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Video shows final moments of woman before she fell overboard off Carnival cruise ship

The ship circled for hours looking for any sign of the woman, article bookmarked.

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Newly emerged video footage, recorded minutes before a woman fell overboard from the Carnival Valor cruise , shows her struggling with cruise ship security.

The 32-year-old African-American woman, who remains unidentified, fell from the Carnival Valor ship into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, when it was 150 miles off the coast of Southwest Pass, Louisiana .

Passengers said that the woman appeared in a frantic state following an alleged disturbance in a hot tub on the ship and jumped off from the tenth floor into the ocean.

Now a new video, recorded on a mobile, shows her struggle with three security guards who are tightly holding her hands behind her back. Earlier reports claimed she was handcuffed, however, in the video she wasn’t cuffed.

She is heard screaming “Alicia” as guards help her up a flight of stairs and off the pool deck. The video doesn’t show the moment she fell and it isn’t clear how she she broke free from the guards. However, it shows horrified passengers rushing to the balcony to find out what happened. One of them is heard asking: “who was she?”

A life preserver is seen in the water, reportedly thrown in by the crew to help her stay afloat. However, the woman disappeared soon, the eye witnesses say.

The ship circled for hours looking for any sign of the woman, however, resumed on its route later after the Coast Guard took over the search and rescue efforts which were suspended hours later.

“The decision to suspend a search-and-rescue case is never one we come to lightly,” said Chief Warrant Officer Tricia Eldredge, command duty officer at sector New Orleans. “We offer our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time.”

The cruise company says their team is providing support to the guest’s husband who was traveling with her, as well to the rest of her family.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email [email protected], or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.

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Coast Guard Suspends Search for Passenger Who Fell From Cruise Ship

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday that it halted its search for a woman who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico.

By Johnny Diaz

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a 31-hour search for a passenger who fell off a cruise ship near Mexico, the authorities said on Sunday.

The woman, who was not immediately identified, was aboard a Carnival cruise ship when she fell on Saturday morning “from the balcony of her stateroom,” Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement. The company said the ship had been on a three-day cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, and the Coast Guard said the woman fell near there.

Carnival did not provide further details of how the woman fell overboard.

On Saturday, the Coast Guard said that it had deployed a cutter called the Forrest Rednour as well as a helicopter, and that it was working with Mexico’s Navy to find the woman.

Crews started searching early in the morning on Saturday and into Sunday, the Coast Guard said. It led a search of about 520 square nautical miles, it said.

One passenger told a California news station, KABC-TV , that he heard someone say, “Man overboard, man overboard port side” on the ship’s speakers. He said that when he looked over the balcony of his room, he saw crew members tossing life preservers into the water.

Daniel Miranda, another passenger, told the station that cruise officials said that they had “verified through the cameras” that a woman had fallen into the water. A photo he took, broadcast by the station, also showed that the area of the ship where the woman fell had been cordoned off with blue tape.

After more than 31 hours scouring the area, the Coast Guard said on Sunday that it had suspended its search “pending additional information.”

The cruise company said in its statement that after assisting the Coast Guard, its ship had returned to Long Beach, Calif., as scheduled on Dec. 12. “Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our Care Team is providing support,” the company said.

In California, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents went to the ship “with an evidence response team” to assist in the case, a spokeswoman for the bureau said on Monday.

It is increasingly uncommon for passengers to fall from cruise ships, according to Carolyn Spencer Brown, who has covered the cruise industry for about 25 years, currently as chief content officer of Cruise Media LLC.

“It’s becoming much more uncommon than it was 20 years ago,” she said, citing the “increasingly sophisticated design specifications” that have prioritized safety on ships.

“They are designed to keep you safe,” she continued. “You really don’t hear about it very often, and when it happens, typically there are other factors involved.”

In 2010, Congress passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act , which required ships be equipped with rails no shorter than 42 inches above the deck, and with alarms and other technology to help signal and find passengers who go overboard.

In 2018 and 2019, 26 and 29 people fell overboard from cruise and ferry ships, according to Cruisejunkie.com , which lists cases reported by the news media, including those involving people who jumped. In 2020 and 2021, when far fewer passengers took cruises because of the pandemic, the site recorded three incidents.

Ross A. Klein, who tracks the cases of people who fall overboard on his website, Cruisejunkie.com, wrote in a June 2019 report that information on people who fall overboard is limited “as cases may not be publicly reported.”

Falls overboard could involve intoxication, accidents or deliberate jumps, Mr. Klein’s report said, but he warned there was reason to be cautious with labels because of the lack of information.

“Alcohol intoxication is known in only a small percentage of cases, largely because there is no systematic reporting of persons overboard, and no accounting of behavior prior to a disappearance (such as alcohol consumption),” the report said.

Asked about how many people have fallen overboard from Carnival ships in recent years, a spokeswoman for the company said she did not have any further information other than the statement about this weekend’s search.

