Alabama Woman Who Died on Cruise Ship Didn’t Want to Go on Trip, Children Say

A view of the Sapphire Princess cruise ship docked at the Marina bay cruise centre in Singapore on November 27, 2014. (Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images)

The children of an Alabama woman who died on a cruise ship said she didn’t want to go, reports say.

Almarosa Tenorio’s son, Timothy, told “Good Morning America” that his mother told him it might be the last time she hugged him before she departed.

“The night before they left my mom hugged me for a good five minutes and I was kind of curious as to why was it so long and I asked her and she said, ‘Well, it might be the last hug you get from me,’” he explained to “Good Morning America.”

“I can’t focus. It’s like my rock is gone and it’s just very painful for me. I’m trying to do the best I can,” Tenorio said of his 52-year-old mother’s death.

Her daughter, Andrea Smith, said she didn’t “want to go” on the Princess Cruises ship with her husband Leo Tenorio.

“My mom did not want to go on this cruise. She did not. ... She knew something was going to happen,” she also told “Good Morning America.”

Smith said she and Leo were going on the Florida-to-Aruba cruise to “work on their relationship.”

Leo Tenorio was questioned by police in the case but is not a suspect. No other suspects were named.

The woman died after falling from the ship’s 16th floor onto a lifeboat, and it happened on the early morning hours of Tuesday, Nov. 13. Leo told Fox10 that he was upset with reports suggesting she was murdered.

Passengers reported seeing an unidentified man struggling with Tenorio. He was allegedly choking her before she fell, the Fox10 report said.

Timothy Tenorio, meanwhile, said Leo was someone who “always wanted the best for his mother,” as reported by “Good Morning America,” adding that he was a “supportive husband.”

“Almarosa was a very loving daughter, sister, mom and grandmother with a good heart,” Tony Rodriguez, Tenorio’s brother wrote in a statement, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “Her passion was teaching and working with children. She had a vivacious personality with a smile that would light up a room. We are sad that she was taken from us at such a young age. She will be missed by all that knew her.”

Princess Cruises also issued a statement, reported ABC Action News.

“Princess Cruises can confirm that a 52-year-old, American, female guest passed away early Tuesday morning aboard Royal Princess as the ship was enroute to Aruba. The incident was reported to the FBI and local authorities and the local authorities met and boarded the ship upon arrival in Aruba,” it said.

It added: “We are cooperating fully with the investigating authorities, including the FBI. An official cause of death has not been announced. We are deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincere condolences to the family and those affected. Royal Princess is sailing a 7-day roundtrip Southern Caribbean cruise that departed Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) on Nov. 9 and will return on Nov. 17.”

Last week, in a separate incident, a 70-year-old passenger fell into her water during a Holland America cruise in the South Pacific Ocean, USA Today reported. “We are saddened by this event, and our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones,” Holland America said in the statement.

The cause of the fall is unknown, the report said.