A crew member aboard Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas went overboard in the Atlantic Ocean on Dec. 17, 2024.
The incident occurred during the final days of a 12-night Southern Caribbean cruise as the ship sailed back to Baltimore, Maryland.
What happened?
The overboard alert was triggered at approximately 1 p.m. EST, triggering a “Code OSCAR” emergency response.
Crew member website CrewCenter.com reports the 23-year-old man was from Mauritius in east Africa.
Vision of the Seas immediately turned around and deployed rescue boats to search the area. Passengers onboard shared updates and photos, describing the somber atmosphere as the crew coordinated search efforts.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) arrived on the scene at 8 p.m., permitted the Vision of the Seas to continue its itinerary, and continued the search operation.
With no official disclosures, guests also shared rumors they heard from others. “One of the crew members on the ship, a bartender we were told, jumped to his death on our cruise Vision of the Seas,” wrote one guest.
Royal Caribbean Issues Statement
Royal Caribbean International issued the following statement:
“We immediately launched a search and rescue effort and are working with authorities. We are also providing support and assistance to our crew’s family during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our employee, we have no additional details to share.”
Last December, another man overboard incident involving a 41-year-old male passenger occurred onboard Vision of the Seas.
We reached out to Royal Caribbean for a statement on Tuesday afternoon and have not heard back.
Vision’s return to Baltimore was slightly delayed, pushing embarkation back for the next passengers.
