It is with deep sadness that we share the news that the Royal Caribbean crew member Norman DeCastro was lost at sea. Today, April 25, US Coast Guard has suspended its search for the missing crew member who vanished off the cruise ship Liberty of the Seas in the Gulf of Mexico. After searching more than 5,000 square nautical miles, the 39-year-old Filipino crew member was not found by the Coast Guard. “Our Care Team is providing support to our crew member’s family, as well as his friends and colleagues onboard, and our thoughts and prayers are with them,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement.

Norman de Castro from Santo Tomas, Batangas, Philippines was a father of two small daughters who will never know what a sweet, kind, generous, loving man he was.  He spent the last 13 years working 7 months at a time onboard cruise ships to earn money to send home to his family in the Philippines.  Working 16 hour days mostly for gratuities from the cruise guests and sacrificing time away from his family in order to earn enough to give them a better life.

His Brother Robert DeAgazio has opened a donation account to help support Norman De Castro family and to try to lessen their already heavy burden. You can visit the following link to donate. www.gofundme.com/de-castro-family

He said that Norman ended his life by jumping off the cruise ship where he was working at 1:30 am on Monday, April 24, 2017. He would have celebrated his 40th birthday in September. Norman had been struggling with depression for the past several years after his wife walked away from their 14-year marriage leaving him devastated to have a broken family.

Norman DeCastro was last seen on April 24, at 1:30 a.m. on the ship’s CCTV. He was working as a bartender and was also part of the ship’s Care Team. We like to send our deepest condolences to his family, and to the Royal Caribbean crew, who have lost a dear colleague.