A female passenger, identified as a 48-year-old American guest, has passed away after attempting to jump overboard from Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The incident happened in the mid-afternoon, and despite immediate attention from crew members, the woman succumbed to her injuries.
While precise details of the incident have not been confirmed in order to protect the woman’s privacy, a medical call was made for assistance to Deck 7, starboard side.
The ship’s captain made an announcement about the situation several hours later, confirming that a woman had jumped from the ship, hit an obstruction, and later passed on from the injuries she sustained.
Princess Cruises has also released a statement to Cruise Hive about the incident.
“Princess Cruises is deeply saddened to confirm the passing of a 48-year-old American female guest who attempted to jump overboard earlier today aboard Sky Princess,” the statement read. “The guest fell to a lower deck, where she was promptly rescued. Shipboard personnel immediately provided emergency medical care, but despite their best efforts, she could not be revived.”
No further details about the woman’s identity or her traveling companions have been released in order to safeguard their privacy during this very troubling time.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the guest’s family and friends during this profoundly difficult time. Grief support services are being offered to guests and crew members affected by this event,” Princess Cruises said.
Passengers onboard the ship could contact the Guest Services desk if they wished to speak with a counselor about the upsetting incident.
At the time, Sky Princess was enjoying a final day at sea while returning to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the conclusion of a 7-night Western Caribbean sailing. The ship had visited Princess Cays, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel during the week-long voyage, the first of the vessel’s seasonal departures from Port Everglades.
It should be noted that the cruise line is cooperating fully with both local and federal authorities as the incident is investigated. This is standard procedure whenever a potentially suspicious death may occur onboard, as the circumstances of the incident must be properly verified.
Sky Princess returned to Fort Lauderdale as scheduled with no delay on Sunday, December 22. The ship has already departed on her next voyage, a 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary with visits planned for Princess Cays, San Juan, and St. Thomas.
The 145,281-gross-ton, Royal class ship can welcome 3,660 guests onboard, and is also home to approximately 1,300 international crew members. Sky Princess is homeported from Fort Lauderdale through early March offering Caribbean and Bahamas sailings.
In the spring, she will reposition to Southampton, UK to offer Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Iceland, and Norwegian fjord sailings through November before returning to Florida to homeport from Port Canaveral.
Unfortunate Incidents Not Common
It is a sad fact that these types of unfortunate incidents do occasionally happen on cruise ships, though are not as common as cruisers may believe. Thousands of guests set sail every day for very enjoyable vacations and return home safely with wonderful memories to cherish for years to come.
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When such sad incidents happen, they can profoundly impact not only the immediate family members and friends of those involved, but other passengers and crew members who may witness the situation onboard.
This is not the first overboard situation to occur from a Princess Cruises ship this month. On December 2, an elderly man was reported missing from Ruby Princess as the ship returned to San Francisco following a 5-night getaway.
The man was traveling alone and believed overboard in international waters. Because of that, US Customs and Border Protection was also involved in that investigation.
Cruise Hive’s thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family members and friends of everyone impacted by such sad situations, as well as crew members who only wish to help everyone aboard their ships have a happy and enjoyable cruise vacation.
