Man Overboard on Wonder of the Seas

[cruiseguy1016]

1 hour ago, nelblu said:

The sea pass has an associated face/pix as a match.  That is the reason when you disembark at a port, they look at the monitor.

 

I'm not trying to minimize the man overboard situation but is there any update on what the medical emergency was that required the hasty trip to Grand Cayman?

[ace1zoe2]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

I'm not trying to minimize the man overboard situation but is there any update on what the medical emergency was that required the hasty trip to Grand Cayman?

A friend who is onboard said they heard (couldn't confirm) that one of the ice skaters had a pretty severe broken leg.

[c-leg5]

7 hours ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

Someone could be tossed overboard deliberately.  Murderer could then scan their seapass card.  

Seapass card is ID.

[flamingos]

2 hours ago, ace1zoe2 said:

A friend who is onboard said they heard (couldn't confirm) that one of the ice skaters had a pretty severe broken leg.

Oh, that's awful.

[Boatdrill]

On 8/30/2023 at 5:33 PM, penni827 said:

 I am on the ship and the captain said he went overboard about 7:00 p.m. our time last night and we stopped and searched....

Any idea if someone saw the  young man go overboard?  Just curious if it was reported immediately so the ship had a fair chance of returning to the area in the least amount of time. 

[penni827]

Yes it has been confirmed several times by the captain for those of you asking if it has been confirmed that someone actually went overboard on Wonder of the Seas Tuesday night.  I am on board the ship and have also been in contact with the family. The young man's name is Sigmund and he was 19 years old. After there was a  search of the waters for 3 and 1/2 hours the Cuban Coast Guard took over

[Boatdrill]

I think everyone knows the story by now.

My question wasn't asking IF someone went overboard, 

I was asking how/when it was reported.   Sometimes family or friends don't report a missing person until hours later,  because they assume he/she is sleeping late or what have you. 

The Wonder carries nearly 9,000 people (including crew), so assuming he was with other people wouldn't have been unusual. 

[soremekun]

So sorry.  What a terrible way to go, either by drowning or attacked by a sea animal.

[BND]

10 hours ago, soremekun said:

So sorry.  What a terrible way to go, either by drowning or attacked by a sea animal.

Depending on how far someone falls, they are more than likely knocked unconscious or break their neck on impact.  People falling off ships don't normally hit the water at a good angle.  Sea creatures are the least of their problems.   My DH having spent time on US Navy ships as an Officer says the fact they ever find anyone is amazing.  The amount of time it takes to stop and turn around as well as most people aren't seen when they go over so no way to mark where they fell.  Just so many variables and not a good way to go.  The ones who choose to go this way are the ones I don't get as there is always the chance that they are conscious in the water.

Edited September 2, 2023 by BND

[Billy Baltic]

I hope the family find the strength to carry on with their lives. His possible struggle in the water isn’t even something I can bring myself to think about. 
 

Like other have said, I have put the fear of God into my children regarding any time they look from or walk close to a railing. 

[boscobeans]

30 minutes ago, BND said:

Depending on how far someone falls, they are more than likely knocked unconscious or break their neck on impact.  People falling off ships don't normally hit the water at a good angle.  Sea creatures are the least of their problems.   My DH having spent time on US Navy ships as an Officer says the fact they ever find anyone is amazing.  The amount of time it takes to stop and turn around as well as most people aren't seen when they go over so no way to mark where they fell.  Just so many variables and not a good way to go.  The ones who choose to go this way are the ones I don't get as there is always the chance that they are conscious in the water.

It is truly amazing to find anything in the ocean. How many ships do we see while sailing for days? It is astonishing to see one all the while the sea is a mass of ships, imagine looking for a bobbing head.

[RD64]

This just reminded me of the George Smith mystery, of the honeymooner that supposedly went overboard the  Brilliance of the seas in 2005. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:05 PM, crbonfiber said:

No one "falls off" a ship. They have to be doing something they should not be doing or they jumped. It impossible to fall off. Sad none the less.

 

I was on Celebrity Summit this summer, and the last night I decided to use the stairs at the aft down to the Sunset Bar - I had not used them all cruise prior to that. The final step was about 1.5 times larger than the others and because there was no signage about it, I stumbled. I was holding onto the stair railing, and I managed to catch myself, BUT the railing on the port side was close enough to the bottom of the stairs that with enough momentum  someone could stumble at that bottom step and could in fact have gone over. Not doing something you're not supposed to be doing or jumping. Simply going down stairs that are open for passenger use.

 

I had thought like you that "no one 'falls off' a ship" before this, but having this experience I can see how in a rare instance it could happen.

 

And yes, I did inform them in my post-cruise email about it and the lack of signage about the difference in step heights. Someone from the executive office called to talk with me about it and I told her what I'd experienced and observed and because I'd taken pictures the next day she had me send them to her. She said that information was definitely going to be passed along for signage or something to be done.

Edited September 2, 2023 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[shipgeeks]

Even though it is possible to fall (above), I believe it is up to us as cruisers to not use the word in general comments/reports, thus perpetuating the myth that the media are so fond of.  OP did it right in the title.