The ship traveling to Ensenada this weekend, the Carnival Miracle, debuted in 2004 and can accommodate more than 2,100 guests and 934 crew members, according to the company.

Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. More about Johnny Diaz

Coast Guard suspends search for Carnival Cruise Line passenger who went overboard

A Carnival Cruise Line passenger went overboard on the line’s Carnival Magic ship on Monday.

Ronnie Peale, 35, went overboard 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard suspended its search Wednesday after crews searched over 5,171 square miles.

“The decision to suspend the active search efforts pending further development is never one we take lightly," Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Hooper, Coast Guard District Seven search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a news release . "We offer our most sincere condolences to Mr. Peale’s family and friends.”

“He was reported missing by his companion late Monday afternoon and an initial review of closed circuit security footage confirms that he leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water at approximately 4:10 a.m. Monday,” a Carnival spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The Coast Guard released the ship from search and rescue efforts and advised its captain to continue on to Norfolk, Virginia, the spokesperson said. The vessel was on a round-trip sailing from Norfolk to the Bahamas at the time of the incident, according to CruiseMapper .

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“The Carnival Care Team is providing support to the guest's companion and traveling party who are on board,” the spokesperson added.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Norfolk field office is investigating, with the help of other agencies, according to a spokesperson.

"The FBI typically has jurisdiction to investigate incidents on the high seas, and works closely with our partners in law enforcement and in the cruising industry to collect the evidence and facts of cases," the spokesperson said in an email, though they did not have additional details to share.

The incident comes after other overboard reports in recent months. The Coast Guard suspended search efforts for a Royal Caribbean International passenger who went overboard during a trans-Pacific sailing in April, and a woman died after going overboard on MSC Cruises’ Meraviglia vessel near Florida’s Port Canaveral in December.

Another Carnival passenger was rescued after going overboard from the line’s Carnival Valor ship in November.

Between 2009 and 2019, there were 212 overboard incidents around the world involving passengers and crew, according to statistics compiled for Cruise Lines International Association by consulting firm G.P. Wild (International) Ltd. Just 48 people were rescued.

Cruise ships have safeguards in place to keep passengers from going overboard and are required by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 to have rails that are "located not less than 42 inches above the cabin deck."

Cmdr. Jason Kling, Detachment Chief at the U.S. Coast Guard's Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise, which conducts compliance inspections of cruise ships embarking passengers in U.S. ports or embarking U.S. passengers, told USA TODAY in March that many cruise ships complied with that even before the law was enacted.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

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FBI LA investigating after Carnival cruise ship passenger goes overboard; Woman remains missing 3 days later

Neither the woman nor her body has yet been found.

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The FBI has processed and is analyzing evidence gathered as part of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding how a cruise ship passenger went overboard during a trip from Los Angeles to Mexico , officials confirmed Tuesday.

The passenger, who has been described only as a woman in her mid-20s, was aboard the Carnival Miracle cruise ship around 3:30 a.m. Saturday when she went overboard near Ensenada, Mexico. The woman or her remains were still missing as of Tuesday afternoon. 

The FBI is now the lead agency overseeing the investigation into the woman’s death, a spokesperson for the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office told Fox News. FBI investigators and an evidence response team boarded the Miracle when the ship docked in Long Beach, California, on Sunday, the spokesperson said. 

U.S. COAST GUARD SUSPENDS SEARCH FOR WOMAN WHO WENT OVERBOARD ON CRUISE SHIP

Carnival Miracle cruise ship seen arriving at Los Angeles-area port on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2021 (KKTV) (KKTV)

The teams completed processing the evidence from the ship on Monday, and the investigation is ongoing. 

"We responded due to the circumstances since we have jurisdiction on the high seas," the spokesperson, Laura Eimiller, wrote in an email. "Whether accidental, foul play or otherwise, we look for evidence to determine what actually occurred."

Officials have not yet released the woman’s identity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is leading the water search for the woman’s body.

The United States Coast Guard searched for more than 31 hours, with no success, before discontinuing their efforts pending additional information, the agency’s Southern California branch tweeted Sunday.

COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER WHO WENT OVERBOARD OFF COAST OF MEXICO

The vessel departed from the Los Angeles waters on Thursday. Just days later, in the wee hours of Saturday, passengers awoke to an announcement notifying them of a person overboard, Daniel Miranda, who was on the ship at the time, told KABC-TV . He added that portions of the ship were then closed to the public. Miranda told CBS Los Angeles that the woman’s room was located on the fifth floor.

"Someone has lost their life, whether it was done by accident or by foul play I don’t know," said Miranda, a California-based paramedic and firefighter. "A lot of people are concerned because that’s somebody’s life, and that’s a high likelihood that this person will not be found alive."

A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sail off the coast of Key West. (iStock)

Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Stanton told FOX 11 Los Angeles that the woman plummeted from her stateroom balcony.

