A search is underway for a male passenger overboard the Mardi Gras cruise ship, operated by Carnival Cruise Line. It occurred as the Carnival flagship was sailing back to Florida to end its seven-night Caribbean cruise.
Carnival Mardi Gras Overboard
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a man overboard Carnival’s Mardi Gras cruise ship. The cruise line confirmed on Saturday morning that the crew reported that an adult man went overboard in the early hours of Saturday morning.
According to passengers onboard, it occurred at approximately 1:00 AM, 55 miles off Port Canaveral, Florida.
At the time, the ship was heading back towards Port Canaveral, Florida, to end its seven-night Eastern Caribbean voyage, which included calls at Nassau in The Bahamas, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Cruise Hive reached out to Carnival Cruise Line and received the following statement: “The crew of Carnival Mardi Gras reported to the U.S. Coast Guard that an adult male guest jumped overboard early Saturday morning during the ship’s return to Port Canaveral.”
The cruise line continued with, “The ship’s crew participated in search and rescue efforts until the ship was released by the U.S. Coast Guard, which continues the search. The Carnival Care Team is supporting the guest’s family. Mardi Gras has arrived to Port Canaveral and will be sailing its next itinerary. Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family.”
Mardi Gras was initially involved in the search but was later released from its efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guest continues to search the area at this time.
The Carnival Elation was also involved in the search effort early on and was also released. The fantasy-class vessel has already arrived back in Port Canaveral.
April 16 Departure Delayed
Due to the late arrival into Port Canaveral on Saturday morning, the following April 16 will be delayed by one hour. The cruise line sent an update to impacted guests saying, “The ship arrived into Port Canaveral later than scheduled this morning and this will impact your embarkation today.”
The cruise line continues with, “Please delay your Arrival Appointment by 1 hour (for example, 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM appointment will become 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM). Guests who arrive prior to their new time will be asked to return at their assigned time.”
The ship will sail a seven-day Western Caribbean itinerary with calls to Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Mahogany Bay. The ship is 180,800 gross tons with a guest capacity of 5,282 at double occupancy, along with 1,735 crew members.
There have been other overboard situations recently from Carnival cruise ships. The most recent was from the Carnival Horizon in March 2022, when a guest jumped off the vessel while sailing near the Turks and Caicos Islands. Also, in February 2022, a guest went overboard the Carnival Valor cruise ship while heading back to New Orleans.
This is developing news and Cruise Hive will update the post accordingly with any additional facts.
