A former passenger aboard Celebrity Reflection has filed a lawsuit against Celebrity Cruises after tripping over a speaker left on a dance floor during her January 2025 sailing, according to a report by Cruise Hive. The case illustrates a recurring issue in cruise ship litigation — the gap between the well-advertised safety protocols cruise lines promote and the conditions that passengers actually encounter onboard.
What Happened
On January 14, 2025, Jeannette Beres, a Florida resident, was dancing in the grand foyer on Deck 3 of the Celebrity Reflection when she tripped and fell over a speaker she alleges was left in the center of the dance floor by Celebrity crew members. The grand foyer is a regularly used entertainment venue aboard the vessel, hosting evening dance events, live performances, and themed parties. Beres sustained a fractured foot, along with additional injuries to her body and extremities. She filed suit against Celebrity Cruises on March 26, 2026, seeking compensation for pain and suffering and related financial losses.
The Negligence Claims
Beres is raising multiple counts of negligence against Celebrity Cruises, including negligent maintenance of the dance floor, negligent failure to inspect for hazards, and negligent failure to warn passengers of the obstruction. Her legal team argues that the cruise line failed to maintain the dance floor in a reasonably safe condition and did not conduct adequate inspections that would have identified the speaker as a trip hazard. The complaint further alleges that no signage, floor markings, or verbal warnings were provided to alert passengers to the speaker’s presence.
What Maritime Law Requires
Under maritime law, cruise lines owe passengers a duty of reasonable care under the circumstances. Applied to a dance floor setting, this duty encompasses maintaining clear and unobstructed walking surfaces, ensuring that equipment placed in passenger areas does not create foreseeable hazards, and providing adequate warnings when conditions present a risk of injury. When crew members place or leave equipment in spaces actively used by guests — and fail to take steps to identify or address the resulting danger — the cruise line may be held responsible for injuries that follow.
Celebrity Cruises has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. The cruise line adheres to safety standards set out by the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) framework, which includes guidance on reducing trip and slip hazards. Whether those standards were met in this instance will be a central question as the litigation proceeds. No surveillance footage or photographs of the incident have been publicly released.
It is also worth noting that cruise lines sometimes assert an assumption of risk defense in cases involving recreational activities, arguing that passengers voluntarily accepted the inherent risks of dancing on a moving vessel. Whether that argument applies in a case where the alleged hazard was created by crew members — rather than arising from the nature of the activity itself — is a factual and legal question an experienced maritime attorney would need to evaluate.
A Pattern Worth Noting
This case is not an isolated incident. Slip, trip, and fall claims are among the most frequently filed categories of cruise ship litigation. In recent months alone, Cruise Hive has reported on fall-related lawsuits filed against Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises, in addition to this action against Celebrity. The volume of these cases reflects the reality that passenger safety conditions onboard do not always match the standards cruise lines publicly promote.
Evidence in these cases can disappear quickly. Surveillance footage may be overwritten, crew schedules change between voyages, and the physical conditions of a space can shift from sailing to sailing. Passengers who believe they were injured due to a cruise line’s negligence should act promptly to preserve their legal options.
Read the full report at Cruise Hive: Celebrity Cruises Guest Sues After Tripping Over Misplaced Speaker
Contact Waks & Barnett, P.A.
The attorneys at Waks & Barnett, P.A. have represented injured cruise ship passengers and crew members for more than 35 years. Based in Miami, we handle maritime injury claims exclusively in the courts where these cases are litigated — including claims involving Celebrity Cruises and its parent company, Royal Caribbean Group. We represent passengers and crew members only — never cruise lines.
If you or a loved one was injured in a slip, trip, or fall aboard a cruise ship, the deadlines to act are short. Most cruise ticket contracts require formal written notice within six months and a lawsuit filed within one year of the incident.
For more information from our attorneys, please call us today. There is no obligation with the call — and the call with our attorneys is free.
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The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique and should be evaluated by an experienced cruise ship accident or maritime injury attorney.