The Carnival Miracle boasts 12 stories and is able to accommodate 2,124 guests and 934 crew members. 

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A spokesperson for Carnival did not respond to Fox News’ request seeking comment and information on Tuesday, but the company told FOX 11 on Saturday that they advised guests that morning "of an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her stateroom."

"After assisting the U.S Coast Guard with a search, the ship has been released and is proceeding to Ensenada and will then return to Long Beach as scheduled on Sunday morning," Carnival told FOX 11. "Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our Care Team is providing support."

Stephanie Pagones is a Digital Reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @steph_pagones. 

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Baton Rouge woman speaks about moment woman jumps from cruise ship off Louisiana coast

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Coast Guard is searching for a missing cruise ship passenger approximately 150 miles offshore SouthWest Pass, Louisiana. Rescue crews are searching for a 32-year-old African American female. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans then directed the launch of rescue crews to begin searching.

A Baton Rouge woman who was onboard the Carnival Valor cruise ship talked with WAFB about what she saw and heard. She and other passengers our team spoke with claim something happened in the hot tub area on the 10th deck of the ship around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16 between the now missing woman and a man. That’s when security was called.

RELATED : Cell phone video shows moments before and after woman jumped from cruise ship

“Security got her out of the hot tub. Whenever they got to take her into custody, apparently she was upset and went over the rail. And, that was at about 2:30,” said Kim Barnette, one of the ship’s passengers and a resident of Baton Rouge.

“And when she jumped off, she apparently hit her head on the side of the boat. And, then she hit the water face first,” said Randy, a passenger.

Cell phone video (see below) of the incident obtained by WAFB’s sister station WVUE FOX 8 shows three security guards holding a woman’s arms behind her back not cuffed. She gets up and screams the name “Alicia” before being helped up a flight of stairs and off of the pool deck. The video then cuts to moments after the woman jumped, and crews can be seen rushing to the edge of the ship to throw in a life preserver.

“There are some lifeboats there that apparently she hit on the way down. Which when it hit, it was pretty loud, and of course, there was a disturbance here on the ship, which made me go on my balcony on deck 7,” said Barnette.

People aboard the boat told WAFB, the mood drastically changed before it docked in New Orleans on Thursday, Feb. 17.

“The feeling onboard the ship right now is a little subdued. Of course, most people are at dinner or in their cabins. There’s not a lot of activity that you see going on board, that you see with people. Because everybody is praying for the family because it’s a pretty bad situation,” said Barnette.

And, passengers are praying for a miracle as the Coast Guard continues to search.

“We continue to pray for the family, and let everybody know that the rest of us are okay on board the Valor. We’re just eating dinner and making the best of a bad situation and praying for the family,” said Barnette.

One woman our team spoke with claims crew members threw a flare in, to mark the woman’s location. But, no one has seen her come up from the water yet.

We do not know the woman’s name yet or where she is from.

The ship left from Cozumel, Mexico around 3:27 p.m. on Tues., Feb. 15. It returned to dock in New Orleans around 10:30 a.m. on Thurs., Feb. 17.

An earlier version of this story included a quote from a passenger saying the woman was in handcuffs. A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line denies that.

You can read a full statement from Carnival below:

Carnival Valor supported the search for a guest who jumped overboard from her balcony on Wednesday evening while the ship was at sea. The ship’s command immediately began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard. Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s husband who was traveling with her, as well as her family.

Coast Guard officials took over the search effort and released Carnival Valor on Wednesday evening. Our thoughts are with our guest’s family.

The ship arrived to its homeport of New Orleans on Thursday morning from a five-day cruise to Mexico that departed Saturday, Feb 12 and departed on its next cruise Thursday evening.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2022 WAFB. All rights reserved.

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Carnival cruise ship returns to Long Beach as crews search for woman who went overboard

Carnival officials confirmed the woman went overboard from the balcony of her stateroom.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A cruise ship that set sail to Ensenada, Mexico, from Long Beach that was carrying a woman who went overboard is back as the search for the woman continues.

According to officials, a woman in her 20s was reported missing from the Carnival Miracle cruise ship at around 3:30 a.m.

Carnival officials later confirmed one of the ship's guests went overboard from the balcony of her stateroom.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel joined the Mexican Navy Saturday in the search after the incident, which happened about 35 miles off the Ensenada coast. At 10:30 a.m., after a 31-hour search effort, Coast Guard officials said crews are standing down as they wait for additional information.

The FBI waited for the ship to dock in Long Beach to assist in the investigation and search efforts.

Meanwhile, Eyewitness News spoke with a passenger who was startled by the announcement early Saturday morning.

"About 3 a.m., we were awakened by a general announcement across the ship with a warning going, 'Man overboard! Man overboard! Man overboard!'" recalled Daniel Miranda. "So the ship has been given limited information. They told us we were stuck looking for the lady, and then they called us to clear us up. The crew's been very tight-lipped and of course, they've had different areas of the ship that have cordoned off for their search when they were searching."