[molly361]

4 hours ago, BND said:

Depending on how far someone falls, they are more than likely knocked unconscious or break their neck on impact.  People falling off ships don't normally hit the water at a good angle.  Sea creatures are the least of their problems.   My DH having spent time on US Navy ships as an Officer says the fact they ever find anyone is amazing.  The amount of time it takes to stop and turn around as well as most people aren't seen when they go over so no way to mark where they fell.  Just so many variables and not a good way to go.  The ones who choose to go this way are the ones I don't get as there is always the chance that they are conscious in the water.

Exactly. I'm onboard and at the captains corner he said that the guest went from a  balcony deck 11 hit lifeboats and was likely gone before hitting the water

Edited September 2, 2023 by molly361

[RFerrington]

1 minute ago, molly361 said:

Exactly. I'm onboard and at the captains corner he said that the guest went from a  balcony deck 11 hit lifeboats and was likely gone before hitting the water

😞

[shipgeeks]

Thank you, Molly. That's the first actual information I've seen.

[crewsweeper]

49 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Exactly. I'm onboard and at the captains corner he said that the guest went from a  balcony deck 11 hit lifeboats and was likely gone before hitting the water

As I recall, deck 11 is all cabins, balconies on the outside, no public outside space.  And Life boats are on deck 5 or 6 so that's a big drop in and of itself.  So sad.

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

I was on Celebrity Summit this summer, and the last night I decided to use the stairs at the aft down to the Sunset Bar - I had not used them all cruise prior to that. The final step was about 1.5 times larger than the others and because there was no signage about it, I stumbled. I was holding onto the stair railing, and I managed to catch myself, BUT the railing on the port side was close enough to the bottom of the stairs that with enough momentum  someone could stumble at that bottom step and could in fact have gone over. Not doing something you're not supposed to be doing or jumping. Simply going down stairs that are open for passenger use.

 

I had thought like you that "no one 'falls off' a ship" before this, but having this experience I can see how in a rare instance it could happen.

 

And yes, I did inform them in my post-cruise email about it and the lack of signage about the difference in step heights. Someone from the executive office called to talk with me about it and I told her what I'd experienced and observed and because I'd taken pictures the next day she had me send them to her. She said that information was definitely going to be passed along for signage or something to be done.

No amount of stumbling is going to create enough inertia to carry a person of average height over a railing  54 inches or so in height.  Just not happening

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

No amount of stumbling is going to create enough inertia to carry a person of average height over a railing  54 inches or so in height.  Just not happening

Stumbling after a final step that is very close to the side railing very well could - especially if someone is taller. There was less than 6 feet between the bottom of the stairs and the side railing. You stumble into that with force and it hits around waist height and the possibility does exist.

[not-enough-cruising]

25 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Stumbling after a final step that is very close to the side railing very well could - especially if someone is taller. There was less than 6 feet between the bottom of the stairs and the side railing. You stumble into that with force and it hits around waist height and the possibility does exist.

I am sorry but the laws of physics do not support this theory.  There is a reason the railings are the height that they are and that they are slightly sloped.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Stumbling after a final step that is very close to the side railing very well could - especially if someone is taller. There was less than 6 feet between the bottom of the stairs and the side railing. You stumble into that with force and it hits around waist height and the possibility does exist.

This would imply that for decades both ship designers, maritime safety experts, and classification societies have not studied the safety of stairways and ship's side rails, to determine whether this is a possibility or not.  While you may have felt that you could have gone over the rail at the time, I think a scientific study of the physics involved would show that it is about 99.9% not possible (I'll give you that 0.1% possibility, though I don't feel it is justified, after spending 46 years on ships).

[livingonthebeach]

5 hours ago, RD64 said:

This just reminded me of the George Smith mystery, of the honeymooner that supposedly went overboard the  Brilliance of the seas in 2005. 

 

I remember that incident very well as I lived in the same town he was from and I actually met him before the accident / murder? They still haven't solved it. The good thing is his family was instrumental in having the president sign the "The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act" which does the following:

 

• Improve ship safety by requiring forty-two inch guard rails, peep holes in every passenger and crew member’s door, on-deck video surveillance, and an emergency sound system;
•  Provide transparency in reporting by establishing a structure between the cruise industry, the FBI, and the Coast Guard, including requirements that each ship maintain a log book, which would record all deaths, missing individuals, alleged crimes, and passenger/crewmember complaints regarding theft, sexual harassment, and assault;
• Improve crime scene response by requiring rape kits, anti-retroviral medications, and a trained forensic sexual assault specialist be aboard each ship; and
• Establish a program designed by the Secretary of Transportation in consultation with the FBI to train appropriate crew members in crime prevention, detection, evidence preservation, and reporting of criminal activities in the international maritime environment. 

[Boatdrill]

8 hours ago, RFerrington said:

 

 

8 hours ago, molly361 said:

Exactly. I'm onboard and at the captains corner he said that the guest went from a  balcony deck 11 hit lifeboats and was likely gone before hitting the water

The captain of the ship actually said this ?

I'm surprised he wasn't more discreet. 

[HicksRA]

Falling from deck 11 was probably like hitting concrete when he hit the water even if he hadn’t hit anything on the way down.