Man overboard

[Happy2cruise]

What a sad situation.

 

I hope everyone reading this thread will take to heart the stress crew members can be under. It might just take one final complaint or rude comment from a passenger to put someone over the edge. After 27 cruises on Princess ships, we have never encountered a crew member who wasn't pleasant and trying to do their best to please. But we have seen passengers be so rude to crew members treating them as servants rather than the personable helpful people they are or try very hard to be.

Very well said.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

The poor guy- he obviously was very upset. It may have been work related, home life related or could have involved a shipboard love affair gone bad. Who knows? Tragic.

[marazad16]

The poor guy- he obviously was very upset. It may have been work related, home life related or could have involved a shipboard love affair gone bad. Who knows? Tragic.

 

Yes, very sad, and very tragic. Could have been any number of reasons that you hit on. Depression and it's triggers are vast. Prayers for this person, family, and friends.

[shastatroy]

What a sad situation.

 

I hope everyone reading this thread will take to heart the stress crew members can be under. It might just take one final complaint or rude comment from a passenger to put someone over the edge. After 27 cruises on Princess ships, we have never encountered a crew member who wasn't pleasant and trying to do their best to please. But we have seen passengers be so rude to crew members treating them as servants rather than the personable helpful people they are or try very hard to be.

 

Wishing for a positive outcome with prayers for the family and friends of this crew member and the hope that the passengers will accept the interruption of their vacation with compassion and praise for Princess for doing whatever they can to find the missing person.

 

 

Lets not cast blame on the passengers, we don't know the circumstances. I witnessed 2 crew members bulling another crew member on my last cruise. That being said I'm not blaming the crew members either.

[LCTrippers]

Still searching with the Grand and a Horizon Lines container ship.

[Ethel5]

We also have over 27 cruises on Princess going back over twenty years and have never, repeat never seen a passenger being overly rude to a crew member. Not to say it doesn't happen. But for someone to go and jump overboard is some place off the chart in troubled behavior.

 

I sincerely hope we never see it.

 

I have 26 cruises on Princess alone. I have witnessed passengers being nasty to crew for no reason. It doesn't happen often but it does happen. Maybe it didn't have anything to with this apparent suicide THIS time.

[JimmyVWine]

But counselors on ships, you can't be serious. Should the company I work for provide counselors because my work is stressful? Of course not.

 

Many employers do. Mine does. Maybe placing them on the ship would be tough. But grief, stress and family counseling is now a common workplace asset.

[kruisey]

The guy is on surveillance video and it clearly shows him intentionally jumping overboard. They didn't notice he was missing for a couple of hours. There is no way in the world they will find this guy alive. He wanted to die or he wouldn't have jumped overboard in the middle of the Pacific.

 

It's probably difficult for the crew and I hope they get assistance if they want it but the ships should just go on. The guy is gone, gone, gone and he wanted it that way. Maybe he found peace with himself and the world. It's a bad thing that people get that depressed but it does happen and there's nothing to be done about it afterward.

 

I know they have to look for him but I'm also quite certain they know it's a hopeless gesture.

The guy could have been so upset over something that the balance of his mind went.Maybe he had no one on board to turn to .Who knows.I just hope there is someone on board that can help crew members in their time of stress for what ever reason..God rest this poor soul.

[stocks]

Grand bridge cam just had the Star on the bridge cam.

[Whoo]

This is so sad. The crew on the Princess ships I have been on, have overall, always been so hard-working, and so helpful and friendly. We were so fortunate to have the same cabin steward on our last cruise, as on the previous cruise - and he even looked for us and recognized us right away! (Hi, Ariel, if you or Princess look at these boards!)

 

I hope the passengers are considerate, and understand any delays or cancellations while this search is underway. I hope they are also considerate of the employees' emotions. I worked at an office where someone committed suicide on the workroom floor (3 months after I had transferred out of there), but it was a very traumatic incidence for me, and even more so for the employees still there.

 

Please be kind and considerate to the crew. If you have a complaint, be respectful and reasonable. If the person you talk to can't resolve your problem, thank them and take it to the next higher level.

[partybarbie]

IMHO, Princess has the nicest, friendliest, most helpful crew on any cruise line. I'm so sorry to hear of this tragedy.

[LCTrippers]

Cpt. Just announced we have been released from search and will skip Maui and add at the end Kona or Maui.

[USNUZULOOSE]

Many employers do. Mine does. Maybe placing them on the ship would be tough. But grief, stress and family counseling is now a common workplace asset.

 

It is not like the employee's get to go home after coming back from a cruise. These people are out to sea for months and not seeing anyone from home. They need someone to talk to as well. It may do a lot of good. If they had someone to talk to it may avoid this issue.

[JimmyVWine]

Cpt. Just announced we have been released from search and will skip Maui and add at the end Kona or Maui.

Thanks for the updates. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

It is not like the employee's get to go home after coming back from a cruise. These people are out to sea for months and not seeing anyone from home. They need someone to talk to as well. It may do a lot of good. If they had someone to talk to it may avoid this issue.

Something to think about for sure.

[Loonbeam]

Typically they won't staff a full time counselor, though some of the officers and managers should be trained in those skills, as well as some of the medical staff.

 

The cruise lines have an incident response team for things like this, the trick in this case will be getting them onboard, depending on how long it is until Hawaii. They may also supplement the team from local resources.