The Coast Guard said on Twitter that an MH-60 Jayhawk was involved in the search over ocean waters.

The incident remains under investigation.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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Carnival cruise passenger seen in video moments before reportedly jumping off ship

The coast guard suspended its 14-hour search thursday evening.

FOX Business Headlines 2/18

Here are your FOX Business headlines. 

A Carnival cruise ship passenger was caught on camera struggling with security moments before she reportedly jumped overboard into the Gulf of Mexico. 

In the cell phone video obtained by FOX 8, the woman, 32, is seen being pulled to her feet by security guards on the deck of the Carnival Valor ship on Wednesday. 

The ship was on a five-day cruise to Mexico that departed Saturday, Carnival told FOX Business. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

The woman is then seen struggling as the guards try and hold her arms behind her back. At one point, the woman can be heard screaming "Alicia" before being escorted away by security. 

The clip cuts off and then shows passengers rushing to the edge of the ship looking over the balcony after the woman had reportedly already jumped into the water. Crew members were also seen rushing to the side with life preservers. 

Carnival told FOX Business that the passenger was never in handcuffs at any point during the incident. 

US Coast Guard responds to reports of cruise ship passenger overboard in Gulf of Mexico (WVUE-DT)

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Other passengers posted videos to Twitter moments after the woman allegedly jumped, with one showing a life preserver floating in the water nearby. 

Carnival previously told Fox News that it received reports about a female guest who jumped overboard from her balcony while the ship was at sea. 

A company spokesperson said the ship’s command immediately began search and rescue procedures and returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard. 

"Carnival’s CARE team is providing support to the guest’s husband who was traveling with her," the spokesperson said. 

US COAST GUARD RESPONDS TO REPORTS OF CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER OVERBOARD IN GULF OF MEXICO

However, after 14 hours of searching, the Coast Guard announced that it suspended its mission. 

After getting the call Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard District 8 began searching for the passenger approximately 150 miles offshore SouthWest Pass. 

Crews canvassed more than 2,514 square nautical miles off the coast of Louisiana. 

"The decision to suspend a search-and-rescue case is never one we come to lightly," said Chief Warrant Officer Tricia Eldredge, Command Duty Officer at Sector New Orleans. "We offer our deepest sympathies to the family during this difficult time."

The ship arrived back its home port of New Orleans on Thursday morning, Carnival said. 

FOX News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

Watch CBS News

Coast Guard Searching For Woman Who Fell Overboard Carnival Cruise

December 11, 2021 / 9:38 PM PST / KCAL News

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) -  United States Coast Guard search crews are looking for a woman who fell overboard a Carnival cruise ship and into Pacific Ocean waters early Saturday morning. They are being assisted in their search by the Mexican Navy, as the woman reportedly fell off near Ensenada, Mexico - about 35 miles off the coast.

The Carnival Miracle cruise ship left the Long Beach Cruise Terminal on Thursday, December 9 setting sail for port in Ensenada, one of many routine trips for Carnival Cruise Line. It was scheduled to return on Saturday, part of a three-day voyage.

The boat, now scheduled to return early Sunday morning, was thoroughly searched throughout the day on Saturday.

Passengers were awoken at around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to alerts that a person had fallen overboard. That person, a woman whose identity has not yet been revealed, fell from the fifth-floor balcony of her stateroom, and many are concerned that foul play is definitely involved. There are 12 decks on the Carnival Miracle cruise ship.

Daniel Miranda, a Northern California firefighter paramedic and one of the passengers onboard the ship, spoke with CBS reporters while the ship was docked in Ensenada due to the investigation, "Someone has lost their life, whether it was done by accident or by foul play I don't know - there's some high suspicion of foul play. ... A lot of people are concerned because that's somebody's life, and that's a high likelihood that this person will not be found alive."

Crews promptly began searching the waters for the missing woman on Saturday morning. Miranda attempted to help them in their initial searches.

"They immediately did their best efforts to get crews out on little boats and rescue, to start a search," Miranda said. "They had crew literally around the deck to look all the way around the ship to be able to see if somebody was out in the water. They had lights out in the water trying to flash out there, but again it's pretty dark."

Miranda guesstimated that there are around 1,100 passengers on board of the 2,100 passenger capacity for the Carnival Miracle cruise ship.

The cruise line issued a statement on Saturday morning:

"We advised Carnival Miracle guests this morning of an overboard incident involving one of our guests from the balcony of her statesroom. ... Our thoughts are with the guest and her family, and our care team is providing support."

The Coast Guard has utilized many of it's resources, including a Fast Response Cutter - a 154-foot patrol boat - and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. They indicated that their search will continue throughout the night.

Carnival Cruise Line is a worldwide cruise line that also offers trips out of Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to multiple locations in Hawaii, including Maui, Hilo, Kona and Honolulu, with Carnival Miracle cruises to both Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

As of Sunday afternoon the Coast Guard had called off the search for the woman , stating that they were standing down pending additional information.

