A Royal Caribbean crew member died by suicide after jumping off of Icon of the Seas.
The incident happened shortly before 7:30PM on Thursday, July 25, and began with a violent dispute: the 35-year-old South African man, who supposedly worked in the Schooner Bar, stabbed a female coworker.
The now-deceased male fled the scene, jumping overboard into the Atlantic Ocean. Thankfully, the female is in stable condition, despite sustaining multiple stab wounds to her upper body.
On July 25th, guests reported hearing Royal Caribbean’s secret emergency code for man overboard ("Oscar"). One report on Reddit claims the call was heard on the public address system around 7:18PM.
Icon then slowed down and returned to where the crew member was reported to have gone overboard.
At the time, the 248,663 gross-ton vessel was sailing roughly 200 miles off the coast of Nassau, Bahamas. The ship was en route to Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay.
The crew member’s body was recovered by medical staff less than an hour later and pronounced dead.
According to one post, a passenger who witnessed the recovery mission saw the crew deploy a rescue boat and return with a body. However, they weren’t immediately informed about the crew member’s condition.
In a statement given to NBC News, the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) confirmed that the incident involved a violent altercation between two crew members and that the woman sustained multiple injuries upper body.
"One of the crew members was injured, was attended to by the onboard medical team, and she is now in stable condition," said a Royal Caribbean spokesperson.
"Unfortunately, the other crew member is deceased after he went overboard and was recovered in a search and rescue operation."
An investigation into the attack is ongoing, and an autopsy will be performed to determine the crew member’s exact cause of death.
The two affected crew members haven’t been identified out of respect for their privacy and their families.
Last month, another dramatic scene unfolded when a young child accidentally fell off a Disney cruise ship
The 5-year-old girl lost her balance and fell through a porthole while the Disney Dream was sailing back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The child’s father then jumped into the ocean after her. Luckily, he was able to find her and hold her above water while they waited to be rescued. He was instantly deemed a hero, though some were skeptical that he had something to do with his daughter going overboard.
Security footage eventually dispelled the rumor and revealed that the child fell through a porthole on a lower deck; the 37-year-old father had not been holding her dangerously close to a railing for a picture, despite the rumors circulating on social media.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
