It's very rare that anyone accidentally goes overboard on a cruise ship.
The railings in the public areas are high enough to prevent accidental man-overboard situations. In addition, these areas are monitored to prevent kids from playing on the railings and other situations that pose danger.
Workers on cruise ships also have many fail-safes in place, even when they're doing somewhat perilous jobs like cleaning the ship or washing windows.
It can be startling to a passenger to look out their balcony window and see a worker dangling from a rope chair cleaning their window. In general, however, that's perfectly safe as the workers are using well-tested equipment with a long safety track record.
Deaths on cruise ships are incredibly rare, with some reports putting the number at less than 200 people per year. (Those stats are somewhat sketchy given that some deaths that technically take place on land were from incidents that took place on a cruise.)
Still, it's somewhat surprising that Royal Caribbean appeared to have lost a crew member and a passenger in two separate recent incidents.
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Royal Caribbean crew member and passenger dies
Transcript:
This is cruise news today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Wednesday, December 18.
The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting a search-and-rescue operation after a crew member reportedly went overboard on a Royal Caribbean ship while performing maintenance.
The incident occurred around 1 p.m. on Tuesday on Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas in the Atlantic Ocean just east of the Bahamas. The ship turned back around and launched rescue boats to search for the missing individual.
Hours later, the Coast Guard arrived on scene to assist.
After nearly eight hours of combing the area, the Coast Guard did release Vision of the Seas to head back to Baltimore. At the time of broadcast, the individual has not been found.
And a Royal Caribbean cruise turned tragic when a passenger passed away following an incident on board Navigator of the Seas.
A 35-year-old passenger reportedly became intoxicated and unruly just after the ship left San Pedro, California, for Ensenada. Witnesses say he made threats, used slurs, and attacked crew members before being subdued by security with pepper spray, ties and cuffs.
Now, a family member claims a sedative was administered during the altercation and the passenger passed away just an hour after being detained.
The FBI is investigating this incident, which did occur in international waters. In a statement, Royal Caribbean said, "we are saddened by the passing of one of our guests. We offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation."
Carnival expands its Australian operations
And Carnival Cruise Line is set to expand its Australian presence by rebranding two former P&O Australia ships. Now, this is what we know so far. Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure will join Carnival's fleet as the Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure by March of next year.
Carnival promises to blend P&O favorites like the Byron Beach Club and Edge Adventure Park with Carnival's signature funship offerings, including comedy shows, deck parties and new kids club activities.
The Carnival Encounter will homeport in Brisbane, while Carnival Adventure will sail year-round from Sydney. With the consolidation of P&O Australia next year, Carnival is expected to sail around 600,000 guests annually from down under.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
If you have a lead on a story, let us know. Tips@cruiseradio.net. Have yourself a great Wednesday.
I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
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