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New York woman goes overboard on Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship near Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas -- The Coast Guard is searching for a woman from upstate New York who reportedly fell overboard from the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship near the Bahamas Wednesday.

The Coast Guard said 32-year-old Rina Patel of Interlaken was reportedly seen falling overboard around 2:30 a.m. from the 11th deck. The ship was about 27 miles southwest of Freeport, Bahamas.

The Coast Guard is searching the area with planes and boats.

A person nearby posted this photo of the Coast Guard searching for the woman:

Patel was least seen wearing a white dress with a pink floral pattern.

The Carnival Ecstasy's last port of call was in Nassau, Bahamas on Tuesday. Their next port of call is scheduled to be in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday.

Carnival released this statement:

"Early this morning, a 32-year-old female guest was witnessed jumping overboard from the cruise ship Carnival Ecstasy. The ship was approximately 15 miles off the coast of Grand Bahama island. Man overboard procedures were initiated immediately along with notification to the U.S. Coast Guard. Cruise ship personnel have been participating in the search and rescue operation throughout the morning. At 9 a.m., USCG released the cruise ship to resume its course for Charleston. USCG remains on site to continue the search. The company's CareTeam is providing assistance and support to the missing guest's family on board and our thoughts and prayers are with her and family and loved ones during this difficult time."

Keep checking abc7NY for the latest on this developing story.

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Editor’s Note:  The original version of this story contained misinformation based on a story published by TMZ. This version includes Mrs. Turner’s reaction to their story and its claims. 

A woman whose family was on board  Carnival Valor  when a passenger went overboard earlier this week says that  TMZ  was wrong in their reporting. “They really twisted my words,” she posted to her Facebook page Saturday afternoon.

As we reported earlier this week , a 32-year old  Carnival Valor  passenger went overboard on Wednesday, February 16th. The woman had reportedly been involved in a scuffle with the ship’s security team before the incident. Although an extensive search was conducted by both the Valor  and the United States Coast Guard, the woman was not found.

Later, TMZ reported that a fellow passenger — Rhonda Turner of Booneville, Mississippi — believed that she and her family were so traumatized by the incident that Carnival Cruise Line should compensate them. The site suggested that Turner was hoping to receive, at the very least, credit for a future sailing.

“I Did Not Ask For Money or a Free Cruise!”

According to the website, Turner was enjoying a typical day at sea with her husband and two children when the incident began to unfold. After the woman went overboard, TMZ reported that Turner and her family “rushed to where a large group of passengers was gathered.”

Quoting the site, “Rhonda says the chaos left her and her family reeling, as helicopters hovered over the ship, trying to locate the woman. Her small children were bewildered and upset, unable to understand the scope of what had happened.”

Taking to her Facebook page, a clearly upset Turner set the record straight. “Yes,” she wrote, “it is true I was on the ship where the women fell backwards overboard. Yes, I saw her head floating in the water and it was a traumatizing scene.”

But that, she says, is where the truth ends and the misinformation begins. “No, my kids did not witness any of this,” she says. “Todd kept the girls inside the entire time and took them to the room. I only went outside to see if I could help in any kind of way.”

As for compensation, Turner says “I did not ask for money or a free cruise! They have really twisted my words. They asked me if I thought Carnival should do anything and I told them I don’t even know but seeing two people die in one day on our family vacation ruined it. They took that and ran with it.”

It’s unclear who the second person’s death is in reference to. However, Turner says she is “not trying to sue anyone, and I don’t expect or want anything.”

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Woman dead after bus crashes into pedestrians at Honolulu cruise ship terminal

Five pedestrians were taken to the hospital, police said.

One woman has died and 10 others were injured after a shuttle bus crashed into the transportation area outside a Honolulu cruise terminal Friday, according to police.

The ship, Carnival Miracle, was on a 15-day journey, departing Long Beach, California, on April 6, according to Carnival Cruise Line. Nine of the people hit by the vehicle were cruise ship passengers.

"Sadly, one guest has died from her injuries. She was traveling with her husband, who was also injured and is expected to recover. Members of the Carnival Care Team are assisting the guests. Our thoughts are with the guests affected and their loved ones," Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement to ABC News.

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A 57-year-old man was dropping off customers at pier 2 when a bystander told him that his vehicle was moving forward. He then jumped into the drivers seat, trying to stop the vehicle, but he accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brakes, colliding with two concrete barriers and eleven pedestrians, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Five pedestrians were transported to the hospital -- one of whom was later pronounced dead and four others are in good condition. Six other pedestrians refused treatment on the scene, police said.

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Woman says fiancé went overboard Carnival Magic cruise ship

She says this was his first cruise experience.

A woman tells Scripps News Norfolk that she is the fiancé of a man who went overboard a Carnival Cruise Line, and has given us more details about the incident.

