A holiday voyage ended with a tragedy aboard a recent Silversea Cruises’ voyage in Hong Kong when a passenger collapsed in his cabin just before midnight on January 4, 2025, and was unable to be revived.
Silversea Cruises’ small 596-guest Silver Dawn, which was sailing a 22-night segmented cruise that kicked off in Singapore on December 22, 2024, had concluded a 13-night itinerary in Hong Kong and was overnighting in the port before continuing on to a 9-night voyage to Tokyo, Japan, when the incident occurred.
According to a local news report, the passenger, a 66-year-old American whose name has not yet been released, was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong, just 2 miles from the port, where he was pronounced dead.
The 40,855-gross-ton vessel had arrived at Tsim Sha Tsui’s Ocean Terminal at 8 a.m. on January 4, where it was scheduled to depart at 2 p.m. on January 5.
During its overnight call, medical crew members were called to a cabin at 11:59 p.m. and sought support from Hong Kong paramedics to bring the unconscious passenger to the hospital.
While the reason for his collapse is unknown, reports suggest the guest had a known history of heart disease. An autopsy is pending, and no further information has been provided to protect the passenger’s family during this troubling time.
Tragic End Despite Medical Efforts
Silver Dawn departed on its 22-night voyage with an overnight call in Singapore just before Christmas, and enjoyed visits to Kotakinabulu in Malaysia, and multiple calls in the Philippines, including Puerto Princesa, Busuanga Island, Manila, Subic Bay, and Currimao, the latter of which welcomed passengers on New Year’s Eve.
The ship was at sea on New Year’s Day and arrived in Hong Kong three days later without issue.
But, before the vessel could depart on its first official itinerary of 2025, the passenger collapsed and, although in port and able to quickly get the American to a hospital, he was unable to be saved by Silver Dawn’s medical team, paramedics, or doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The Silversea Cruises’ ship did continue on schedule and is bound for Shanghai, China, for a January 8 arrival. It will conclude the journey in Tokyo on January 13, 2025, and then embark on a 14-night sailing back to Hong Kong via numerous calls around Japan, as well as Xiamen, China.
Although millions of people take cruises every year, deaths on cruise ships are very rare, with some sources finding the number hovering near 200 annually.
Another report by the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health, found 623 deaths reported on cruise ships between 2000 and 2019, with a leading cause of death being heart-related incidents.
The review of 78 ocean and river cruise lines found that 16 percent of deaths on passenger vessels were cardiac related, and that US guests made up 61 percent of cruise deaths.
Another leading cause of death is passengers falling or jumping overboard, as unfortunately recently occured on a Princess Cruises ship in the Caribbean on Christmas Eve.
Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Silversea Cruises, was one of the top three cruise corporations reporting deaths in the study, which coincides with the fact it is one of the largest cruise operators in the world.
While Silversea Cruises is the smallest of its cruise lines with 12 luxury vessels – its newest, the Silver Ray introduced in May 2024 – Royal Caribbean Group also features 29 Royal Caribbean ships and 15 Celebrity Cruises vessels.
The Muse-class Silver Dawn has been a member of the fleet since 2022.
