They Fell Overboard … and Lived! Craziest Cruise Survival Tales

Video: Cruise Ship Safety: Terrifying Ordeal Adrift at Sea

Party gets out of hand 

How exactly did a pair of spring-break partiers aboard the Grand Princess end up in the Gulf of Mexico? (Photo: AP)

In 2007, two students came back from spring break with one heck of a story. A 22-year-old man and his 20-year-old female companion fell off a balcony into the Gulf of Mexico during a night of partying aboard the Grand Princess. What led to their terrifying plunge is unclear: Reports circulated that they had been either re-enacting the “king of the world” scene from “Titanic” or horsing around on the balcony (the fact that he was found naked had people speculating even more, although he says he’d taken off his clothes to help him swim). Fortunately for them, their friends saw them fall into the water, and they quickly alerted the ship’s crew. The woman was rescued about a half-hour after the man. Neither suffered life-threatening injuries; in fact, he was seen partying on the ship for the rest of the cruise. 

Related: Steady as She Goes: 7 Ways to Stay Safe on a Cruise

That’ll show ‘er!

Some people leave the room during an argument, but one guy took it too far. (Photo: Thinkstock)

This 2009 incident is a case of a man literally going overboard during an argument. During a cruise aboard the Carnival Sensation, a 34-year-old man went over his balcony and into the Atlantic just off Port St. Lucie. Just before that, a witness reported hearing him argue with a female companion inside the stateroom and threaten to jump. ”Go ahead,” the woman reportedly responded. After he was in the water for about an hour screaming for help, the man was rescued by another ship, the Disney Wonder, which had changed its course to help. The Disney Wonder captain told ABC News that the victim was “beaming — big smile all over his face” after his rescue. But, the captain added, “I think he obviously regrets what had happened.” The man was taken to the hospital for physical and mental evaluation. Let’s hope they also threw in some couples counseling.

Teen hero

Teen’s quick thinking saved a man who fell overboard. (Photo: Facebook/NCL)

A teenager who took a family cruise on his summer vacation ended up becoming a hero. On June 12, 2011, 16-year-old Alex Giffel was on the Norwegian Spirit when he saw a passenger go overboard into the Mississippi River. Giffel, who apparently had listened to the safety demo, threw the man a life ring while his older cousin alerted the crew. The man was rescued. The next month, Norwegian and the Port of New Orleans held a ceremony to honor Giffel for his heroism.

Bad decision

A passenger aboard the Carnival Inspiration made a less-than-inspired decision. (Photo: AP) 

Proof that good decisions are rarely made at 4 in the morning: In June 2009, a passenger aboard the Carnival Inspiration fell overboard about a mile southeast of Florida’s Mullet Key. The passenger, a 46-year-old man, later recounted that he had climbed the railing to get a better look at a pilot boat but slipped and fell. He was rescued almost three hours later, when someone on a boat found him hugging a pilot marker in the shipping channel. 

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