It's very rare for a passenger to go overboard on a cruise ship.
When it happens, announcements are made to the crew in code over the public address system. Many passengers, of course, know those codes, but the cruise lines make every effort to not panic the passengers.
Still, while steps are taken, many passengers will notice that something is wrong as the cruise line makes every effort to recover the passenger.
It's very rare that a man going overboard is an accident unless alcohol is involved. Cruise ship rails make it very hard to accidentally fall over, which usually means that a man overboard situation is a drunken accident or a suicide situation.
When it happens, however, the cruise ship stops and spends at least a few hours searching for the missing passenger. If another ship is in the area, it will also join in the search, and sometimes the Coast Guard will help.
"On average, around 25 people fall off cruise ships per year. In 2019, 26 people fell overboard, out of the 29 million guests that took a cruise that year. This makes your chance of falling overboard on a cruise around 1 in 1.4 million," Emma Cruises reported.
When it does happen, however, all efforts go into saving the passenger. Jeff Parker has the latest on a recent Princess Cruises incident on the Dec. 4 edition of Cruise News Today.
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Princess Cruises passenger lost at sea
Transcript:
This is cruise news today with Doug Parker. And here's your cruise news for Wednesday, December 4.
A 72-year-old man traveling by himself aboard Princess Cruises, Ruby Princess, is presumed lost at sea.
The incident occurred as the ship returned to San Francisco from a five-day cruise to Mexico and San Diego.
Princess said in a statement, having ruled out other possibilities, this is being treated as a man overboard incident.
Coast Guard air support did search some 40 miles south of San Francisco off Monterey, California.
That search turned up empty and was eventually called off Monday evening
This marks the 18th man overboard incident for the cruise industry this year alone.
Virgin adds annual pass, Celebrity comes to Port Canaveral
And Virgin Voyages has introduced its annual pass, offering unlimited cruising across its entire fleet for a year starting in January.
The pass, which will set you back around $120,000 plus taxes and fees, will include perks like priority boarding, complimentary laundry, and loyalty program benefits. Pass holders can also bring a rotating guest and sail on any itinerary including the debut of Brilliant Lady next September.
Bookings for the annual pass are open until March 31 and it lives true to its name as it's valid for the entire 12 months.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
And the Celebrity Equinox has officially arrived its new homeport in Port Canaveral, Florida, marking Celebrity's first time ever to be homeported from Central Florida. The 2,850-passenger cruise ship arrived Tuesday morning after a 12-day transatlantic voyage from Portugal. It kicked off with a four-night itinerary to the Bahamas followed by a series of seven-day cruises to the Caribbean.
The ship will homeport in Florida through April before heading back to Europe. This is Port Canaveral's 15th homeport.
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