 

Many employers do. Mine does. Maybe placing them on the ship would be tough. But grief, stress and family counseling is now a common workplace asset.

[own]

Lord, have mercy.

 

Please.

[LCTrippers]

Coast Guard ordered us (Star) back. We will begin new search Tomorrow with Grand.

[MAJPLO]

Wishing for a positive outcome with prayers for the family and friends of this crew member and the hope that the passengers will accept the interruption of their vacation with compassion and praise for Princess for doing whatever they can to find the missing person.

 

X2

[SwissDave]

It is sad and my prayers are with the family. But counselors on ships, you can't be serious. Should the company I work for provide counselors because my work is stressful? Of course not. If someone is intent on jumping off a ship and killing themselves there is nothing anyone can do.

 

Many employers do. Mine does. Maybe placing them on the ship would be tough. But grief, stress and family counseling is now a common workplace asset.

 

My employer also has counselors available as well as an external specialist organisation if someone prefers something more independant. We are all given credit card sized contact cards with phone numbers and email adresses in order to have them at hand 24 hours a day. It also does not have to be work related, we can contact them for 'personal' issues as well.

 

I know first hand of at least one life that was saved in my office because of these people being available.

 

Do the ships still have chaplains or someone similar on board?

[Host Joe]

The Captain announced last night that we on the Grand have been told by the US Coast Guard to resume the searches again in the morning. Another C130 Fixed Wing Coast Guard plane will join us. I will update further as I know more. We have talked to some staff who knew the man well and it is a very sad story for all involved.

[tothemall&beyond]

The guy is on surveillance video and it clearly shows him intentionally jumping overboard. They didn't notice he was missing for a couple of hours. There is no way in the world they will find this guy alive. He wanted to die or he wouldn't have jumped overboard in the middle of the Pacific.

 

It's probably difficult for the crew and I hope they get assistance if they want it but the ships should just go on. The guy is gone, gone, gone and he wanted it that way. Maybe he found peace with himself and the world. It's a bad thing that people get that depressed but it does happen and there's nothing to be done about it afterward.

 

I know they have to look for him but I'm also quite certain they know it's a hopeless gesture.

 

But there is certainly something that can and should be done before it happens! Because it happens way too often; more often that most passengers realize.

First, cruise lines should pay these guys a reasonable wage and stop making them rely on passengers' "voluntary" tips for the majority of their livelihood. Second, they should have reasonable working hours. If that means more crew members need to be on board, so be it. If they can cram more passengers onto the ships for revenue, they can find ways to accommodate more crew, too. Third, there should be a licensed counselor on board all ships so that crew members can get help dealing with the problems that life brings their way. And, unless they pose a risk to passengers or fellow crew members requiring action, it must be privileged so that superiors can't "punish" them.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Very sad for the family and crew and passengers onboard.

 

What specific job did this crew member have??

Everyone is jumping on passengers for being rude, abusive and on superior staff for 'punishment' etc but who knows what or why this person decided to jump.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Julia’s Journey’s

[PescadoAmarillo]

We also have over 27 cruises on Princess going back over twenty years and have never, repeat never seen a passenger being overly rude to a crew member. Not to say it doesn't happen. But for someone to go and jump overboard is some place off the chart in troubled behavior.

 

I sincerely hope we never see it.

I totally agree. To jump to a conclusion that someone committed suicide because a passenger was rude to them is to be ignorant of the reality of mental illness.

 

Also, some people have a penchant for running into rude passengers. We have over 80 cruises and can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we've seen truly rude passengers. I have come to the conclusion that some people are simply on the outlook for opportunities to be judgemental.

[RetiredNTraveling]

Like so many of you, I believe that the crew of PCL ships are among the friendlies and most polite you will come across. As for passengers being rude to the crew, most of us have seen it first hand. While I am relative new to cruising, I cannot recall an instant when a crew-member was rude to a passenger. Maybe abrupt, but never rude. Please never let the opportunity pass to compliment a crew-member for their service and a financial tip is even better.

 

I am deeply sorry for his family and friends as they must really be hurting. While it is an convenience to the passengers, the search must be done. As I recall, last Nov. a female passenger jumped overboard on the same cruise to Hawaii. I doubt if anyone complained about the search as it could have been one of their loved ones.

 

We seem to have become so self absorbed that we forget that "we are our brothers keepers and must show compassion to them".

Edited January 8, 2014 by RetiredNTraveling

[Blk_Amish]

But there is certainly something that can and should be done before it happens! Because it happens way too often; more often that most passengers realize.

First, cruise lines should pay these guys a reasonable wage and stop making them rely on passengers' "voluntary" tips for the majority of their livelihood. Second, they should have reasonable working hours. If that means more crew members need to be on board, so be it. If they can cram more passengers onto the ships for revenue, they can find ways to accommodate more crew, too. Third, there should be a licensed counselor on board all ships so that crew members can get help dealing with the problems that life brings their way. And, unless they pose a risk to passengers or fellow crew members requiring action, it must be privileged so that superiors can't "punish" them.

 

That goes for the real world as well. While I agree about making working condition better, there are many people in the real world that work in same or worse condtions that don't give up. Let's keep in mind many of the wokers are from countries where seeing a counselor would not be a consideration because it's seen a going crazy. There might be cultures where this act of checking out is acceptable. There is only one group of people I have come across that can say the word counselor without a negative reaction.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Blk_Amish