The Truth About What Happens When a Guest Jumps off a Cruise Ship

It was 3am when the captain made the man overboard announcement, we were sailing to the Bahamas from Miami at the time onboard the Norwegian Sky.

In this video I discuss what happened after the man fell overboard, the processes that cruise lines have in place to deal with this situation and how the incident affected the other passengers.

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[EmmaCruises]

Hey hey hey, thank you for all of your comments on this video. Please check that you've subscribed so that you don't miss future videos! 👏👏

[TitoTimTravels]

I find it interesting that 'Oscar' is their code word for man overboard - in the Navy our man overboard dummy was named Oscar. I actually got chosen the be the man 'overboard' one time. They threw Oscar over the side and I had to hide in the Captain's in-port cabin to see if my department would mark me missing in the emergency muster. Spoiler alert - do not fall overboard. Everytime we did a drill... we ran over Oscaar with the ship... 😎

[MWoody]

My last cruise on the Carnival Vista, we had a dude who got really drunk in the casino bar and later that evening was threatening to jump off his his balcony on deck 9. He got put on suicide watch, switched to an inside cabin and was locked inside with security outside the door at all times for the rest of the cruise. Crew brought his meals to him and everything.

[FraserAtSea]

I didn’t realise they’d wake everyone up - great to hear that they try to get all eyes on the case!

[lakelorain]

We were on a cruise where a crew member jumped overboard, at night. Process was the same for searching. Sharp turn and patterned search until Coast Guard arrived to take over the search. Captain asked people with balconies to assist in search. Unfortunately, he was never found. Very sad.

[karenvonbargen]

We had a suicidal young person on our last cruise and their family was seated next to us at dinner. They complained bitterly that their family member always threatened to jump while they were on a cruise and the family said loudly that if they wanted to jump they should just go ahead and get it over with and leave the family in peace. 3 am off the coast of British Columbia they started on the PA system throughout the entire ship asking the young person to call in and confirm their presence. The announcement went out every 15 minutes until about 5:30 when apparently the young person was located. With the little knowledge we had of the family dynamic I sincerely hope the young person gets the help they need and the family stays away from cruising for a long while.

[juliesotelo]

I’m a retired police dispatcher/911 emergency call taker & I’ve never gotten more complaints then when a 3 year old girl went missing @ night & we used a reverse 911 system to call the house holds in a specific mile radius to alert people to give a description of her & people called so upset that they were woken up. Not like 1 or 5 like seriously our center in a smaller city (usually less than 30 police officers on the road at once) got about 40 call in complaints. I’m still shocked that anyone would would value their sleep over another persons life (a child at that).

[roxpr]

People complain that their vacation has been "ruined" because a ship's crew tries to save a person's life?? I guess there are more narcissists and sociopaths in this world than I ever imagined. 😔

Thanks for the video, Emma.

[chrissyfountain]

I was on a carnival cruise in the Bahamas 5 years ago and a man got into a fight with his wife and jumped off his balcony. The people in the room next to them heard him scream to her, threatening to jump. We spent 8 hours sitting in the middle of the ocean before we could proceed. There were 3 other ships circling us. The craziest thing... the couple were on their honeymoon.

[madelinescully]

This happened on a cruise we were on. Announcement came through around 5 am, broadcast through every cabin. It was light as it was a summer cruise, just a few hours out of port. They managed to save the person's life, mainly because it was light and the water warmer than at other times of the year. He and a dozen mates were disembarked at the next port as it was a deliberate act, his mates knew he was planning to do it and didnt alert the staff.

[danielesposito]

The captain is responsible for each and every soul onboard. If the captain believes it's best for everyone to get out of bed and help locate someone, regardless of whether or not you think it's cool, just do as is requested. Next time it could be your life on the line

[grondhero]

Generally speaking, when someone's been drinking and they fall overboard, it's usually because they were trying to sit on the railing or climb on something they wouldn't have when sober.

[geoffreyhui]

We were on a Princess in transit from Auckland to Melbourne. In the middle of the night there was an alarm for a missing passenger. Every cabin searched, even under the bed and out on the balcony. Subsequently, wallet and magnetic stripe card were found on the Promenade Deck. A review of CCTV footage showed that the passenger had jump the previous night. We were too far from where he jumped to go back. He shared a cabin with his brother. His parents were also on the cruise. I can't begin to imagine how the family, Captain and crew felt. This is when the Captain and crew demonstrate their professionalism, which was well demonstrated. I can't imagine the circumstances which would have prompted the young man to jump.

[moore]

What amazes me is not drunks or emotionally distraught people jumping or falling overboard, it's the complete lack of knowledge adults generally have about falling into water. When I was a teen I jumped from a 2nd story balcony into a backyard pool because I thought it was going to be fun... HITTING THE WATER HURT BAD!! If you are not trained in how to break the surface tension of the water with your body, it's like hitting concrete even at only falling twenty feet!
I've been on 9 or 10 cruises and I've seen a person try to actually climb the guardrails put up by the ship. The ship staff were there pretty quickly and took her away, but one other time at night did I hear the "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar, Port Side" alarm. That nitwit got rescued and was put off the ship at the next port of call. Stay safe and well my friends :)

[simonf]

Throwing objects overboard when you witness a man overboard is very helpful. Life preservers naturally. Also chairs, pillows or items that float to help the crew visualize the right area.

[newda]

A few comments I'd always make sure I mentioned when doing the late pax drills, it was to never do anything that could result in falling overboard. Chances are we won't find you.
And don't hear the general emergency alarm go off, panic, and assume we're sinking. Because it's more likely to be a situation like this where there was doubt over whether somebody had gone overboard and a full muster was required to see if anybody was missing.

[Drpfahat]

I was on the Anthem of the Seas in 2017 when a boy drowned in the pool on the first day of the cruise. We headed back toward New Jersey and they helicoptered him to the hospital. We found out later that unfortunately he didn't make it. This incident is why there are now lifeguards on all RCCL ships. So I'm reminded of the incident every time I cruise with RCCL.

[tilarium]

This sort of happened on one of my cruises several years ago. A drunk passenger was fighting with his girlfriend in their cabin and the neighbors called ships security. He ran from them, went to the top deck and jumped over the barrier. He didn't land in the ocean though, instead landed on one of the lower deck bars where several of the ships crew were including the ships doctor. There was no announcement made, just the alarm for the crew so nobody really knew what was happening but the ship starting turning and actually heading towards Cuba. Sadly, the guy didn't make it and was pretty much dead on impact.

[EtzEchad]

I took a cross-atlantic cruise back in the 70's and a LOT happened on that cruise: we ran aground in Senegal (fortunately, they got her off the bottom), we skirted a hurricane, and we rescued a heart-attack victim from a freighter half way across the ocean. Then a helicopter came to pick up the man when we got close enough to shore.
I didn't hear of anyone complaining. Instead, it added to the adventure.

Anyone who complains about trying to save someones life doesn't deserve to live.

[robertp]

This is so interesting. That would be a scary experience. I absolutely wouldn’t mind being woken up to help locate someone.