Royal Caribbean defends itself in honeymooner's disappearance  By Kristin O'Meara Hillmann  MIAMI -- Royal Caribbean International shot down allegations of wrongdoing by the family of George Smith IV, the honeymooner who disappeared aboard the Brilliance of the Seas in July. In a strongly worded 11-page document, the cruise line gives its own version of the chronology of events leading up to and following Smith’s disappearance. It includes an extensive rebuttal of cover-up allegations raised by Smith’s wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith, who has claimed she was treated harshly and abandoned in Turkey by the ship’s staff following an investigation by local officials. The report states that Hagel Smith was found sleeping in a corridor shortly after 4:30 a.m. the night of her husband’s disappearance. The cruise line said she was taken back to her stateroom in a wheelchair by two security guards and a female supervisor. Her husband was not in the room, and “nothing appeared amiss,” the report states. The report also says that Hagel Smith told ship officers that her husband “may have slept elsewhere” and that he had done so “at least one other night” during the cruise. The report concludes by expressing sympathy for the family but commending the ship’s officers and crew for “responding to this tragedy carefully, compassionately and professionally.” Smith’s disappearance has attracted a great deal of media attention, and a Congressional subcommittee hearing convened by Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), the Smiths’ congressman, was held last month on the topic of cruise passenger safety. ---------------------- Royal Responds to Groom Mystery No doubt Royal Caribbean leaders were hoping the big cruise story for the first week of January 2006 would be the world's largest cruise ship coming down the pipe, but Freedom of the Seas wasn't mentioned when CEO Richard Fain sat down with CNN's Larry King on Friday night, calmly summing up why Royal had been so reticent to discuss the growing mystery of the missing groom, George Smith, who vanished from Brilliance of the Seas on July 5, 2005. Fain: "You know. I first of all agree with what Mrs. Smith has said at the very beginning. This ought to be about Mr. George Smith and his disappearance and how we can get answers to that. And we have gone far afield from that. "And I do understand. They have gone through a terrible trauma&ldots;.But there has been so much misinformation. There have been so many erroneous, misleading, just dead wrong things said about this. "We waited six months, and in deference to both the family and to the FBI's investigation we said absolutely nothing; we did as little as we could to do anything that would in any way impede the investigation or upset the family." And therein lies the key sentence. To those who've felt Royal's reticence about the matter was proof of their negligence or incompetence, Royal's statement on the incident, released last week, shows they would have been accused of gross callousness had they revealed earlier the actions of Jennifer Hagel-Smith, the honeymooning bride. If they had publicized their version earlier, it would have seemed a shameless attempt to smear the grieving widow. In contrast to her version, Royal says crewmembers found Hagel-Smith sleeping in a hallway far from her cabin about 4a.m. on the night in question and took her in a wheelchair to her room. They didn't notice any signs of mayhem in the room, and apparently she didn't either, because she headed for a spa treatment the next morning, which is where Royal found her to inform her about something possibly being amiss in the room. And stories from other passengers appear to corroborate Royal's version. One passenger reports the Smiths were heavily intoxicated at a bar and behaving in a less than classy manner-- loud arguments, flirting with other passengers, and Hagel-Smith kicking her husband in the groin. A policeman vacationing in the cabin next to the Smiths said it appears Royal took all the necessary steps to secure evidence and cooperate with authorities. Perhaps Royal's version of events will calm the mini-tempest. Yet that hasn't stopped Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who plans more hearings on the issue.  Why such persistence from Shays? He's up for re-election this year, and he represents wealthy districts like Greenwich, which is home to the Smiths. Democrats in the district have accused Shays of losing touch with local concerns, and this is a big story for the district. As for its impact on Wave Season business, we queried several Connecticut cruise sellers, and none say they are getting even any questions about it. They do not see any impact, and point out that if it weren't for the glitz and glamour of the cruise industry, there'd be no interest in the case. -- Cruise Week 1/11/06