Father of 20-year-old Florida Cruise Passenger Who Jumped Off Royal Caribbean Ship Hopes His Son is Alive: Report Says

The father of a 20-year-old passenger who jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last Thursday in an alleged intoxicated, impulsive act believes his son is still alive over a week later.

Francel Parker, the father of missing Levion Parker, told The Daily Sun that he believes his son, whom he described as a master diver, is still alive in the waters near the Bahamas.

“As soon as he left the side, I prayed over him. I was convinced that the prayers I said for my son were heard. I stand on God’s word. “I believe he is alive,” Francel Parker told the local Florida newspaper on Wednesday. The US Coast Guard called off its search for the North Port guy the day before.

Witnesses previously told The Post that the younger Parker allegedly jumped from the 18-story Liberty of the Seas ship at roughly 4 a.m. in front of his helpless father and younger brother after arguing with his father.

However, Francel, who manages an air conditioning company in Port Charlotte, told the local newspaper that he was not arguing with Levion and that his son was not attempting suicide.

He claims Levion is a proficient diver who works on a commercial fishing boat and wants to know how his teenage son was provided booze during the four-day voyage to Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island.

“We don’t drink,” Francel explained. “I’d like to know how my son was served so much alcohol.”

Another cruise passenger who observed Levion’s heart-stopping jump reported that Francel was “fussing at him for being drunk.”

Bryan Sims told The Post that he was hanging out with Levion and his 18-year-old brother Seth in the ship’s hotel tub early on April 4 before they parted ways.

After using the restroom and drying off, Sims ran into the brothers and their father near the elevators. “As we walked from the hot tub back to the elevators, his father and brother approached us. “His father was yelling at him for being drunk, I suppose,” Sims said of the moment Parker leaped.

“When we got to them, he told his father, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he went out the window in front of us all,” Sims added, calling what he witnessed “surreal.” Another cruise passenger reported the frenetic mayhem that ensued. “There was a lot of yelling, and the crew was alerted immediately,” Deborah Morrison told The Post.

“His family was horrified.” They’re just beside themselves. “I can’t even imagine what they’re going through.”

Francel told The Daily Sun that he threw six life rings from the ship in the hopes of saving his son before the enormous vessel came to a halt approximately 20 minutes later. Royal Caribbean said it “immediately” sent search boats to find the 20-year-old and notified the Coast Guard, who subsequently took over the search.

Between 2000 and 2024, at least 406 individuals on major cruise lines and ferries went overboard, according to statistics compiled by retired professor and cruise industry expert Ross Klein.

Death rates among overboard passengers and crew members varied greatly between cruise lines, but even the safest cruise lines were only able to rescue approximately 40% of those who fell or jumped off the ship, Klein told the Washington Post in July.