FL FL - Kevin McGrath, 26, missing from a cruise ship, Miami, 4 Sept 2023

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tarabull said:
From 2 weeks ago FWIW...

6 cruise passengers have gone overboard in 3 months. Here's why most ships still don't use detection tech for rescues.​

  • An average of 19 people go overboard on cruise ships every year, industry data has found.
  • Since 2010, cruise ships have been required to install technology to help prevent overboard deaths.
  • But the US Coast Guard isn't enforcing the requirements or inspecting ships for the technology.
Click to expand...
How many of these people had the unlimited drink package. I am surprised there aren't more overboards, deaths, and injuries to be honest.
 
IceIce9 said:
RSBM

The statement that mom was holding his ID and birth certificate set off my hinky meter when I first heard it. Like you said, the man is 26 years old, why was mom holding his ID?

Did mom also hold the ID for his twin brother and everyone else in the family? JMO
Click to expand...

Could be simple. Are there safes in the cabins? I don't remember, but even if there are, they are probably like hotel safes. Unreliable. Maybe mom bought an additional safe and put everyone's important documents there, and kept them in her cabin?
 
Charlot123 said:
Could be simple. Are there safes in the cabins? I don't remember, but even if there are, they are probably like hotel safes. Unreliable. Maybe mom bought an additional safe and put everyone's important documents there, and kept them in her cabin?
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On Carnival every stateroom has a safe. They are bolted in to a closet area and at the beginning of your cruise you use a personal card (like a credit or debit card) to reset it for your personal use. Very similar to a safe in a hotel room. We’ve always used them and never have any issue. We feel like they are pretty secure.
 
Charlot123 said:
Could be simple. Are there safes in the cabins? I don't remember, but even if there are, they are probably like hotel safes. Unreliable. Maybe mom bought an additional safe and put everyone's important documents there, and kept them in her cabin?
Click to expand...

My general thoughts are that none of the celebrants had ever been on a cruise ship and didn't really know the protocol. That protocol being that arrival back at the ship goes a lot smoother if each passenger has their own ID on their person to go through security instead of a whole gaggle of individuals crowding around the gangway causing slowdowns. Maybe something like that might work at Disney when a lot of kids are involved but not when the cruisers are adults. If you want to keep the ID for your young children that makes sense but one person holding on to upwards of 40 ID cards is ridiculous and just causes mayhem.
 

Drink Packages | Sodas, Beers, Spirits and More | Carnival Cruise Line

Our drink packages have you covered throughout your cruise vacation. Kick back and enjoy ice-cold refreshments with CHEERS! and Bottomless Bubbles.
www.carnival.com

ETA: I'm posting this for reference purposes only. We have no idea if Kevin or anyone in his travel group purchased an alcohol package that may or may not have led to his disappearance.
 
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BetteDavisEyes said:

Drink Packages | Sodas, Beers, Spirits and More | Carnival Cruise Line

Our drink packages have you covered throughout your cruise vacation. Kick back and enjoy ice-cold refreshments with CHEERS! and Bottomless Bubbles.
www.carnival.com
Click to expand...
The cruiseline makes it tempting to purchase the Cheers! package @ $59

DETAILS​

Enjoy the ease of paying one flat price for your spirited beverages over the entire length of your cruise. Now, that’s something to cheer about! Save 10% by purchasing before you sail.
Cut-off for pre-purchase is 11:59 PM the day before embarkation and 9:00pm EST through call center.

CHEERS! INCLUDES:
  • All spirits (including cocktails), as well as beer and wine by the glass with a $20.00 or lower menu price
  • Sodas, Zero-Proof frozen cocktails, energy drinks, specialty coffee, hot tea, 500ml bottled water and other non-alcoholic bottled beverages
  • Packaged water in the Dining Room and Specialty Restaurants
  • 25% discount off the menu price for any spirit or wine by the glass above $20.00
  • 25% discount off the menu price for wine and champagne by the bottle
  • 25% discount off beverage seminars and classes
CHEERS! EXCLUDES:
  • Beverages promoted and sold in souvenir glasses
  • Bottles of liquor
  • Beverages offered at gangway
  • Beverages offered through room service, mini bars and/or in-stateroom beverage programs
  • Sharing cocktails, floaters, pitchers, tubes and buckets
  • Beverages offered through enomatic wine machines
  • All other beverage-related programs including merchandise, cigars and cigarettes
  • Food items
Click to expand...
 
IceIce9 said:
RSBM

The statement that mom was holding his ID and birth certificate set off my hinky meter when I first heard it. Like you said, the man is 26 years old, why was mom holding his ID?

Did mom also hold the ID for his twin brother and everyone else in the family? JMO
Click to expand...
Do we actually know that his mom was holding the documents?

