A cruise guest was rescued Thursday morning after falling off the pier at Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
According to a company spokesperson, “A guest fell off the dock while capturing footage of the ship on his smartphone. Our team immediately picked him up via jet ski and returned him to shore.”
The incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. after two ships, Star of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas, had docked at the island.
Guests onboard Star of the Seas reported hearing the “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar” emergency code over the ship’s PA system. That code is a maritime distress signal used to indicate a person overboard.
Passengers from Star of the Seas said crew from both ships responded quickly. One guest said, “We didn’t see it happen, but we heard the Oscar announcement around 8:05 a.m. and looked out our balcony.
We could see the man in the water. Crew had already thrown him two life rings. He was clinging to the rings and floating well. He did not appear to be injured, albeit we were observing from the 8th deck above.”
Informal word spread around the ship that the guest had been texting while walking along the pier and inadvertently stepped off the edge between the two ships.
The guest was recovered via jet ski within minutes and brought safely back to shore. There were no reported injuries.
Star of the Seas is currently sailing a special preview cruise. Its first official passenger sailing is scheduled to begin on August 16, 2025.
Symphony of the Seas is currently sailing a seven-night Bahamas cruise from Bayonne, NJ.
Royal Caribbean has made headlines over the past month following a series of incidents, including a crew member stabbing a colleague on Icon of the Seas before jumping overboard, a guest brawl in the lagoon at Perfect Day at CocoCay, a waterslide malfunction that injured a passenger on Icon of the Seas, and most recently, Diana Ross backing out as the godmother for Star of the Seas.
