Two Carnival Passengers Overboard in One Day

8 Responses to “Two Carnival Passengers Overboard in One Day”

1. CAPT. D. Peter Boucher, MN (Ret.) on June 17th, 2009 4:02 pm

   I served in cruise ships for over 25 years as a Deck Officer. During all that time I never had a passanger overboard incident. Now retired this has become an all too common occurance. Investigators must look for a commonality in the incidents. Once that is done steps must be taken by both the cruise lines and individual ships to prevent further such events. From private conversations with crewmembers in various cruise lines it seems there is a daredevil trend amongst passangers climbing outboard to go from one cabin balcony to another or one deck to another. Often it would seem the person is under influence of alcohol and or narcotics. However this is hardly anything new in the cruise industry. Therefore a serious and in depth study must be done. Please don’t tell me it is because for a fact I know it is not. Cruise lines activate ‘damage control’ with an attractive smooth talking spokesperson and quickly move on to the next voyage. Any crewmember talking about the incident is quickly fired and blacklisted.
   Good Watch.

2. Rick on June 17th, 2009 4:19 pm

   My first thought was that the increased number of balconies made it easier for passengers to fall in the ocean probably after drinking heavily. I have also read of passengers falling when attempting to climb from one balcony to another.

   That being said, the ships where the latest passengers fell overboard did not have a significant number of cabins with balconies. It clearly is a topic that requires investigation.

3. Andy on June 17th, 2009 5:50 pm

   We’ve had several cases on cruise ships operating out of Galveston in the last few years — which seems high, given that we’re a relatively small market compared to, say, Miami. One case was a known suicide (multiple witnesses), but in others the person simply disappeared. I agree with Captain Boucher about the need for a real study of this, although I suspect the explosive growth of the cruise industry, as well as the relative drop in cost to cruise, is a big part of it — more people *on board* means more people *overboard*.

   I have not cruised on Carnival, but a relative who did last summer was mightily put off by her experience — the vast majority of passengers seemed to be interested in (1) getting really, really drunk and (2) blowing their cash at the casino. Or preferably, (1) and (2) simultaneously. There may be a “cruise culture” that varies from line to line, but the apparent emphasis on getting hammered undoubtedly has a lot to do with it.

4. Rick on June 17th, 2009 6:28 pm

   I have never cruised with Carnival, either. (I am not a big fan of cruise ships.) I do have friends who have cruised with Carnival who were very unhappy with the ‘Fun Ship’ party atmosphere, specifically related to the amount of drunkenness aboard.

   Carnival has the largest number of passengers lost overboard in the last nine years. While Carnival is the largest cruise line, the figure does seem disproportionally large.

5. Andy on June 18th, 2009 10:37 am

   I should say that my relative who traveled on Carnival — my sister, actually — took my 11-year-old daughter along, and the kid had a great time. The line was very good, very professional, about providing appropriate activities and supervision for the kids ALL DAY LONG and into the evening. That part of the cruise was extremely well run. They even organized an all-night event for the kids to allow parents some private time to themselves — and that’s all to the good. But for my sister, who was not particularly interested in getting sloshed or, um, “hooking up,” it was a dreadful bore.

6. Rick on June 18th, 2009 11:14 am

   I have had two sets of friends, both couples with children, who came back from a Carnival cruise having not had a good time.

   I am not a big fan of cruise ships but I have been on two family trips on Celebrity and did enjoy myself. Each cruise line targets a market segment. I suspect that I am not in Carnival’s demographic.

   My favorite cruise by far was on the Star Flyer which is modern four masted barkentine. A beautiful ship and a great cruise.

7. Karen on June 19th, 2009 9:19 am

   Another thumbs up for Star Flyer. Of course, it may have just been the good company.

8. Mike G on June 24th, 2009 11:29 pm

   My new wife and I took our Honeymoon on the Carnival Cruise Ship Victory last week. A crew member committed suicide before we left San Juan.
   Despite the tragic event, we thought the crew was magnificent, the entertainment even better and cant wait to go back!

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