Hagel-Smith Settlement Details

[Eliger]

Here is a link to a new settlement of the Smith lawsuit.

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CRUISE_DISAPPEARANCE?SITE=NJASB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

Maybe we have seen the last of this, but don't bet on it.:eek:

[caviargal]

Seems like she got what she wanted all along, money.

 

I think she is a disgrace.

[catalexander]

Seems like she got what she wanted all along, money.

 

I think she is a disgrace.

 

Seems to me, that she wanted a beautiful honeymoon cruise with her new husband and a wonderful life spent together.

 

 

Unless you've lost your brand-new husband off the side of a cruise ship, I think it's VERY unfair to judge someone who has.

[Sunnystone]

For everything they went through, I could not even put a price on it. Hopefully, this will put an end to a horrific experience and she can get on with what is left of her life.

[caviargal]

Seems to me, that she wanted a beautiful honeymoon cruise with her new husband and a wonderful life spent together.

 

 

Unless you've lost your brand-new husband off the side of a cruise ship, I think it's VERY unfair to judge someone who has.

 

Her and her new husband had spent more than one night apart on their honeymoon, she was passed in a hallway at 4am, she had no idea where her husband was, she was seen drunk and flirting with other men.

 

Having recently returned from my honeymoon, that is not how I would describe a "beautiful" honeymoon.

[MiataKath]

Hello,

 

It would appear that there are three sides to this whole story. The first is the bridegroom, now presumed deceased; the second is the bride who was found drunk out of her mind on the floor of the corridor on the other side of the ship; and finally there is the truth.

 

I believe that we may never know the whole and complete truth about what happened to this couple. But I can share with you that Don and I cruise a lot on Celebrity and we have NEVER gone off on our own anywhere on the ship without the other being right there with her/him. We purchased walkie-talkies for our most recent cruise, (Galaxy, Panama Canal), and promptly returned them to Radio Shack upon our return from the cruise.

 

One evening, we were enjoying before- dinner cocktails with our tablemates, and I needed to return to our stateroom. We excused ourselves, and my husband walked me back to our stateroom. Later that same evening, one of the ladies from our table also needed to return to their stateroom; her husband accompanied her. Interesting....he took our lead. We talked about it later at dinner. The other couple said that they have always gone back to their rooms unaccompanied. However, not anymore......

 

People need to realize that you are in a floating hotel with all of the good, the bad and the ugly that goes with a hotel and its operations. And you need to behave responsibly.

[newmexicoNita]

Her and her new husband had spent more than one night apart on their honeymoon, she was passed in a hallway at 4am, she had no idea where her husband was, she was seen drunk and flirting with other men.

 

Having recently returned from my honeymoon, that is not how I would describe a "beautiful" honeymoon.

No one could have said it better. The only possible fault I would put on the cruise line, if any, was they didn't seem to act fast enough, but other than that, as sad as it is, the couple was drinking, may or may not have been doing drugs, he was bragging about how much money he had with him and just being a jerk, plus they seem to have, less that the ideal relationship. How is any of this the cruise ships fault? NMnita

[caviargal]

[quote name=MiataKath But I can share with you that Don and I cruise a lot on Celebrity and we have NEVER gone off on our own anywhere on the ship without the other being right there with her/him. We purchased walkie-talkies for our most recent cruise' date=' (Galaxy, Panama Canal), and promptly returned them to Radio Shack upon our return from the cruise.

 

One evening, we were enjoying before- dinner cocktails with our tablemates, and I needed to return to our stateroom. We excused ourselves, and my husband walked me back to our stateroom. Later that same evening, one of the ladies from our table also needed to return to their stateroom; her husband accompanied her. Interesting....he took our lead. We talked about it later at dinner. The other couple said that they have always gone back to their rooms unaccompanied. However, not anymore......

 

People need to realize that you are in a floating hotel with all of the good, the bad and the ugly that goes with a hotel and its operations. And you need to behave responsibly.[/quote]

 

I have travelled solo, with girlfriends, with my SO (now DH) on cruises. I leave my cabin very early in the morning to go to the gym and have never felt it necessary to be escorted to my cabin. Yes, I have had some issues with male staff members (even on X) on occasion when travelling solo but I have been able to handle them all. I have travelled extensively for both business and pleasure on my own and have street smarts and good instincts.

 

I agree that a cruise ship is not a guaranteed safe zone and feel that one should use the same cautions as anywhere else.

 

Regarding Jennifer and George, I think most will agree they used very poor judgement, indulged in a booze that is a opium derivative and in general acted incredibly and irresponsibly. With that behavior comes risk and, sometimes, bad things happen. I do not feel that it was RCI's responsibility in any way and I am NOT an RCI cheerleader.