Carnival Cruise Line reported a man went overboard on one of its cruise ships around 4 a.m. Monday.

Jennilyn Michelle Blosser says that man who went overboard is her longtime fiancé, Ronnie Lee Peale Jr.

The ship, Carnival Magic, departed Norfolk, Virginia, on May 25 and headed to the Bahamas. It returned to Norfolk on the morning of Tuesday, May 30, while the search effort continued.

The Coast Guard says it is searching for the man after falling overboard off the coast of Florida. Crews say he went overboard from the cruise ship 186 miles east of Jacksonville.

Peale was reported missing by a travel companion late Monday afternoon, Carnival Cruise Line confirmed to Scripps News Norfolk Monday night.

Blosser had this to say about her fiancé when asked about the incident:

"He was the life of the party. It just hurts too much to even type, let alone talk about it," she explained. "He loved the cruise life being able to drink, gamble, and socialize put him in his happy place. This was his first cruise and I’m sure he would have been willing to do one monthly."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by WTKR News 3 (@wtkr3)

A spokesperson said, "...an initial review of closed circuit security footage confirms that he leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water at approximately 4:10 am early Monday morning."

The USCG released the ship from search and rescue efforts and told the Carnival Magic's captain to continue on its way to Norfolk.

After Carnival Magic returned to Norfolk on Tuesday morning, some passengers told Scripps News Norfolk they heard cruise personnel asking for the man over the intercom several times, but they weren't sure why or how the man was missing.

"There was a security team storming each deck, each floor, concerned. But eventually, they let everybody know that he wasn't found," said passenger Leevon Porter.

Porter and Symone Stewart, another passenger, said Carnival Magic staff didn’t alert them about the man going overboard. They said instead, they learned the man went overboard through a Facebook comment published by Blosser.

"There was a Facebook page for the cruise and she put it on there," they said. "But Carnival didn't say anything about it."

A lot of the passengers who interacted with the man who went overboard described him as a great, fun guy.

"People say he has a great spirit, he was fun, he was having a blast," one passenger told Scripps News Norfolk.

Other passengers say this cruise went through rough waters and was extremely rocky. Now they wonder if anything more can be done to ensure guest safety.

"If they could do a better job of maybe putting the railings up to ensure this doesn't happen again, because when you have your family and your friends, you want to make sure they're safe and secure," said Carnival Magic passenger Paul Brinson.

Carnival Cruise Line said its Care Team is providing support to the guest's companion. Their statement is as follows:

" Carnival Magic has reported a man overboard to the U.S. Coast Guard. He was reported missing by his companion late Monday afternoon and an initial review of closed circuit security footage confirms that he leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water at approximately 4:10 am early Monday morning.  The U.S. Coast Guard has released the ship from any search and rescue efforts and advised the ship’s captain to continue on its way to Norfolk where it will arrive as planned on Tuesday.  The Carnival Care Team is providing support to the guest’s companion and traveling party who are on board."

Blosser  has created a GoFundMe  to help pay for Peale's funeral expenses.

The Carnival Magic left Norfolk Tuesday evening for another Bahamas cruise.

This story was originally published by Julia Varnier at  Scripps News Norfolk .

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Father of Florida cruise passenger, 20, who jumped off Royal Caribbean ship believes his son is still alive: report

T he father of the 20-year-old passenger who jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last Thursday in a reportedly drunken, impulsive leap believes his son is still alive nearly a week later.

Francel Parker, dad of missing Levion Parker, told The Daily Sun that he believes his child — whom he called a master diver — is still alive in the waters off the Bahamas.

“As soon as he went off the side, I prayed over him. I was confident the prayers I said over my son were heard. I stand on the word of God. I believe he is alive,” Francel Parker said to the local Florida paper Wednesday.

The US Coast Guard called off its search for the North Port man a day earlier.

The younger Parker allegedly jumped off the 18-story Liberty of the Seas ship at around 4 a.m. in front of his helpless dad and younger brother after getting into an argument with his father, witnesses previously told The Post.

But Francel, who runs an AC business in Port Charlotte, told the local newspaper that he wasn’t arguing with Levion and that his son wasn’t trying to take his own life.

He said Levion is a skilled diver who works on a commercial fishing boat and is demanding to know how his underage son was given alcohol on the four-day cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island.

“We don’t drink,” Francel said. “I’d like to know how my son was served so much alcohol.”

Another passenger onboard the cruise who witnessed Levion’s heart-stopping jump said that Francel was “fussing at him for being drunk.”

Bryan Sims told The Post that he was hanging out with Levion and his 18-year-old brother Seth in the hotel tub of the ship in the early hours of April 4 before going their separate ways.

After Sims had used the restroom and dried off, he bumped into the brothers and their father near the elevators.

“As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess,” Sims said of the moment before Parker jumped.  

“When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he jumped out the window in front of us all,” Sims said, calling what he witnessed “surreal.”

