STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) – Four passengers escorted a Connecticut man back to his cabin the night that he vanished from his honeymoon cruise of the Mediterranean, ship officials said Tuesday.

Royal Caribbean officials, under fire from the family of George Allen Smith IV of Greenwich for their handling of the July 5 disapperance, spoke to reporters Tuesday. Capt. Bill Wright, senior vice president of fleet operations for Royal Caribbean, said Smith was escorted by four passengers who he had met during the two-week cruise.

Blood stains were found running from the balcony of Smith’s cabin to life boats. No one has been charged and no body has been recovered.

The FBI is investigating the disappearance.

Smith’s family has accused Royal Caribbean of mishandling the incident to protect the company and the cruise industry from bad publicity, while Smith’s bride, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, accused the cruise line of abandoning her in Turkey. Company officials have rejected those charges, saying they quickly notified authorities, preserved the crime scene and arranged a female escort to accompany Hagel-Smith at all times.

Witnesses said Smith and Hagel-Smith the couple drank in the ship’s bar the night he vanished. They say the couple argued and Smith-Hagel kicked him in the groin and left the bar. Hagel-Smith has called those accounts “ridiculous” and “outlandish.”

Hagel-Smith was found sleeping on a floor in a corridor far from the couple’s cabin next morning, the cruise line has said.

Hagel-Smith and her attorney say she was unconscious and has no recollection of what happened. Hagel-Smith said she passed an FBI polygraph test. Federal authorities have said she has cooperated with their investigation.

Royal Caribbean officials said Tuesday they would allow forensic expert Henry Lee, who has been hired by Hagel-Smith, to board the ship and conduct his own investigation.