Latest news with #RoyalCaribbeanInternational
Cosmopolitan
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
All we know about Alistair 'Yellow' Douglas today, the musician last seen with missing Amy Bradley
Viewers of Netflix's latest true crime drop, Amy Bradley Is Missing, a three-part documentary examining the sad case of a young woman named Amy Lynn Bradley, who disappeared during a cruise ship holiday with her family in March 1998. At the time, she was just 23 years old. More intriguing still, since then there have been multiple rumoured sightings of Bradley, everywhere from the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao to Barbados and California – yet her family are still desperately seeking an answer and concrete evidence as to where she could be. In the Netflix series, one person who was pointed out to be a person of interest in Bradley's case was a musician, Alister 'Yellow' Douglas, whose band was playing on board the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, when she vanished. Reports were made that Douglas had been seen dancing with Bradley in the early hours of the morning before her family raised the alarm that she was nowhere to be found. Douglas always denied any wrongdoing and that he played any sort of rule in Bradley going missing. Here, we take a deep-dive into who Alister 'Yellow' Douglas is, what he's said about Amy Bradley's case and where he is today. Alister Douglas, better known by his nickname 'Yellow' (a nod to his signature brightly dyed yellow hair), was once a vibrant presence aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas, thanks to his turn at playing bass guitar in the ship's live band, Blue Orchid. When Amy Bradley vanished in the early hours of 24 March 1998, during what should have been a dream family holiday, surveillance footage and eyewitness testimony placed her with Douglas in the ship's nightclub just hours before she disappeared. The two were seen dancing together, and reports suggest they were also spotted on the deck after midnight. As one of the last known people to see Bradley, Douglas became a key figure in the investigation. The FBI grilled him extensively, and he even agreed to take a polygraph test, which he reportedly passed. Despite the scrutiny, no charges were ever filed against him, and he faded from the investigation as authorities pursued other leads. After the intense scrutiny from media and the police, Douglas became relatively anonymous over the following decades with his whereabouts were unknown – until late 2024, when investigative journalist James Renner, who has a YouTube channel dedicated to true crime, uncovered Douglas's surprising new life. Now in his 50s, Douglas has traded his bass guitar for a Bible. He resides in a remote mountain community in Grenada, where he serves as a reverend. His congregation is small—40 to 50 members—and his church is described as a 'humble shack' perched on the mountainside. But what's perhaps most striking about his new life is his practice of exorcism, a dramatic turn from his days as an entertainer. Speaking on Renner's YouTube channel, Douglas recalls Bradley approaching him after his set and telling him that she played saxophone, her dad was an insurance manager who had recently discovered she was gay and forced her to go on the cruise (something her family have denied), and that she was smoking a lot. "About five minutes to one I said 'I have to go, I have to be out of passenger area' and I left. That was my last conversation, last time I saw her," Douglas states, contradicting the three witnesses who claimed to have seen her on the upper deck with Douglas between 5:30 and 5:45am. Later in the interview he adds, "Around 7 o'clock, I was awakened by a call by the hotel manager and he asked me 'Douglas, do you have a woman in your room?'. It was forbidden, it was forbidden dating [...] And I said 'no' and I asked why, he said 'The woman you were talking to last night in the club, we can't find her'." After, as per Douglas' account, the ship was then grounded and nobody could enter or exit. "Everybody was interrogated," he said. "Lie detector tests... At that time, they didn't say anything much to me, they took the [wires] off me." Douglas added that an FBI agent later interviewed him on multiple occasions, telling him again that he was clear. "I've lost so many opportunities because of this," Douglas shared. "Once my name was entered [into Google] they would say I had something to do with this missing girl and I would lose the contract. "The truth, no matter how long it is, always surfaces." Netflix's three-part series, Amy Bradley Is Missing, is available to stream from 16 July Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC's Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women's Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
NBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- NBC News
Over 140 people on Royal Caribbean cruise sickened by stomach bug outbreak
Over 140 passengers and crew members aboard a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship were sickened by a gastrointestinal illness that led to vomiting and diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak happened on the Navigator of the Seas ship during its July 4 to 11 voyage, the CDC said. The ship sailed from Los Angeles to a few stops in Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas, and back again, according to Gangwaze, which tracks cruise routes. The outbreak was reported to the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) — which works to prevent and control the spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships — on July 11. Cruise ships are required to report such outbreaks to the CDC. According to the CDC, 134 out of 3,914 passengers onboard reported being ill during the journey, while seven out of 1,266 crew members reported being ill. Their predominant symptoms were diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. Following the outbreak, the crew aboard the Navigator of the Seas increased cleaning and disinfection procedures aboard the ship, collected stool specimen from people who reported feeling ill and isolated those who reported feeling ill, the CDC said. The cause of the spread of the gastrointestinal illness is not known at this time, according to the CDC. "Norovirus is often a cause of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships, but we don't always know the cause of the outbreak when we begin an investigation," the CDC said in a report on the outbreak. "Finding the agent that caused an outbreak (causative agent) can take time." People with gastrointestinal illness are asked to give stool or vomit samples, which are then tested to determine the cause, the CDC said. Anyone can contract Norovirus, which is contagious and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever and body aches, according to the CDC. Ingesting contaminated food or liquids, having contact with someone who has the virus and touching contaminated objects can cause people to contact it. Most people with Norovirus get better in one to three days, but can still spread the virus two weeks or more afterwards, according to the CDC. People can avoid contracting Norovirus by washing their hands, and washing fruits, vegetables and cooking shellfish thoroughly before consumption, the CDC advises. Once sick with the virus, it is best to stay isolated for two days after symptoms stop. Samples collected from the Navigator of the Seas outbreak are still pending confirmatory testing, according to the CDC.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Over 140 guests, crew sick due to a gastrointestinal outbreak on this popular cruise line
