Man or Deck Chair Overboard? Princess Cruise Ship Investigates

[LauraS]

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Man or Deck Chair Overboard? Princess Cruise Ship Investigates

[jmorgania]

"Captain sounded very pissed off." LMAO

[Fran Harp]

Not overboard, but man and lounger *almost* overboard. It was a very windy day, on Brilliance of the Seas from Barcelona to Miami. Most of the deck chairs were tied together, for obvious reasons. Any chair not held in place by a person was quickly tied up.

A not-too-bright gentleman decided he didn't like the deck chair he had, nor where it was, so he removed one from the rope tether, picked it up and lifted it over his head, to move it to a better location. (Note: wind in the stern can be interesting to say the least.) The gusting wind picked up chair (think parasail) and man, and literally lifted him two feet off the deck.

...and I wished I had a camera, because the look on his face was worth real money!!! Then he put the chair down and tried to look very nonchalant as he stretched out in the sun.

Fran in Toronto

[Colo Cruiser]

Originally Posted by jmorgania

"Captain sounded very pissed off." LMAO

And so he should be.

[seaster1]

We were on the Crown last December when "something was seen floating" around.. Rescue boat was sent out and returned with a man wearing only jeans and sunglasses. No food or water for several days. His boat consisted of a styrofoam box He was in good condition and dropped off while we were visiting Princess Cay.

[Woobstr112G]

Originally Posted by Colo Cruiser

And so he should be.

I agree.....

Bob

[IDRATHERBCRUISN]

Originally Posted by seaster1

We were on the Crown last December when "something was seen floating" around.. Rescue boat was sent out and returned with a man wearing only jeans and sunglasses. No food or water for several days. His boat consisted of a styrofoam box He was in good condition and dropped off while we were visiting Princess Cay.

Oh my heck, I am sure it was the same guy we picked up a few years back on a RCI ship somewhere between Cuba and the USA!!

[ruthandjohn]

We were at the Platinum/diamond captain's after dinner cocktail party this March on a Mexico r/t out of San Diego on the Radiance of the Seas 2 nights from port at the end of the cruise when there was an abrupt turn to starboard and staff running in to interrupt the capt who had been speaking. People headed for the windows where there was activity and a voice calling alpha over the system. We went to dead stop and could see rescue boats deployed & flares. No one was quite sure but suspected man overboard.

About 15 minutes later the captain announced that a man had been observed going overboard from deck 12. The promenade on deck 5 and tender area on deck 2 was announced out of limits as the scene of rescue activity. The captain continued to make announcements and at 9pm it was announced the person had been found and was being brought onboard. We found out an hour later with further info the next morning from the capt. that is was an crew member...assistant art auctioneer who had committed suicide. Several people were on deck 12 when he jumped and our tablemate had been out on the promenade deck for a stroll when he hit the life boat on the way down.

We were very pleased with the way the crew handled it, especially the excellent communications from the bridge keeping everyone appraised of the situation. Things were a bit subdued the last day, but....

[skellis]

Five years ago on the Coral Princess Panama Canal itinerary a crew member fell or jumped overboard between first and second seating. It was his first contract and according to the information we got from a ship's officer he was having trouble adapting, he hated his room mate, wasn't eating or sleeping and was often seasick. He told his supervisor in the galley that he was going out for a breath of fresh air and never came back.

They announced his name over and over again for over an hour asking him to report, and also searched his cabin and the entire ship. We had finished dinner when the ship turned back, and began a full search (that was when he had been determined to not be on the ship). We were off the coast of Mexico, so the U.S. and Mexican Coast Guard came to conduct a search. We were not allowed to go on the open decks or our balconies for 2-3 hours, partly because of the helicopters. The ship also put some tenders out for the search. The young man was never found nor was his body recovered. He was 19, from the Philippines, and he was supporting his family back home.

A number of people on the ship (on their own volition) went to the purser's desk and made contributions to be sent to his family in his memory. Many of us felt that it was the least we could do. It was very upsetting, and many people prayed for him, joining informal groups. Others just went on with their entertainment. (Some people complained of the inconvenience to their vacation)

It was tragic, and I still think about what could be bad enough to jump overboard. Other crew members had commented on his depression/mental state before he jumped or fell overboard.

I was very impressed by the professional handling of the incident by the ship's Captain and crew.

