A family is taking legal action against Royal Caribbean after a 66-year-old woman fell off a ship during a Taylor Swift-themed cruise in the Bahamas last year. Dulcie White vanished last year, while she was on the Allure of the Seas for a five-day vacation. Even though search teams looked for her right away, no one has found her body.
The legal case was started in a Florida court. Her family says the people working on the ship are to blame for what happened. They claim the staff kept giving Dulcie alcohol even when she was very drunk. The papers filed in court say she was swaying around, her words were hard to understand, and her eyes looked glassy.
According to People, Dulcie had at least seven drinks in around six hours. Another person on the cruise saw how drunk she was at about 7:30 in the evening and took her back to her room. But later that night, she fell overboard while her daughter was there to see it happen.
The drink deal on the cruise is causing problems
Dulcie had bought Royal Caribbean’s “CHEERS!” drink deal, which costs $69.95 for each day. People who buy it can get up to 15 drinks with alcohol in a 24-hour period. Her daughter, Megan Klewin, said her mom probably drank too much because she wanted to make the package worth the money.
“She was more drunk than I had ever seen her before,” Klewin said. “It makes me sad that this is the last time I got to see her.”
The legal papers say the workers kept serving Dulcie even though anyone could see she was drunk. “These crew members are incentivized to continue to serve them because that’s how they make their tips,” Klewin said.
The family thinks that giving her too much alcohol is what led to the tragedy, which brings up concerns about Taylor Swift merchandise and fan experiences on special cruises like this one.
The family is also upset about how the rescue was handled. The case says the ship never did a special turn that boats are supposed to do when someone falls off. The crew also never told anyone to get a rescue boat in the water.
The U.S. Coast Guard said that by Wednesday afternoon, the search was called off and they were not helping anymore. This is not the only time cruise ships have been questioned about keeping passengers safe.
Dulcie’s husband, Terry White, and her daughter are bringing the case to court with lawyers from Aronfeld Trial Lawyers. They are making three main complaints about giving too much alcohol, not doing a good rescue, and causing emotional pain. “It will haunt us for the rest of our lives,” Klewin said. “I feel the overconsumption of alcohol and the over service of alcohol was the cause of this.”
Their lawyer, Spencer Aronfeld, said he thinks Royal Caribbean cares more about making money than keeping people safe with these drink packages. The family wants their case to make the cruise business change and stop offering these unlimited drink deals.
Published: Oct 31, 2025 08:00 pm