More than 140 people got sick in a gastrointestinal illness outbreak during a Royal Caribbean International cruise. Among the 3,914 guests aboard its Navigator of the Seas ship, 134 reported being ill during a cruise that ended July 11, along with seven crew members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their main symptoms were vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. The health agency listed the causative agent as unknown. The ship was sailing a week-long cruise to Mexico round-trip from Los Angeles, according to CruiseMapper. The cruise line implemented heightened disinfection and cleaning measures and isolated sick guests and crew, among other steps, the CDC said. 'The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority,' a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Group, the line's parent company, told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. 'To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines.' There have been 18 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruises that met the CDC's threshold for public notification in 2025, most of which were caused by norovirus. There were 18 outbreaks total last year, and 14 in 2023. The CDC told USA TODAY in April that while 'the number of recent cruise ship outbreaks has been higher than in years prior to the pandemic, we do not yet know if this represents a new trend.' 'However, CDC data show a newly dominant strain is currently associated with reported norovirus outbreaks on land,' the agency said in an emailed statement. 'Ships typically follow the pattern of land-based outbreaks, which are higher this norovirus season.' The illness is often associated with cruise ships, but those represent only 1% of all outbreaks reported. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 140+ sick in Royal Caribbean cruise gastrointestinal outbreak Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
6 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
Over 140 guests, crew sick due to a gastrointestinal outbreak on this popular cruise line
More than 140 people got sick in a gastrointestinal illness outbreak during a Royal Caribbean International cruise. Among the 3,914 guests aboard its Navigator of the Seas ship, 134 reported being ill during a cruise that ended July 11, along with seven crew members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their main symptoms were vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. The health agency listed the causative agent as unknown. The ship was sailing a week-long cruise to Mexico round-trip from Los Angeles, according to CruiseMapper. The cruise line implemented heightened disinfection and cleaning measures and isolated sick guests and crew, among other steps, the CDC said. 'The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority,' a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Group, the line's parent company, told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. 'To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines.' There have been 18 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruises that met the CDC's threshold for public notification in 2025, most of which were caused by norovirus. There were 18 outbreaks total last year, and 14 in 2023. The CDC told USA TODAY in April that while 'the number of recent cruise ship outbreaks has been higher than in years prior to the pandemic, we do not yet know if this represents a new trend.' 'However, CDC data show a newly dominant strain is currently associated with reported norovirus outbreaks on land,' the agency said in an emailed statement. 'Ships typically follow the pattern of land-based outbreaks, which are higher this norovirus season.' The illness is often associated with cruise ships, but those represent only 1% of all outbreaks reported.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
She vanished from a cruise nearly 30 years ago. Netflix just reopened the case.
In the first episode of 'Amy Bradley Is Missing,' a new Netflix docuseries, Adtzere 'John' Mentar recalls a frantic search for a guest who vanished from a cruise ship as it arrived in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. As Harbor Police Chief, he was part of a multi-agency effort to find 23-year-old Amy Bradley, who went missing from Royal Caribbean International's Rhapsody of the Seas in 1998. Given the strong current in the area, he posited, a passenger who had gone overboard would turn up eventually. 'I'm telling you, if she came off the ship or fell off the ship, we would get a body,' he said. 'She would have washed ashore …' 'E kos ta straño,' he adds in Papiamentu, one of the country's official languages. 'It means, 'The thing is strange.'' The mystery is the focus of the show, which premiered on the streaming service on Wednesday. The series reexamines Bradley's disappearance during a cruise with her family, a case that remains unsolved nearly 30 years later. After meeting the Bradleys, co-director Ari Mark said, 'It became clear that this was a family that was really suffering, and had been for a very long time.' 'Truly, that was the impetus for this was, you know, we really can actually move the needle on this case,' he told USA TODAY. 'Of course, as we got deeper into it, the complexities around the case, the various theories, and just the many, many layers to it are impossible to ignore.' What happened to Amy Bradley? The show spends three episodes pondering that question, featuring interviews with relatives, friends, law enforcement and others. The series incorporates both original and archival footage, including from Bradley's relatives, to tell the story. 'There's quite a lot of material that's sort of trapped in this time capsule from that period as media is brought in, photographs, videos,' said co-director Phil Lott. Bradley's parents won a week-long Caribbean cruise aboard Rhapsody of the Seas through a work contest and took her and her younger brother along in March 1998. A few days in, her father, Ron, noticed she was missing in the early morning hours of March 24, shortly after he'd seen her in a lounge chair on the balcony. The family notified the crew, who searched but were unable to find her. Law enforcement searched the waters between Aruba – where the ship had previously stopped – and Curaçao to no avail. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents boarded the vessel, but the inquiry was inconclusive. The docuseries highlights a range of possible scenarios, including that Bradley could have gone overboard, intentionally or accidentally; been smuggled off the ship; or walked off and never returned. Multiple witnesses claim they saw her in various parts of the region in the years that followed. The cruise ship setting also posed challenges, according to the series. FBI special agent Erin Sheridan said the Bradleys' cabin, which they were all sharing, was cleaned before agents could get on board, for instance. The Bradleys later sued the cruise line, but the claims were dismissed. Royal Caribbean did not immediately share a comment with USA TODAY on the documentary. How long is 'Amy Bradley Is Missing'? The series' three episodes range from around 40 to 50 minutes each. How do I watch 'Amy Bradley Is Missing'? The show is available to stream on Netflix. The FBI's investigation remains open. Mark said he hopes viewers are 'activated to engage in a way that could lead to answers.' 'I think people will empathize with (the Bradleys) and will be given a sense of purpose,' he said. 'And I think anytime we can come together as people with a clear sense of purpose, we're better off for it.' Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@