[pj4jj]

Isn't it interesting they seem to always call it "man" overboard! Could it be because it always seems to be a man

[billie5]

Of course. In the United States 4/5ths of all suicides are men. (Perhaps because our lives are so difficult???)

As an aside, the percentage of white males who commit suicide is twice as high as the percentage of African-American males, and among females the disparity is even much greater.

Bill

[Toddy709]

Originally Posted by skellis

Five years ago on the Coral Princess Panama Canal itinerary a crew member fell or jumped overboard between first and second seating. It was his first contract and according to the information we got from a ship's officer he was having trouble adapting, he hated his room mate, wasn't eating or sleeping and was often seasick. He told his supervisor in the galley that he was going out for a breath of fresh air and never came back.

They announced his name over and over again for over an hour asking him to report, and also searched his cabin and the entire ship. We had finished dinner when the ship turned back, and began a full search (that was when he had been determined to not be on the ship). We were off the coast of Mexico, so the U.S. and Mexican Coast Guard came to conduct a search. We were not allowed to go on the open decks or our balconies for 2-3 hours, partly because of the helicopters. The ship also put some tenders out for the search. The young man was never found nor was his body recovered. He was 19, from the Philippines, and he was supporting his family back home.

A number of people on the ship (on their own volition) went to the purser's desk and made contributions to be sent to his family in his memory. Many of us felt that it was the least we could do. It was very upsetting, and many people prayed for him, joining informal groups. Others just went on with their entertainment. (Some people complained of the inconvenience to their vacation)

It was tragic, and I still think about what could be bad enough to jump overboard. Other crew members had commented on his depression/mental state before he jumped or fell overboard.

I was very impressed by the professional handling of the incident by the ship's Captain and crew.

Suicide is something that really brings out the anger in me. It is the most selfish thing a person can do. However, on a ship, with no loved ones around, under a contract, and extremely tough working conditions, this breaks my heart. It would be very hard to continue a "vacation" after something like this!

[Casey12]

You couldn't pay me enough to be a Captain.

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

We were on the NCL Dawn in February 2009 (Southern Caribbean cruise)when all of a sudden we started turning. They made an announcement that someone had spotted an object in the water. The ship did a full 360 and some other ships in the area responded as well. It turned out to be a life raft with no one in it. It had apparently fallen off a ship unnoticed. They kept us completely aware of what was going on. We were in an aft suite and were amazed at how quickly the ship could turn on a dime.

[skellis]

It broke my heart too. Imagine the family he left behind, in order to give them a better life getting the news that he was dead, there was no body to bury, and they were the reason that he was on the ship. It bothered me a lot and I was sad for both him and his family. He should have had some kind of intervention, yet he probably didn't know enough to ask for help and no one was able to put the symptoms together and have him see the Ship's Doctor.

It was a needless death, and I am glad that there were passengers and crew who felt this loss enough to let his family know that there were people who cared about this young man they never even met (he worked in the kitchens so passengers didn't see him.)

[E201]

We were sailing on Solstice last Oct/Nov and around 9pm after leaving Santorini we heard OSCAR, OSCAR OSCAR blast through the ship, we were having dinner in the Tuscan Grill which is at the aft end and we saw life rings being thrown off to mark the spot and it was quite scary how quickly they disappeared, the ship started to turn back on itself very quickly and you could really feel the ship shake.

They deployed the high speed life boat and we were doing a figure of 8 around the area the person was spotted to have gone over.

The cruise director announced that a passenger had seen another passenger jump off of deck 14 and after checking the CCTV they had confirmed that someone had gone overboard.

We were kept informed by the cruise director and Captain and we were asked to go back to our cabins around 11pm (I think that about that time) and the cabin stewards then started to open each cabin door and ask if everyone who is staying in the cabin was allocated for. Quickly after this they announced they had found out who had gone overboard.

The search continued with the Greek coast guard, (I heard that the F.B.I were also called in, maybe because of Celebrity being American?) and other vessels close by and it was called off approx just before 7am, we then carried on to the next port, the next day was a sea day.

The captain announced the following day that they had been unable to find the body and gave his thoughts to the passenger’s family onboard and nothing more was said about it.

It was not very nice being on the ship when this happened, we did not know the person but we did feel awful for the family. The ships company dealt with this very well, that’s what they are trained for after all.