Another cruise guest described the frantic chaos that followed.

“There was a lot of yelling, and the crew was alerted immediately,” Deborah Morrison, told The Post.

“His family was horrified. Just beside themselves. I can’t even begin to imagine what they’re going through.”

Francel told The Daily Sun that he threw six life rings off the ship in hopes of saving his son before the massive boat was able to come to a stop about 20 minutes later.

Royal Caribbean said it “immediately” launched search boats to look for the 20-year-old and alerted the Coast Guard, which later took over the search.

At least 406 people on major cruise lines and ferries have gone overboard between 2000 and 2024, according to data collected by retired professor and cruise industry researcher Ross Klein.

Death rates among overboard passengers and crew members vary significantly among cruise lines, but even the safest cruise companies were only able to rescue about 40% of people who fall or jump off the ship, Klein told the Washington Post in July.

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Vacation horror as ‘drunk’ son, 20, jumps from royal caribbean cruise in front of family.

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A cruise turned into a nightmare for people aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas when a young man jumped overboard shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday.

The 18-story ship was sailing between Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island when the as-yet-unidentified man jumped off one of the decks.

According to onlookers, his father and brother watched helplessly as he leaped over the side.

Some passengers said it appeared to be an impulsive, spur-of-the-moment decision. 

“I had hung out with him and his brother in the hot tub until 3:30,” passenger Bryan Sims tells The Post. ” It was standing room only. He sat right beside me the whole time.”

“He was pretty drunk,” Sims continues.

“As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess.” “When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he jumped out the window in front of us all.” 

“There was a lot of yelling, and the crew was alerted immediately,” another passenger,  Deborah Morrison, told The Post.

“His family was horrified. Just beside themselves. I can’t even begin to imagine what they’re going through.”

“It was insane,” says Sims. “It was just surreal.” 

In a statement to The Post, Royal Caribbean said its crew immediately sprang into action following the incident.

“The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort alongside the US Coast Guard, who has taken over the search,” the statement reads.

“Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”

News of the apparent suicide attempt quickly spread among the guests — and many of them tried to help in any way they could.

“The early morning was definitely somber as so many people came out of their cabins to stare at the sea, hoping to be able to aid in finding the person,” said Amy Phelps Fouse, a passenger on the ship.

“Royal Caribbean has been excellent at communicating updates throughout the day,” Fouse continued. “They have asked that people act with compassion in light of the tragic situation.”

Overboard incidents on cruise ships are rare.

According to the Washington Post , about 386 people were reported to have gone overboard on the major cruise lines between 2000 to 2020.

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The incidents, whether accidental or intentional, are often deadly.

In the past few years, most cruise lines have enacted onboard safety measures and surveillance systems to help reduce the risk of overboard deaths.

The Coast Guard confirmed to The Post it is still conducting a search and rescue operation in the waters off Cuba. The man has not yet been found.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to  SuicidePreventionLifeline.org .

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Father of 20yo who went overboard cruise ship believes he’s still alive

The search for a missing 20-year-old man who went overboard a cruise ship last Thursday has been called off but his father believes he’s still alive.

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The father of a man who went overboard a Royal Caribbean cruise last week believes his son is “still alive”.

Levion Parker, from Florida in the US, was holidaying with his family aboard Liberty of the Seas when tragedy struck.

The 20-year-old former high school football player and avid hunter had reportedly gone overboard at 4am last Thursday.

At the time, the 18-storey ship was returning to Fort Lauderdale in Florida after a four-day cruise to the Amber Cover cruise port in the Dominican Republic.

The US Coast Guard has since suspended its search for the missing young man, but his father Francel Parker, who was also abroad the cruise, believes his son is “still alive”.

“As soon as he went off the side, I prayed over him. I was confident the prayers I said over my son were heard. I stand on the word of God. I believe he is alive,” Mr Parker told local Florida paper the Daily Sun on Wednesday.

He described his son as being a skilled diver who works on a commercial fishing boat.

Following the incident, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told news.com.au the ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort alongside the US Coast Guard, who took over the search.

“Our Care Team is providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share,” the spokesperson said on Monday.

Francel told the Daily Sun that he threw six life rings off the ship in hopes of saving his son before the vessel was able to come to a stop about 20 minutes later.

When passengers woke up to the news, Amy Phelps Fouse, who was on-board the ship, said it was “definitely sombre”.

She told the New York Post many people came out of their cabins to stare at the sea, hoping to be able to aid in finding the person.

“Royal Caribbean has been excellent at communicating updates throughout the day,” she said of the incident on Thursday.

“They have asked that people act with compassion in light of the tragic situation.”

Another passenger who took to Reddit to post about the heartbreaking incident said they became aware of the tragedy when the captain broke the news the following morning.

“They announced it over the PA system while we were at breakfast at the entire room went silent,” they wrote. “Then the rest of the cruise felt oddly casual.”

