Royal Caribbean cruise passenger miraculously rescued after late night fall overboard

01.11.2023 - 05:29 / insider.com / Royal Caribbean / Cruises

A guest on board a Royal Caribbean cruise this weekend is lucky to be alive after going overboard after the ship departed Barcelona. 

On Facebook, a day before accounts of the incident were reported on trade publications including CruiseRadio and CruiseHive, a user who claimed to be on board the Symphony of the Seas posted that an emergency "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar" call, code for man overboard, went out shortly after 11 p.m.

Video from a second user who claimed to be aboard the Symphony also circulated on X, including a clip of a voice over a loudspeaker indicating a person had been rescued from the water and was receiving medical care.

The user, who did not immediately respond to a request to comment from Insider and whose first-hand account of the incident could not be independently verified, said spotlights and rescue boats with lights had been visible from their balcony during the search.

A spokesperson for the cruise line confirmed the October 29 incident occurred in an emailed statement to Insider but declined to provide any additional information, citing the guest's privacy.

"The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and began searching for the guest. Thankfully, the guest was successfully recovered and was brought on board," the spokesperson said, adding: "Symphony of the Seas is continuing on its transatlantic sailing as planned."

While going overboard on a cruise ship is rare — a total of 212 incidents were been identified by the Cruise Lines International Association in the decade between 2009 and 2019 — just 48 (28.2%) resulted in a successful rescue.

The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, or CVSSA, passed in 2010 by Congress requires cruise ships to use technology "that can be used for capturing images of passengers ordetecting passengers who have fallen overboard, to the extent that such technology is available."

Insider previously reported that, despite those requirements, the Coast Guard hasn't inspected cruise ships for any man overboard technology, cameras or otherwise.