We were also on Arcadia earlier on that year in May and we had an announcement for blood donors required by a passenger, the ship made an announcement later on thanking all of the other passengers who went to the medical centre to offer blood and the passenger in question was tendered off around midnight off the coast of Sweden, this looked quite scary as they lifted them off into a tender whilst we were still sailing. I believe the passenger was fine in the end which was good.

[yyzatcqq]

Originally Posted by hateswaterloves2cruise

The ship did a full 360 and some other ships in the area responded as well.

Are you sure? Wouldn't the ship have done a 180 to go back to whatever was spotted?

On a lighter note... I find it amazing how many times I hear people saying some variation of a 360 degree turn to head off in a different direction.... 360 degrees leaves you in the same direction!!!!

[El Cheapo]

Sailing on the Freedom of the Seas (in 2006 I believe) in a passenger went "missing" the first night out of Miami. Starting at 8AM the next day announcements were made for a male passenger to report to any crew member. After one hour, the captain announced that the man's picture was displayed on all TV's on the ship and asked passengers to help search ship as a full ship search was performed by crew. Rumors started to spin. A second full search ship occurred about 2 hours later. At 1pm Captain announced situation and turned around for last suspected location of missing male as determined by video survaillance when passenger was seen leaving drunk from casino at 2AM and went into his cabin. Went back 10 hours to an area off Eleuthra Bahamas and passengers were asked to help look for him in the water. We had the peek a boo balcony directly even and behind wing bridge and watched officers with binoculars search. USCG was flying around and a CArnival ship was also helping in search. Seas were flat calm but still you are looking for cocunut sized head bobbing. Rumors were wild among passengers and even some non officer crew. Searched in dark with spotlights till 1 AM and then resumed cruise. Went to San Juan as planned but arrived late and stayed later but St. Thomas was cancelled. Ship gave $200 per person ship board credit. FBI crime scene teams were awaiting at pier in San Juan. Mans party disembarked.

Story came out the young man (22 yo) was drunk returned to a shared balcony room at 2 am (as confirmed by video surveillance) and family told him to go out to balcony and sleep because he was drunk and acting stupid. Also had family in adjoing balcony cabin as well. Man was somewhat depressed per family but unsure if jumped or was climbing onto rail to get to the other family cabin. Video cameras looking down side of ship did not capture fall (it was dark). The mood on the cruise was very somber for first couple days, but got better but was overall down for a typical cruise. Most passengers accepted missing St. Thomas, but one family had a large wedding planned in San Juan which got delayed/fouled up and they wanted extra compensation, etc.

Obviously, never ever sit on or horseplay near any ship railing and if someone is terribly intoxicated notify a crew member for help. Still feel for his family.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Any captain of any ship being told that there is a possible man over board, or something in the water, will start a search without a minutes delay, its the rules of the sea,

what the poor cruise ship captain has to deal with is muppets who think its fun to call out man over board, or drunk passengers that think they saw something, or just drunk passengers that mess about and fall overboard,

we all know thats its almost impossible just to fall of a cruise ship.

it is however very nice to read about how many times a cruise ship saves

a poor sailors life.

yours Shogun

[NS-Cruiser]

In November / December 2008 while we were leaving Grand Caymen on board the Carnival Freedom, the "man overboard" alarm was sounded. It was between sail away, and supper, so DW and I were sitting / louinging on our bed on the Spa deck when all of the sudden the ship started to lean over quite steeply. I could no longer see the horizon from the bed, and DW actually fell off the bed onto the floor! Another couple who were sailing with us happened to be in one of the hot tubs at the time, and they were almost dumped out onto the deck... most of the water sloshed out of the hot tub. Someone had seen something with arms and legs fall past their cabin window, and had called in the alarm. Immediately the ship was turning at full speed to go back to the axact GPS position. The other 5 cruise ships in the area also had to stop dead in the water, just in case. It turned out that someone had purchased a LARGE stuffed monkey in GC, and had sat it (Straddling) the railing on their balcony. The monkey fell over board. Well, someone saying that their stuffed monkey was missing was not good enough, and EVERYONE on the ship, Passengers, Crew, etc... all had to be accounted for... that ordeal took over 4 hours! But it needed to be done to make sure all were accounted for. That night was supposed to be a deck party... that was fun out on the lido deck cruising at 25 knots to make up the time and still arrive in Ocho Rios on time the next morning. (Very breezy)