The young man was reportedly “drunk” on the night but details around this are unclear as the minimum age to consume alcohol on Royal Caribbean ships on voyages from North America or the Caribbean is 21.

“We don’t drink,” Levion’s father Francel said. “I’d like to know how my son was served so much alcohol.”

According to the Daily Mail , he was thought to be staying with his family on deck 10, a flight below the whirlpools and hot tubs of deck 11 where he had spent time with his brother and another passenger the night of the incident before things took a horrifying turn.

Francel, who owns an airconditioning business, was invited, together with his family, aboard the ship as guests of Florida-based airconditioning wholesalers Tropic Supply to mark the company’s 50th anniversary.

Francel told the Daily Mail the family is consulting lawyers and is planning to issue a statement.

Travel lawyer Jim Walker said in a blog that Royal Caribbean along with the vast majority of US cruise companies have yet to install automatic man overboard systems as required by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010.

“Such automatic MOB systems utilise state-of-the-art motion detection, video and infra-red technology and radar to instantly detect when someone goes over the rails of a cruise ship,” he wrote.

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“The system can then track the person’s movements in the water even at night-time,” adding the infra-red technology would be crucial in assisting the ship in locating and rescuing the person in the water.

“Without such a system, the chances of locating an overboard person in the water at night it like finding a needle in a haystack.”

According to the Washington Post , about 386 people were reported to have gone overboard on the major cruise lines between 2000 to 2020.

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Three stranded men have been rescued from a tiny Pacific island after crafting a “crucial” message on the sand.

Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them

A dream cruise vacation has turned into a nightmare for eight passengers left stranded on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe after their ship left without them because they were late to return from a private tour.

The tourists — six from the U.S. and two from Australia — were aboard the Norwegian Dawn, a Norwegian cruise line ship , which departed from Cape Town, South Africa, on March 20 for a 21-day voyage up the coast of Africa set to end in Barcelona, Spain, on April 10.

But on Wednesday, the group of eight tourists was late to return to the ship by more than an hour for the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. from a private excursion on the island, which was not organized by the cruise line.

Jay and Jill Campbell of South Carolina were part of the group that was left behind.

They said that their tour’s operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late to rejoin the ship and that the local Coast Guard tried to get them on the vessel but that they weren’t allowed to board.

As a result, the couple and the rest of the group have been stranded for days on the island off Nigeria, grappling with language, currency issues and complicated travel to catch up with the ship.

“The lovely people of São Tomé were very gracious, very hospitable. They had reached out as much as they could to help us find hotels,” Jay Campbell said on NBC's "TODAY" show Tuesday morning.

“We were able to get to a tour agency there to arrange flights to the next port of call. ... Very difficult process — you’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers, you’re dealing with different currencies ... finding someone that even has dollars ... trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to.

"It’s one of those ‘You can’t get there from here,’" he added.

A Norwegian spokesperson called the incident a “very unfortunate situation” and said, “Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”

The cruise line said that after the guests failed to return, their passports were delivered to local port agents, in line with protocol. The company said it was working with local authorities to understand “the requirements and visas needed for the guests to reboard the ship at the next available port of call.”

On Monday, the guests had made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the ship was unable to safely dock there because of “adverse weather conditions” and “tidal restrictions,” Norwegian said. The guests were then contacted and provided with information to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday. 

Jill Campbell said they traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to arrive in Senegal on Monday night.

But the couple was reconsidering whether they even wanted to return to the cruise.

"We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship. It is in dock here in Senegal," she said. "We believe there was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten about, so it does concern us."

"After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly. I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and really the safety and well-being of the customers should be their first priority," she added.

Ultimately, the eight passengers did rejoin the cruise before 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, Norwegian told NBC News in an e-mail Tuesday evening, after this story originally published.

Norwegian said the passengers were responsible for making their own travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.

"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal," a cruise line spokesperson said in a statement. "We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available."

A silver lining of the catastrophe was that the Campbells were able to connect with another Norwegian Dawn passenger — Julia Lenkoff, 80 — who was also left on the island, but for a medical reason.

Lenkoff was on a different day tour Wednesday. She had "medically disembarked" from the cruise to seek local treatment on that day, Norwegian said.

Norwegian said that its care team tried to call Lenkoff several times and was unable to reach her and that it worked with its port agent in São Tomé and Príncipe for updates on her health.

The Campbells met Lenkoff and were able to put her in contact with her family in California, who flew her home — a move Lenkoff's daughter said "saved her life."

"She's a world traveler. She travels all the time. So this was going to be one of her bucket list trips, because she's been to 120 countries so far, and she wanted to get to 130," her daughter, Lana Lenkoff Geis, said in an interview that aired Tuesday on "TODAY."

Norwegian said Lenkoff was escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, then put in the care of airport staff members to continue her journey back to the U.S., where she has safely returned.

Breaking News Reporter