[wvufan]

The only suit that should have been filed is a class action suit on behalf of all the other passengers and crew whose cruise was adversely affected by their absurd behavior against the newlyweds, the estate, the parents that "raised" them, the TA that booked them, their suppliers, and anyone else who contributed to them being on board in their condition.

 

Other than that, I don't have much of an opinion one way or the other.:D

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[Drew B]

People quote a lot of reasons for why they like X -- the food, the traditional experience, the service, fewer children, etc. For me, probably my favorite recognizable difference is that Celebrity seems to attract so few messy drunks!!! If I had been on a ship with people acting like these two, I may have wanted to jump overboard just to get away from them!

 

(And for the record, I did not have any issues with my shipmates on Carnival, even on a three-day cruise. If there were a bunch of messy drunks aboard those cruises, they managed to stay out of my way.)

[Longboysfan]

Her and her new husband had spent more than one night apart on their honeymoon, she was passed in a hallway at 4am, she had no idea where her husband was, she was seen drunk and flirting with other men.

 

Having recently returned from my honeymoon, that is not how I would describe a "beautiful" honeymoon.

 

 

Bingo!!! She played the Royal Caribbean slot machine with the Husband and hit it big.

 

That is all she was there for.

[DrKoob]

Her and her new husband had spent more than one night apart on their honeymoon, she was passed in a hallway at 4am, she had no idea where her husband was, she was seen drunk and flirting with other men.

 

Having recently returned from my honeymoon, that is not how I would describe a "beautiful" honeymoon.

 

RCL never should have paid this woman. I have followed this since the beginning and I firmly believe that she (the wife) had something to do with the whole thing. Everything was just too hinky. I cannot believe that RCL paid her off. I have no sympathy for this woman after seeing her on Oprah and other TV shows and reading all the news accounts. RCL did absolutely nothing wrong.

[Pisces11]

There has to be more to this story that was not made public. There have been other disappearances off of cruise ships with no apparent settlements. Check out http://www.cruisejunkie.com For some reason Royal Caribbean chose to settle with these people. It was a very sad story.

[Bfson]

"indulged in a booze that is a opium derivative"

 

Huh?

[GaryfmCol]

Seems to me, that she wanted a beautiful honeymoon cruise with her new husband and a wonderful life spent together.

 

 

Unless you've lost your brand-new husband off the side of a cruise ship, I think it's VERY unfair to judge someone who has.

 

What is "VERY unfair" is that R.C.C.L. paid this settlement

for the irresponsible personal behaviour of the Smith-Hagel's.

To us, it is a legal blackmail! :mad:

 

That is the bottom line!

 

Disgusting! :mad:

[Eliger]

"indulged in a booze that is a opium derivative"

 

Huh?

 

I checked out the web and found this link: http://www.absinth.com/links/faq.html

 

It only points out that the effect is similar to what opium would cause, but not a derivative of opium.

 

Gerry

[caviargal]

"indulged in a booze that is a opium derivative"

 

Huh?

 

Absinthe, in its true form, is just that, based on the kind that is sold in Turkey. This is what I was told in Instanbul. It is illiegal in the US and the stuff sold here is not even in the same ball park.

 

I am not an expert by any means but there is not just one type.

 

Perhaps RCI settled because might have been involvement with a crew member and Jennifer perhaps? Inappropriate behavior? Maybe an employee helped them buy the absinthe?

 

When I saw Adam Goldstein and JH on Oprah, I thought he took the high road and that Jen showed herself for exactly what she is.

[BB5953]

IMO RCCL paid becasue they were to slow to react to the situation and they knew that that fact is all that would matter in court. If Jennifer was flirting and drinking does not matter.

 

They paid only becasue they knew they made a mistake which turned out to be a million dollart one. Just my opinion.

[Sky Sweet]

IMO RCCL paid becasue they were to slow to react to the situation and they knew that that fact is all that would matter in court. If Jennifer was flirting and drinking does not matter.

 

They paid only becasue they knew they made a mistake which turned out to be a million dollart one. Just my opinion.

 

I strongly disagree because an extensive investigation revealed that RCCL did everything they should have in a timely matter once they were aware of the problem.

 

Even so, I can think of a few possible reasons why they decided to settle. Juries are very unpredictable and frequently make decisions based on sympathy for a victim instead of carefully evaluating evidence that was presented during a trial. Therefore, even if a party knows they are right, they can't be absolutely positive they will win in court. A million dollars may seem like a lot of money but it would have probably cost RCCL a lot more than that in legal expenses, while disrupting their business, to prove that they were not responsible for this tragedy in a court of law.

[newmexicoNita]

People quote a lot of reasons for why they like X -- the food, the traditional experience, the service, fewer children, etc. For me, probably my favorite recognizable difference is that Celebrity seems to attract so few messy drunks!!! If I had been on a ship with people acting like these two, I may have wanted to jump overboard just to get away from them!

