Key Aspects:
- A recent guest of Rhapsody of the Seas, named Jey González-Díaz, jumped overboard during disembarkation in Puerto Rico.
- Allegedly, the suspect pulled the dangerous stunt to avoid paying the cruise line over $16,000 in debt that he had racked up in the casino.
- Making matters worse, González-Díaz stole his brother’s identity in order to embark on the Southern Caribbean sailing.
A cruise guest is in a sea of trouble after intentionally jumping overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas in an attempt to avoid paying off his hefty gambling debt.
Jey González-Díaz embarked on the Vision-class ship for a 7-night Southern Caribbean sailing on August 31, 2025, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
During his voyage, the cruiser racked up $16,710.24 in gambling debt in the casino, which he allegedly thought he could avoid paying back to Royal Caribbean by jumping off the cruise ship.
At approximately 9:15 a.m. local time on the morning of September 7, 2025, the suspect leaped into the ocean while the normal disembarkation process was underway at Pier 4 in Puerto Rico.
Surveillance video shows that González-Díaz was picked up by a passing jet ski rider and taken back to shore. The cruiser, however, did not get far.
His leap of faith was quickly reported by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to agents with the US Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
But shortly before HSI agents arrived at the cruise port at approximately 10:30 a.m., CBP officers apprehended Gonzalez-Diaz near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building at around 9:45 a.m.
According to local outlet Wapa.TV, the suspect was found with $14,600 in cash, a handbag, two cell phones, and five different identities.
The legal complaint notes that Gonzalez-Diaz told authorities in Spanish that he intentionally jumped overboard because “he did not want to report the currency on his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bring in the currency.”
The US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has now accused him of failing to report the entry of an amount of money over $10,000 that was obtained outside the United States, which is a serious federal crime.
He has been released on bail until the case goes through the court process.
Are More Consequences Coming?
Attempting to avoid a more than $16,000 debt is a serious crime, but it’s not the only wrongdoing that Gonzalez-Diaz committed.
Not only did he have five different IDs on his person for five different identities, but Gonzalez-Diaz actually boarded the Royal Caribbean ship under a fake name. His boarding pass shows the name “Jeremy Diaz.”
This identity actually belongs to Jeremy Omar González Díaz, the cruiser’s brother, who has been incarcerated in Puerto Rico’s Guaynabo Federal Detention Center since January of this year.
Cruise guests have been charged with crimes for faking their identity in order to set sail, so it’s possible that more charges could be coming for the defendant.
Just this summer, a Philippine citizen found himself in legal trouble for stealing the identity of an American in order to board a cruise to Alaska.
While Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on the matter, the former guest is almost certainly banned from the cruise line and its sister brands for life.
Aside from the financial deception, Royal Caribbean has a zero tolerance policy for dangerous behavior like intentionally jumping off a cruise ship.