The quote in the article was “His SeaPass card was not scanned, because when you exit the ship, you have to scan your SeaPass card, and we had his documents, like his birth certificate and driver’s license, so there’s no way he could come off the ship," [his father] explained.

The documents could have been in the safe of the room that Kevin shared with his brother. So if Kevin never returned to the room after 3:30 the papers would have still been there for the family to find while searching for him. Or perhaps his brother emptied the safe when vacating the room, intending to hand over Kevin's papers to him at breakfast.
 
ch_13 said:
Do we actually know that his mom was holding the documents?

The quote in the article was “His SeaPass card was not scanned, because when you exit the ship, you have to scan your SeaPass card, and we had his documents, like his birth certificate and driver’s license, so there’s no way he could come off the ship," [his father] explained.

The documents could have been in the safe of the room that Kevin shared with his brother. So if Kevin never returned to the room after 3:30 the papers would have still been there for the family to find while searching for him. Or perhaps his brother emptied the safe when vacating the room, intending to hand over Kevin's papers to him at breakfast.
Click to expand...
This actually makes the most sense about why KM's parents had his travel documents. The brother and/or parents likely went to the stateroom to pack up Kevin's personal belongings, including his driver's license and travel documents. The stateroom needed to be vacated for thorough cleaning prior to the next sailing later in the day.
 
DeDee said:
The cruiseline makes it tempting to purchase the Cheers! package @ $59.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's convenient and, when considering the cost of individual drinks, it saves you a lot of money. That said, guests probably consume more alcohol than they should because they want to get their money's worth. The Princess' packages allow up to 15 alcoholic beverages per day. If I consumed that much alcohol in a single day, I'd be passed out in my stateroom and wouldn't even remember the cruise - LOL!
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
Yes, it's convenient and, when considering the cost of individual drinks, it saves you a lot of money. That said, guests probably consume more alcohol than they should because they want to get their money's worth. The Princess' packages allow up to 15 alcoholic beverages per day. If I consumed that much alcohol in a single day, I'd be passed out in my stateroom and wouldn't even remember the cruise - LOL!
Click to expand...
Yep! The Carnival package allows up to 15 drinks per day too. Plus unlimited sodas and coffee and non alcoholic beverages. We cruise with friends and they always get it because they like to have a few drinks and also consume a lot of sodas and it works out cheaper that way than paying for it all a la carte.
 
DeDee said:
The cruiseline makes it tempting to purchase the Cheers! package @ $59

DETAILS​

Enjoy the ease of paying one flat price for your spirited beverages over the entire length of your cruise. Now, that’s something to cheer about! Save 10% by purchasing before you sail.
Cut-off for pre-purchase is 11:59 PM the day before embarkation and 9:00pm EST through call center.
Click to expand...
That's per day and every party in a cabin except for minors have to buy the package.
 
A woman has blasted Carnival Cruise for not alerting other passengers to the disappearance of a man, instead sending them a survey asking how their holiday was.

In a video that has gained over 600,000 views on TikTok, Jenn Lyles claimed she was on the cruise ship with Kevin McGrath, 26, the man who went missing on 4 September on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship

“How about an email that says, ‘Hey, there’s a guy missing. Did you see him? He wasn’t seen past 2 a.m., he never showed up to meet his family for breakfast. This is his photo,’” Lyles said.

“Is this what happens when you go missing on a cruise ship? They’re not even going to alert the other passengers who might have seen something?” Ms Lyles continues in the video.
www.independent.co.uk

Woman blasts cruise company over missing passenger

Woman claims she found out on the news that a man went missing on the same cruise she was on
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
imstilla.grandma said:
A woman has blasted Carnival Cruise for not alerting other passengers to the disappearance of a man, instead sending them a survey asking how their holiday was.

In a video that has gained over 600,000 views on TikTok, Jenn Lyles claimed she was on the cruise ship with Kevin McGrath, 26, the man who went missing on 4 September on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship

“How about an email that says, ‘Hey, there’s a guy missing. Did you see him? He wasn’t seen past 2 a.m., he never showed up to meet his family for breakfast. This is his photo,’” Lyles said.

“Is this what happens when you go missing on a cruise ship? They’re not even going to alert the other passengers who might have seen something?” Ms Lyles continues in the video.
www.independent.co.uk

Woman blasts cruise company over missing passenger

Woman claims she found out on the news that a man went missing on the same cruise she was on
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
Click to expand...

