Dad of 20-year-old who jumped off cruise deck after argument believes son is 'still alive'

The father of the 20-year-old man who 'jumped off' a a Royal Caribbean cruise liner during a family holiday believes his son is still alive.

The US Coast Guard called off the search for missing cruise passenger Levion Parker on Tuesday (9 April), five days after he went overboard on the 18-storey ship as it sailed between Cuba and the Bahamas' Great Inagua Island.

The horror incident unfolded on the Liberty of the Seas in the early hours of (4 April), with passengers claiming that they heard 'a lot of yelling' in the corridors before Levion landed in the water.

Holidaymaker Bryan Sims alleged that he had spent the evening with the young man and his brother, which eventually came to an end when they left the on-board hot tub at around 3.30am.

"He [Levion] sat right beside me the whole time. He was pretty drunk," Sims told the New York Post.

(Cordell Parker/Facebook)

“As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess.

“When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now'. And he jumped out the window in front of us all.

"It was insane. It was just surreal."

Royal Caribbean immediately launched a search operation which was later taken over by the US Coast Guard, however, the hunt for Levion in the waters has since been abandoned.

A statement provided to LADbible Group read: "The Coast Guard has suspended its search for the 20-year-old pending the development of new information."

(Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

Despite almost a week passing since Levion was last seen onboard the Liberty of the Seas, his father Francel hasn't given up hope on his son and believes he is still alive somewhere.

Dubbing his child as a 'master diver', the dad revealed he suspects that the 20-year-old might be off the coast of the Bahamas as he is an experienced diver who works on a commercial fishing boat.

Speaking to the Daily Sun, Francel said: "As soon as he went off the side, I prayed over him. I was confident the prayers I said over my son were heard. I stand on the word of God. I believe he is alive."

He told the Florida publication that he had not been arguing with the 20-year-old before he ended up in the water.

Recalling the horrifying moment, Francel explained that he had tossed six life rings off the Royal Caribbean ship in a bid to save his son, but to no avail.

Levion fell from the cruise ship around 57 miles from the Great Inagua Island.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told LADbible Group: "Our hearts go out to the family, and we continue to offer them our support and assistance during this difficult time.

"Our policies strictly prohibit guests under the age of 21 from being served alcohol onboard."