Cruise Guest Sues Celebrity Cruises After Tripping Over Misplaced Speaker
Key Aspects:
A former guest of Celebrity Reflection tripped on a speaker while dancing and is suing the cruise line.
She feels that the cruise line was negligent because crew members put the speaker in a dangerous location.
Celebrity Cruises adheres to strict safety standards, which includes guidance for preventing trip and fall hazards.
One former passenger of Celebrity Reflection felt a lot less like dancing after her sailing ended in an injury.
On January 14, 2025, a Florida resident named Jeannette Beres was enjoying the entertainment in the grand foyer (or atrium) on Deck 3 of the 125,366-gross ton vessel when she tripped over a speaker that was left on the dance floor.
The grand foyer is a popular spot for evening dancing, and the space frequently hosts performances from instrumentalists, jazz trios, and vocalists to set the mood. It’s also home to events like the popular ABBA dance party.
While attempting to get her groove on, Beres tripped and fell on a speaker that she claims was left in the center of the dance floor by Celebrity crew members, in the way of where guests were supposed to walk and dance.
The cruiser suffered a fractured foot in the incident, as well as additional injuries to her body and other extremities. She filed a lawsuit against Celebrity to seek compensation for pain, suffering, and related financial losses on March 26, 2026.
Celebrity Cruises Accused of Negligence
Beres’ is raising multiple counts of negligence against the cruise line, including negligent maintenance, negligent failure to inspect, and negligent failure to warn.
Her legal team argues that the cruise line failed to keep the dance floor in a reasonably safe condition and failed to conduct proper inspections that would have flagged what they feel is a hazardously placed speaker.
Additionally, Beres claims that the crew members did not provide signage, floor markings, or verbal warnings to make sure passengers were aware of the speaker.
Of course, there are always two sides to every story and Celebrity Cruises has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. If a public statement is made, Cruise Hive will issue an update.
While cruise companies can be liable for failing to maintain safe, dry, and unobstructed dance floors, it has to be proven that this was indeed the case. No security footage of the incident or pictures of the dance floor have been publicly released to help confirm the circumstances.
It’s also worth noting that Celebrity Cruises carefully follows safety standards outlined by Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which includes guidelines for slip and trip hazard reductions.
There may also be an assumption risk to consider, where Beres voluntarily assumed the inherent risks of dancing on a moving cruise ship in a potentially crowded environment.
Despite the legal battles, guests are still happily dancing onboard Celebrity Reflection as the 3,046-guest ship operates 3- to 4-night sailings to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Not the First Fall-Related Lawsuit
Beres is not alone in wanting someone to take responsibility after a cruise ship fall. This is actually a fairly common lawsuit that the cruise lines are forced to address.
For example, Royal Caribbean, which is a sister-brand to Celebrity Cruises, was slapped with three lawsuits from guests who fell during their sailings at the end of March.
Earlier this year, Cruise Hive also reported on a slip and fall lawsuit that was filed against Princess Cruises. In this case, the passenger slipped on ribbons in one of the dining rooms onboard Ruby Princess.
Ultimately, only time will tell if the cruise lines will be found liable in these accidents or if the allegations of negligence will be thrown out for good.
Cruise Guest Sues Celebrity Cruises After Tripping Over Misplaced Speaker