 

(And for the record, I did not have any issues with my shipmates on Carnival, even on a three-day cruise. If there were a bunch of messy drunks aboard those cruises, they managed to stay out of my way.)

Amazingly, we have cruised over 20 times and I don't think I have seen more than 1/2 dozen or so real drunks regardless of the line. Of course we don't stay up til 1 or 2am either and other than the piano bar and maybe the sports bar we don't hang out at bars. I hang out in the casino. LOL

[newmexicoNita]

I strongly disagree because an extensive investigation revealed that RCCL did everything they should have in a timely matter once they were aware of the problem.

 

Even so, I can think of a few possible reasons why they decided to settle. Juries are very unpredictable and frequently make decisions based on sympathy for a victim instead of carefully evaluating evidence that was presented during a trial. Therefore, even if a party knows they are right, they can't be absolutely positive they will win in court. A million dollars may seem like a lot of money but it would have probably cost RCCL a lot more than that in legal expenses, while disrupting their business, to prove that they were not responsible for this tragedy in a court of law.

You are right, it is much easier to settle out of court, cheaper and there is the possibility that they could lose plus the publicity. I read in the paper this morning, his parents did not accept a settlement. Back to what some feel is wrong with society today: "it is someone else's fault" NMnita

[katiebeth]

I was shocked to hear that RCI settled the Hagel-Smith case. Based on everything I have read, Jennifer and George are the one's responsible for the tragic event. Their behavior was beyond deplorable.

 

While the death is certainly tragic, RCI in no way contributed to the accident.

 

The Hagel-Smith's need to take responsibility for their own negligent and shameful behavior.

 

Jennifer should donate the money to a worthy charitable cause. (maybe to an organization that provides pre-marital counseling of some sort)

 

Nancy

[katiebeth]

I was shocked to hear that RCI settled the Hagel-Smith case. Based on everything I have read, Jennifer and George are the one's responsible for the tragic event. Their behavior was beyond deplorable.

 

While the death is certainly tragic, RCI in no way contributed to the accident.

 

The Hagel-Smith's need to take responsibility for their own negligent and shameful behavior.

 

Jennifer should donate the money to a worthy charitable cause. (maybe to an organization that provides pre-marital counseling of some sort)

 

Nancy

[hammybee]

Hello,

 

 

But I can share with you that Don and I cruise a lot on Celebrity and we have NEVER gone off on our own anywhere on the ship without the other being right there with her/him. We purchased walkie-talkies for our most recent cruise, (Galaxy, Panama Canal), and promptly returned them to Radio Shack upon our return from the cruise.

 

One evening, we were enjoying before- dinner cocktails with our tablemates, and I needed to return to our stateroom. We excused ourselves, and my husband walked me back to our stateroom. Later that same evening, one of the ladies from our table also needed to return to their stateroom; her husband accompanied her. Interesting....he took our lead. We talked about it later at dinner. The other couple said that they have always gone back to their rooms unaccompanied. However, not anymore......

 

People need to realize that you are in a floating hotel with all of the good, the bad and the ugly that goes with a hotel and its operations. And you need to behave responsibly.

 

Can you help me out here? What am I missing? Am I understanding that you feel so uncomfortable on a cruise ship that you feel it necessary to escort each other back to the cabin during the early evening hours? While it is charming, just what is it that you fear might happen? I am thinking of the hoards of people that cruise solo each year. Are they putting themselves at unnecessary risk? I am not being snarky here. I am curious what it is that you fear and maybe it is something we should all be concerned about. Please tell.

[hammybee]

Hello,

 

 

But I can share with you that Don and I cruise a lot on Celebrity and we have NEVER gone off on our own anywhere on the ship without the other being right there with her/him. We purchased walkie-talkies for our most recent cruise, (Galaxy, Panama Canal), and promptly returned them to Radio Shack upon our return from the cruise.

 

One evening, we were enjoying before- dinner cocktails with our tablemates, and I needed to return to our stateroom. We excused ourselves, and my husband walked me back to our stateroom. Later that same evening, one of the ladies from our table also needed to return to their stateroom; her husband accompanied her. Interesting....he took our lead. We talked about it later at dinner. The other couple said that they have always gone back to their rooms unaccompanied. However, not anymore......

 

People need to realize that you are in a floating hotel with all of the good, the bad and the ugly that goes with a hotel and its operations. And you need to behave responsibly.

 

Can you help me out here? What am I missing? Am I understanding that you feel so uncomfortable on a cruise ship that you feel it necessary to escort each other back to the cabin during the early evening hours? While it is charming, just what is it that you fear might happen? I am thinking of the hoards of people that cruise solo each year. Are they putting themselves at unnecessary risk? I am not being snarky here. I am curious what it is that you fear and maybe it is something we should all be concerned about. Please tell.