Jump to content

Is it possible to go overboard from a cruise ship? (this ? is not a joke)


antman455

Recommended Posts

Going overboard from a cruise ship is the number one thing that scares me! like what happen if someone don't like you on the ship? im sure the person can just flip you overboard or what happens if you fell over by accident? will the ship turn around to get you? plus if you are alone and have a balcony cabin and you fall off into the sea. what happens? if no one knows you fell off out to sea that would be a scary site!! not sure if anyone else thought of this sort of thing happening to them. have there been reports of people going overboard? i don't think i ever heard of it happening from the news. i really love to go on a cruise! but this sort of thing is holding me back from cruising:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The short answer is NO! Not unless someone is really stupid, drunk, showing off, etc. I have actually walked around the ship looking for places where someone could acidentally fall off, but never found one. The rails are too high. Please, don't be scared by this, cruising is very safe. We have been on 25 cruises so far and have never worried about falling overboard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The short answer is NO! Not unless someone is really stupid, drunk, showing off, etc.

 

So... that would make the long answer YES !

 

OP, if your that paranoid - don't go. And don't live in a high-rise apartment building with balconies either. Yes, it has happened both suicide, or drunk, (and possibly showing off as well). The cruise lines don't practice "Man Overboard" drills for no reason !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cannot imagine how you could possibly 'lean over too far' over a railing and fall over unless you were 9 feet tall.

 

Anything's possible, but you'd really have to try to fall overboard. If you sit on top of the railing, yes. But the railings are high and it sounds like you wouldn't exactly be the the type to do that, anyway.

 

I also can't imagine why anyone who "didn't like you" would want to throw you overboard.

 

Relax and go for it :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You would have to intentionally want to jump from the ship to go overboard.

 

And if you're short you would have to work at getting over the railing.

 

But you don't have to hang out at the railing of a ship. Ships are BIG. Even if you want to walk around the promenade deck they are maybe 10-12 feet wide, if not wider. So you walk towards the boat side, not the railing side.

 

If you have a balcony, no one says you have to hang over the railing, you can sit in a chair with your back to the ship... or get a cabin on the inside.

 

If you're that afraid, just don't hang out at the railings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To the OP's question, yes I think I have read that if the ship knows you've gone overboard, they will go back and get you. Think I read recently about an amorous encounter for some newlyweds that sent them into the sea. They tread water for four hours or so but they were rescued.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This really probably sound strange BUT, I always cruise alone and have a balcony cabin. I actually DO have a real fear that I may have a little too much to drink during my late seating dinner and go back to my cabin, onto my balcony, and fall overboard!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found a list of overboards from 2000-2010. Considering how many people cruise the list is extremely short. Several are reported as naked, some seem to be definite suicides like the couple who had the DnD sign on their locked cabin door.

 

You cannot fall off a cruise ship while standing at the rail. You can fall off a cruise ship if you are sitting on the rail.

 

http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/other/man_overboard.asp

 

The averages on the bottom are interesting-- basically if you are 41yo male from CA or FL sailing on the Carnival Conquest be very careful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it is possible to get over the rail if you wanted to try. It would certainly not be easy to simply fall overboard. The railings are high enough that you can lean over a good bit and not have enough of your body over to fall.

 

That being said, let's presume the worst, and your long-lost enemy is aboard, sees you and decides to pitch you over the side, or you are drunk and try to play Titanic and stand on the railing. There are the issues of surviving the fall -- you would survive the fall if you went feet-first and kept your feet together and held your nose. If you fell off the top deck of some of today's very tall ships, that might be problematic.

 

Assuming you survived the fall, the next threat is the ship's screws. There is suction along the side near the screws and you can get sucked under. So if you are conscious, you would need to swim away from the side of the ship. If someone reports the man overboard immediately, the ship will make an immediate turn to push the stern away from the side where the person went overboard. (Note to everyone, if you see this happen, you want to yell "man overboard" and state which side of the ship.)

 

Now, if someone sees you and reports it, the ship will immediately go into a man overboard maneuver and try to find you and pick you up. That would likely mean coming close to where you are and putting a lifeboat in the water. This is something they practice, and know how to do, but hope they never have to.

 

For everyone's information, this is another use of the muster drill -- to find out if everyone is aboard if someone thinks someone went over the side!

 

If the ship doesn't find out until hours later, as has been the case, it is a whole different scenario. People have survived in warm waters, and in fact a couple of years ago, a passenger from one line was picked up by a cruise ship from another line hours later. In this situation, you want to be a good swimmer! If you are wearing blue jeans, it is possible to make a life preserver out of them, but that is a lesson for another day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going overboard from a cruise ship is the number one thing that scares me! like what happen if someone don't like you on the ship? im sure the person can just flip you overboard or what happens if you fell over by accident?

 

You will die.:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone's just been rescued-alive- from Ventura's Transatlantic....in the middle of the night! It's on the News page of this site.

There was a rescue in the North Sea from a ferry recently.....a crew member has said to friends of mine that there was a drunken game of "chicken", where you have to run and jump onto the first rail- and lean over; then the 2nd; then the 3rd....

Jo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For kids I think that it is a legitimate concern. There would need to be a little climbing involved but kids will be kids and I would worry about the under 6 crowd the most. Anyone who says that they have never lost sight of their kids for a moment or ever forgot to lock the doors etc is not being honest. If I brought a small child out on deck and couldn't find them for 30 seconds I would absolutely panic. For older kids and adults I think that just by looking over the rail you know that it is dangerous and not a place to fool around by.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For kids I think that it is a legitimate concern. There would need to be a little climbing involved but kids will be kids and I would worry about the under 6 crowd the most. Anyone who says that they have never lost sight of their kids for a moment or ever forgot to lock the doors etc is not being honest. If I brought a small child out on deck and couldn't find them for 30 seconds I would absolutely panic. For older kids and adults I think that just by looking over the rail you know that it is dangerous and not a place to fool around by.

 

Not all that legitimate of a concern. I cannot recall any instances of kids falling overboard by themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not all that legitimate of a concern. I cannot recall any instances of kids falling overboard by themselves.

 

That's reassuring but have you ever heard of a 10 year old getting a mountain bike break stuck 3 inches into her thigh after a fall and the firefighters cutting the bike off of her. LOL (yep, you're right, my kid!) :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going overboard from a cruise ship is the number one thing that scares me! like what happen if someone don't like you on the ship? im sure the person can just flip you overboard or what happens if you fell over by accident? will the ship turn around to get you? plus if you are alone and have a balcony cabin and you fall off into the sea. what happens? if no one knows you fell off out to sea that would be a scary site!! not sure if anyone else thought of this sort of thing happening to them. have there been reports of people going overboard? i don't think i ever heard of it happening from the news. i really love to go on a cruise! but this sort of thing is holding me back from cruising:(

 

Unless you launch yourself purposefully - no. The railing is all high enough that even on my tall frame (5'9) it hits me about mid ribs.

Or unless you make an enemy and they toss you over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, I've lived in a high rise with a balcony. I'm now partially afraid of heights. I wouldn't purposely lean against the railing with my back to it.

 

I agree that it is hard to just fall off a ship unless it's some odd accident in high seas and you tumble over when the ship is tilted due to being toasted.

 

I suggest research how many people have survived jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. It's possible. It's also natural for a person to try to angle themselves so they are going into the water straight (not a belly flop). This increases chances of survival.

 

We always get a balcony and enjoy it. However, the last cruise there was a 21 year old that jumped overboard. I don't believe he was ever found and most likely died.

 

Again - unless there is rough seas or a rouge wave hits the ship, I think it's hard to fall overboard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...