I have mixed feelings about this. One thing is not like the other. This TT person is referring to a standard form that's sent to every passenger a few days after they disembark for a review of their experience. It's a standard of many industries including restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, and packaged vacations asking for feedback. If you were staying at a hotel where a guest never returned to the room the hotel management isn't going to involve all the other guests by putting a flyer under the door or calling every room about a missing guest. Just like missing people on land, between 80 and 90 percent are found or show up because there was some misunderstanding. And in this case, it doesn't help that the family can't or won't provide tighter timelines of when they last saw their family member. She's equating things that have nothing to do with each other.

Even on the ship, when the family notified the ship personnel there was a very small window of time that would have been available to advise guests. If you've ever been on a cruise ship that last morning before you disembark it's pretty hectic. There's people in the hallways dragging their own luggage out, some put their luggage out to be picked up by porters. Some people have one last breakfast. Some people wait till the bitter end before getting off. It's like getting off a plane some people are already organizing their carryon luggage and standing in the aisles the minute the plane stops moving where other people just sit until everyone's out. I don't think you can fault the ship at not advising people about KM during that small window of opportunity. All of the searching done by the Coast Guard was done after the passengers were off the ship. The ship itself would have been searched after the family advised the authorities he was missing which was when he didn't show up for breakfast on September 4th. How should they have advised the passengers in that time frame?
 
A Social media marketer SURPRISE, she's got her hits now. Sorry, I heard about it very quickly, I boarded a ship that day in Miami. It was posted immediately and calls made.

1st, if you fall off a ship, its because you a) chose to b) were doing something stupid c) someone pushed you. You can NOT just fall overboard.
2nd, You can get off a ship if you really want to without being seen. You'd have to have help.
<modsnip: Not victim friendly>
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY GOES A LONG WAY ON A SHIP just as it should on land. I hope he hooked up with someone at the club and either slipped thru the cracks and left with them, or didn't want to be with his family to leave the ship and found an alternative. I do believe he may have jumped. Brother needs to speak up and tighten the timeline.

JMO
 
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Kakidoll said:
A Social media marketer SURPRISE, she's got her hits now. Sorry, I heard about it very quickly, I boarded a ship that day in Miami. It was posted immediately and calls made.

1st, if you fall off a ship, its because you a) chose to b) were doing something stupid c) someone pushed you. You can NOT just fall overboard.
2nd, You can get off a ship if you really want to without being seen. You'd have to have help.
<modsnip: Not victim friendly>
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY GOES A LONG WAY ON A SHIP just as it should on land. I hope he hooked up with someone at the club and either slipped thru the cracks and left with them, or didn't want to be with his family to leave the ship and found an alternative. I do believe he may have jumped. Brother needs to speak up and tighten the timeline.

JMO
Click to expand...
Agreed. That survey is computer generated and everyone receives it. Furthermore, the case seems to have been handed off to the MDPD and the Coast Guard fairly quickly. If Carnival would have taken it upon themselves to email blast every passenger on the ship they could have somehow been accused of interfering in the investigation or (since the times he was last seen/heard seem to keep changing) they could have opened themselves up to all kinds of lawsuits for putting out misinformation. While a man’s life is certainly of the most importance, Carnival still has to protect themselves as a company. I’m not law enforcement so I certainly don’t know exactly how it would work but I would think that Carnival couldn’t even hand over passenger data to the PD without a warrant of some sort because then Carnival could be sued for releasing EVERYONES personal info. Since the case is being handled by MDPD, I would imagine that it would be MDPD’s responsibility to contact all the passengers onboard to ask for info.

Does that make sense?
 
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SleuthyQ said:
Agreed. That survey is computer generated and everyone receives it. Furthermore, the case seems to have been handed off to the MDPD and the Coast Guard fairly quickly. If Carnival would have taken it upon themselves to email blast every passenger on the ship they could have somehow been accused of interfering in the investigation or (since the times he was last seen/heard seem to keep changing) they could have opened themselves up to all kinds of lawsuits for putting out misinformation. While a man’s life is certainly of the most importance, Carnival still has to protect themselves as a company. I’m not law enforcement so I certainly don’t know exactly how it would work but I would think that Carnival couldn’t even hand over passenger data to the PD without a warrant of some sort because then Carnival could be sued for releasing EVERYONES personal info. Since the case is being handled by MDPD, I would imagine that it would be MDPD’s responsibility to contact all the passengers onboard to ask for info.

Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
Perfect.

I think it's safe to say that the majority of passengers on the Labor Day weekend cruise didn't know anything about the missing young man until they arrived at or enroute to their final destinations. JMO
 
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branmuffin said:
That's per day and every party in a cabin except for minors have to buy the package.
Click to expand...
Someone who has sailed on Carnival recently can confirm, but with Princess' drink packages, there is an 18% tax/gratuity added to the stated price. If Carnival has a similar tax/gratuity, it would make the actual cost of the drink package @$71 per person, so an additional @$213 added to the original cruise fare on a 3-day voyage.
 
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