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Published on: August 15, 2025

Cruise Passenger Falls Off Pier on Way to Ship — What Had Him So Distracted?

A cruise ship passenger filming the walk to their cruise ship was so distracted by his phone screen that he walked straight off the pier, falling into the water below, according to various news outlets.

The incident happened Thursday at Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay, a private island in the Bahamas. Rescue teams sprang into action and tossed the passenger a life preserver before rescuing the man and bringing him back to shore via jet ski, officials said.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported. For many cruise passengers injured by slippery decks, crew negligence, or other cruise ship accidents, the outcome is far less fortunate. Leesfield & Partners — a personal injury law firm with offices in Key West, Orlando, and Miami, home to the world’s largest passenger port — knows this truth better than most. With countless recoveries obtained on behalf of injured passengers and grieving families, our skilled trial attorneys are keenly aware of how quickly a vacation can turn tragic, leaving victims with life-altering injuries.

Published on: August 8, 2025

Iconic Miami Beach Landmark to Open Water Park. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

The Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, which has largely been credited with altering the landscape of luxury hospitality in the area and was once the playground for elites including Elvis Presley, Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, has recently announced plans to build a water park on the iconic property.

The home of LIV, one of the top nightclubs in the country that has been the stage for some of the most-famous performers in the industry, is seemingly using the planned construction of a water park to beckon to new clientele: families with children. The park will include 11 slides to the hotel’s pool area, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

In a statement to the newspaper, hotel officials said the move will transform the property into ” … a destination for all-ages, with all-new pools and water features, family attractions and slides, food and beverage offerings, and elevated poolside entertainment.”

Published on: August 5, 2025

Cruise Ship Left Drifting Off Italian Coast with no Power. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Electrical failure resulting in a power outage caused thousands of passengers aboard a Celebrity Cruise Line ship without power and drifting off the Italian coast for several hours over the weekend, officials say.

The Royal Caribbean Group, which is the cruise line’s parent company, said that the 2,170-passenger ship was without power for at least three hours while it was repaired. The outage was the result of a technical issue, but the company did not elaborate further on what caused the issue. The outage cut off things like lighting, air conditioning, kitchen facilities and the ship’s toilets.

While the power outage affecting some of the ship’s essential functions is eerily similar to the 2013 incident aboard the Carnival Triumph — which caught the attention of the public online when it was revisited in a viral Netflix documentary — these passengers were fortunate to avoid a prolonged ordeal. In that incident, thousands of passengers and crew were stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for almost a week after a fire cut power to the ship. Over time, the toilets began overflowing, causing sewage to leak into the hall and over the floors of the ship. With no air conditioning, no way to cook meals and the foul stench filling the ship, conditions quickly worsened for those on the ship.

Published on: July 30, 2025

FBI Investigating Death on Cruise Ship. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

The FBI is investigating a death that occurred aboard the Carnival Dream, but little details have been released.

The incident happened on Wednesday, July 23, aboard the Carnival Dream near Belize City during a six-day western Caribbean voyage. Passengers told KHOU, a local news outlet in Houston, that they woke up to sounds of sirens around 3 or 4 a.m. Another passenger told reporters that she had heard an announcement requesting medical aid on the Serenity Deck.

The online rumors ranged from stories of a man who had been attacked to an incident at the onboard casino, thus prompting Carnival officials to release a statement to KHOU.

Published on: July 28, 2025

Cruise Passengers Stuck in Turkey After Ship Loses Power. What Happened?

By Leesfield & Partners

An electrical fire caused a power outage on the Celebrity Infinity Monday, causing a delay and forcing the ship to extend its stay in Kusadasi, Turkey.

The fire was quickly extinguished and no injuries have been reported, according to Cruise News Today, an online cruise vlog. The ship remained without power and had no updated for several hours, according to one passenger. The ship canceled the remaining port stops and will remain in Turkey for repairs.

As a result, passengers were given a 50% refund and credit toward a future cruise with the company.

Published on: July 28, 2025

Body of Missing Norwegian Cruise Ship Passenger Found on Trail, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

Authorities have recovered the body of a missing cruise ship passenger after she went missing on a hike last week in Juneau, according to media reporting.

The body of Marites Buenafe, 62, of Kentucky, was found Thursday by an Alaska Army national Guard helicopter crew below the ridge line of the Gold Ridge Trail. Buenafe, a doctor with Uk Healthcare, a series of hospitals and clinics with the University of Kentucky, was reported missing to the Juneau Police Department on July 1 by family members. Her family told authorities that she had gone for a hike that morning and planned to take a tram part of the way up a mountain before walking to Gastineau Peak and Gold Ridge.

She did not return to the cruise ship that was docked in Juneau by its departure time.

Published on: July 10, 2025

Body of Missing Norwegian Cruise Ship Passenger Found on Trail, officials say

By Leesfield & Partners

Authorities have recovered the body of a missing cruise passenger after she went missing on a hike last week in Juneau, according to media reporting.

The body of Marites Buenafe, 62, of Kentucky, was found Thursday by an Alaska Army National Guard helicopter crew below the ridge line of the Gold Ridge Trail. Buenafe, a doctor with UK Healthcare, a series of hospitals and clinics with the University of Kentucky, was reported missing to the Juneau Police Department on July 1 by family members. Her family told authorities that she had gone for a hike that morning and planned to take a tram part of the way up a mountain before walking to Gastineau Peak and Gold Ridge.

She did not return to the cruise ship that was docked in Juneau by its departure time.

Published on: July 7, 2025

Father, Child Rescued After Going Overboard on Disney Cruise from Florida, officials say.

By Leesfield & Partners

A father went overboard after his daughter fell from the Disney Dream Cruise as it sailed back to Florida from the Bahamas Sunday, according to reporting from various media outlets.

The four-day cruise was sailing back to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale when the child went overboard and her father followed after her. The child allegedly fell from the ship’s “deck 4,” according to media, which is about 20 feet above the waterline. That area has a walkable promenade with a railing and plastic covering meant to block anyone from climbing over.

The man and his child treaded water for about 20 minutes before they were rescued by crew, according to media.

Published on: July 1, 2025

Bus Malfunctions, heat and abandoned passengers. Find out what ‘went wrong’ on this cruise ship excursion.

By Leesfield & Partners

At least two passengers were left behind after an excursion “went wrong,” involving extreme heat and bus malfunctions, according to reporting from Cruise News Today.

A Norwegian Cruise Line excursion began to “fall apart” after mechanical issues caused a bus delay, said Cruise News’ Doug Parker. The two guests were left behind after a scheduled stop in Germany was cut sort during the excursion. The pair was helped by another cruise ship and was later able to re-board.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported in this incident, however, Leesfield & Partners attorneys knows that accidents and injuries can happen at any time.

Published on: June 27, 2025

Netflix’s New Documentary Releases Details of Horror ‘Poop Cruise’ Incident from 2013. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

The horrors of a February 2013 Carnival Cruise are being revisited in a new Netflix documentary that dropped this week, and the story is nothing short of a total shipshow.

What was meant to be a four-day roundtrip from Galveston, Texas, to Cozumel, Mexico, turned into at least 4,000 passengers and crew being stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for almost a week after a fire damaged cables powering the Carnival Triumph. The toilets began overflowing and there was sewage dripping down the walls, witnesses can be seen explaining in the documentary, which was released Tuesday.

‘It Got Bad Fast’