klewin, that was the only time she had ever seen her mother so intoxicated.

‘Because of that she did overdo it, trying to maybe get her money’s worth,’ she recalled.

‘She was completely intoxicated in a way I haven’t seen before. It saddens me that that is my last memory of her.’

The lawsuit alleged that Klewin ‘was placed inside the zone of danger and at immediate risk of physical harm’ when she tried to save her mother.

Because of that she now suffers from fear, anxiety and ‘physical manifestations’, including sickness, insomnia, nightmares, and more, the suit said.

Klewin is not seeking a payout in this case, but rather that Royal Caribbean takes accountability for the accusations against the company.

‘It will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I feel the overconsumption of alcohol and the over service of alcohol was the cause of this,’ she said.

‘These crew members are incentivized to continue to serve them because that’s how they make their tips.’

Royal Caribbean, along with many other cruise lines, offer drink packages to passengers that allows them to practically drink all they want during their vacations.

But, according to Spencer Aronfeld, the attorney representing Klewin, instead of selling a drink package, Royal Caribbean ‘sold danger.’

‘Royal Caribbean didn’t just sell drinks—it sold danger,’ Aronfeld stated.

‘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.’

He would like to see not just Royal Caribbean, but other cruise liners, ‘discontinue these all-you-can-drink (alcohol) drink packages,’ Aronfeld told CBS News.

White is survived by Klewin, her two sons and her husband.

The lawsuit, which demands a jury trial, was filed in the US District Court Southern District of Florida Miami Division by White’s husband Terry, on behalf of her estate, and Kelwin, individually.

When contacted by the Daily Mail, Royal Caribbean said: ‘We don’t comment on pending litigation.’

Aronfield told the Daily Mail his firm has not heard from Royal Caribbean.

‘Once they are formally served they will have to respond. These are very diffuse cases- but we are optimistic we can obtain justice for the family,’ he added.

The Daily Mail approached Swift’s team for comment.