Mom overserved alcohol before fatal plunge off Taylor Swift cruise: lawsuit

A New York mother who plunged to her death from a Taylor Swift-themed cruise in the Bahamas last year was allegedly overserved before she “drunkenly” fell overboard, according to a new lawsuit filed by her family.

Dulcie White, a 66-year-old from Westmoreland, fell from the deck of the Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas on Oct. 22, 2024, more than 17 miles off the coast of Nassau. Her body remains lost at sea more than a year later.

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While Bahamian authorities claimed at the time that White jumped from the 14th floor of the cruise ship, her family — including her daughter, who was with her on the boat — says otherwise.

According to a wrongful death suit filed in Florida’s Miami-Dade County, where the cruise line is based, White was served “at least seven alcoholic beverages” over the course of about six hours. It accuses the crew of “continually” plying her with drinks despite having slurred speech, glassy eyes and difficulty standing up.

White’s daughter, Megan Klewin, told CBS Miami that her mother had purchased the additional “unlimited alcoholic beverages” package and “did overdo it,” perhaps trying to “get her money’s worth.”

But the lawsuit claims that crew members should have known better than to keep serving someone so “visibly intoxicated.”

“She was completely intoxicated in a way I haven’t seen before,” Klewin told the outlet. “It saddens me that that’s my last memory of her.”

At one point in the night, another passenger noticed White’s behavior and helped her back to her cabin, the suit states. That’s when Klewin saw her mom go out onto the balcony.

“I assumed that what she was doing was going to check her suitcase,” Klewin said, noting they kept their luggage on the balcony to create more space in the small room. “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 White fell into the water, the boat never turned around nor deployed adequate rescue services to search for her, the suit claims.

However, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told TMZ at the time that its “crew immediately launched a search-and-rescue effort,” alongside the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

The search was called off the following afternoon, less than 24 hours after White went overboard.

Her daughter and widow are now suing Royal Caribbean for one count each of over-service of alcohol, negligent search-and rescue operation and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

“I feel the overconsumption of alcohol and the over-service of alcohol was the cause of this,” Klewin said. “These crew members are incentivized to continue to serve them because that’s how they make their tips.”

Spencer Aronfeld, the family’s attorney, says he hopes the case will radically change how cruise lines offer alcohol packages in the future.

“Royal Caribbean didn’t just sell drinks — it sold danger,” Aronfeld said in a statement. “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.”