2 Rescued After Fall From Cruise Ship

Jason · March 25, 2007

GALVESTON, Texas - A man and woman fell overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, but both were rescued after a four-hour search and appeared to be in good condition, a cruise line spokeswoman said.

The 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman fell 50 to 60 feet from a cabin balcony, said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises.

She said the cruise line did not know how they fell overboard. Their ship, Princess Cruise's Grand Princess, was about 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas, at the time.

The captain turned the ship around after friends of the man and woman notified the crew at about 1:30 a.m. CDT that they had gone overboard, Benson said. The ship's crew used high-powered spotlights and rescue boats in the search. One passenger was rescued by the ship's boats at 5:30 a.m. and the other at 6 a.m., according to a statement by the cruise line.

The search was aided by the Coast Guard, said Lt. j.g. Jillian Lamb at the District 8 Command Center. A nearby cruise ship also offered assistance, she said.

The man and woman, whom the cruise line declined to name, were examined by the ship's medical staff.

"They appear to be in satisfactory condition and we hope that no further medical attention will be needed," Benson said.

Grand Princess was carrying 2,783 passengers on a seven-day tour of the western Caribbean.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

hazelson · March 26, 2007

I think some of these older "children" should be strapped into restraints. How, exactly does one "fall" from a balcony that has a very high rail????? Idiots!

Suzila · March 26, 2007

NBC had an animation this morning of what happened, and it doesn't look like they were in the cabin at all. Not sure if they had that right or not. They showed them falling from a public area, they said people did see them fall, and they fell 5 floors. They were amazed they survived the fall, nevermind being in the water.

Let's face it, that young, they must have been drunk out of their minds, (have you ever seen 20 somethings running wild on a cruise, drinking until they can't see straight?) and unless you're 9 feet tall, you can't 'just fall' over the railing. You have to actively make an effort to climb over the railing, or, be sitting on the railings.

JoeyandDavid · March 26, 2007

and i think the question is .. are you allowed to sneak liquor on board??

Answer..... apparently so...

Mebert · March 26, 2007

There seems to be a string of stories about passengers falling overboard these days.

Has this been going on in the past and the events just went unreported? Is it because so many more people are cruising these days?

I've never heard so many stories about people going overboard until the past three years.

SMB · March 26, 2007

My theory is the stories have increased as the percentage of balcony rooms has increased. Hmmmmm?

rogue · March 26, 2007

Check out this site to get an idea about people falling overboard.

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

btate · March 26, 2007

Valeri and I were on the Grand exactly one month ago. Glad we were not on this voyage. All of us have cruised, not sure how you fall overboard?

Howard,

Those statistics speak loudly.

Gregswife · March 26, 2007

Seems that Carnival has the highest number of incidents. As I only cruise on Carnival, I guess I had better be careful. Actually, I do not see how one could fall overboard with the railings being as high as they are. The only scenario I could really envision it happening would be if the ship would list greatly to one side. Maybe if they were quite tall...I am 5'7" and the railings are always higher than my waist, so I don't see how you could just fall over one.