Cruise secrets: Never do this simple move on a cruise ship – you risk being kicked off

It’s not just items going overboard that cruisers need to be aware of, though. There’s also the potential of a holidaymaker themselves going over.

Ex cruise ship crew member Joshua Kinser told Express.co.uk that it happened while he worked in the industry.

“It only occurred a few times on the ships I was aboard, but it seems to happen much more aboard cruise liners than most passengers probably think,” he said.

“The main thing to avoid seems simple enough, but so many passengers do it, and that’s leaning over the rails of the cruise ship, or even worse, climbing over the rails or sitting on top of the rails.”

Kinser revealed that the codeword “Oscar, Oscar, Oscar” signified someone had fallen overboard a cruise ship. 

He explained that sitting on top of the railings was very risky. “I’ve seen passengers sit on top of rails countless times,” Kinser said.