While the chances of falling off a cruise ship are low, they are not impossible. This year, at least 11 people went overboard from ships operating for major cruise lines, and only two were successfully rescued.
Still, cruise travel remains one of the safest ways to vacation. By following basic safety guidelines, the risk of a fatal accident can be minimized even further.
Here's what went down in each of these incidents — and why I'm not even slightly worried about falling off a cruise ship.
March 2025: Kimberly Burch went overboard from Explorer of the Seas during "The 80s Cruise"
Kimberly Burch, 56, fell off Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas after an argument with her fiancé, famed rockstar Taime Downe.
According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, she's reported to have jumped off the ship roughly 17 miles off the coast of South Grand Bahama Island.
Royal Caribbean crew members launched an immediate search and rescue effort in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, including the use of an AIRMIA MH-65 rescue helicopter. Unfortunately, Burch's body was never recovered.
Read more: Passenger reported overboard on 80s-themed cruise
June 2025: A 5-year-old girl fell through a porthole on the Disney Dream. Her father jumped in after her
In June, a 5-year-old girl fell through an open porthole 50 feet into the ocean while sailing on the Disney Dream with her parents.
The incident happened at 11:29 a.m. on June 29, 2025. Roughly 45 seconds later, her father jumped in after her after realizing what had happened.
Initially, he couldn't locate his daughter in the open waters and began screaming, using her voice as a navigational tool. Once he found her, he treaded water for about 20 minutes until help arrived at 11:50 a.m.
Read more: Girl who went overboard from Disney cruise ship did not fall, cops say
Months later, a police report revealed that the situation stemmed from the girl's mother posing her in front of the porthole for a photo.
She even provided officers with a series of pictures that, "when streamed together...depict a seconds-long video of the child getting up on the railing and falling backwards into the water," deputies told The New York Post.
The lucky father-daughter duo were the only two to be successfully rescued this year. In many other instances, the search and rescue missions turned into recovery missions.
July 2025: A crew member jumped off Icon of the Seas after stabbing a female coworker
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, a Royal Caribbean crew member jumped off Icon of the Seas, one of the world's largest cruise ships.
Before choosing to die by suicide, the 35-year-old South African man, who supposedly worked in the Schooner Bar, attacked a female coworker, who sustained multiple stab wounds to her upper body but survived.
His body was recovered by medical staff less than an hour later, and authorities launched an investigation into the incident.
Read more: Crew member jumps overboard after viciously stabbing another employee, dies by suicide
August 2025: A 79-year-old passenger went overboard from the Norwegian Star cruise ship
One month later, a 79-year-old cruise ship passenger went overboard from a Norwegian cruise ship that was sailing in the Strait of Belle Isle en route to Nuuk, Greenland.
At the time of the incident, the ocean's temperature where the individual reportedly went overboard was around 56°F. Comparatively, the temperature in the Atlantic waters near Miami, Florida, was much warmer — around 87°F.
Other guests reported that the body was recovered but may not have survived. The Instagram page @aronfeld_trial_lawyers also claimed that the passenger's body was found and pronounced dead on arrival. Norwegian did not release details about their condition.
Read more: Passenger reported overboard on Norwegian cruise, guests say
August 2025: A crew member working aboard the Sun Princess went overboard while the ship was en route to Istanbul, Turkey
In August, Princess Cruises confirmed that one of its crew members went overboard from the Sun Princess ship.
According to a letter delivered to guests' cabins, the ship's crew immediately initiated its emergency procedures and worked in coordination with multiple maritime search and rescue authorities for several hours.
Despite the extensive search efforts, the crew member’s body was never recovered.
Read more: Search ongoing for crew member who went overboard from cruise ship, Princess confirms
September 2025: A man jumped off Rhapsody of the Seas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to avoid paying over $16,000 in gambling losses
One unlucky passenger jumped off a Royal Caribbean ship to allegedly avoid paying more than $16,000 in gambling debt to the cruise line.
Jey Gonzalez-Diaz was rescued and brought to shore by passersby on jet skis, but his luck got worse when he was charged with a federal crime
According to the criminal complaint obtained by CBS News, he was accused of attempting to avoid monetary reporting requirements when traveling into the United States.
Read more: Royal Caribbean cruise passenger jumps overboard allegedly to avoid $16,000 gambling debt
October 2025: A 27-year-old man went overboard from Norwegian Jewel during a transatlantic cruise
A male passenger went overboard from Norwegian Jewel about halfway through the ship's transatlantic cruise on October 20. Local 10 News reported that other passengers saw a young couple in their 20s fighting in the casino. Other guests shared that they heard the couple arguing in their cabin, too.
Hours later, guests were awoken in the early hours of the morning when the secret "man overboard" code word was blasted into their staterooms. The captain later confirmed that the ship was engaged in a "search and rescue mission" and would be circling the area for a while.
The crew called off the unsuccessful search after about 10 hours and resumed its course to Miami, Florida.
Read more: Man goes overboard on Norwegian Cruise Line ship headed for Miami; search called off
October 2025: A crew member went overboard from the luxury Viking Star cruise ship in the Mediterranean
A crew member working aboard the Viking Star went overboard at around 11:30 a.m. local time on October 27.
As per maritime protocol, the ship immediately initiated its emergency response and began a search operation with the Italian Coast Guard, though the search was ultimately unsuccessful.
The luxury ship was cleared to continue its voyage at 6:00 p.m. The circumstances in which the crew member went overboard have not been released to the public.
Read more: Crew member reported overboard from luxury cruise ship in the Mediterranean, Viking confirms
November 2025: A 73-year-old man presumably jumped off the Disney Wonder around 4:30 a.m.
Most recently, a 73-year-old man went overboard from the Disney Wonder cruise ship in the early morning hours of November 22.
Authorities shared that the guest is believed to have intentionally jumped off the ship around 4:30 a.m. local time, according to 7 News Australia.
After a multi-hour search in the Tasman Sea, the Disney ship resumed sailing to New Zealand. One passenger told PEOPLE that the captain told guests that there was a missing guest who had fallen overboard, but they couldn't locate him.
Read more: Cruise passenger jumps overboard from a Disney cruise ship
November 2025: The search for a missing 76-year-old passenger sailing on a European ship is called off
An elderly guest sailing on the Marella Explorer 2 went overboard shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 28, while roughly 19 miles from Punta de Teno on the coast of Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Despite an intense multi-day search that involved two helicopters, a search-and-rescue aircraft, and a patrol boat, the British passenger was not located, and the search was called off.
The circumstances surrounding how the passenger fell overboard are currently unknown.
Read more: Cruise line ends search for missing overboard passenger
I’m not scared of falling overboard on a cruise ship
In reality, while the headlines are alarming, overboard events are extremely rare compared with the millions of passengers who safely sail each year.
Moreover, it's nearly impossible to "fall" off a cruise ship. More often than not, overboard incidents are caused by deliberate actions and risky behavior.
Cruise ships are equipped with high railings, detection systems, and other safety precautions, which make accidental falls highly unlikely.
Out of the 10 overboard incidents reported in 2025, at least 4 were linked to guests choosing to jump off the ship.
In short, if you're following basic safety guidelines (i.e., not climbing on railings or roughhousing on open decks), the chances of you falling overboard are low.
Read more: What happens when someone goes overboard on a cruise ship?
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. 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!
In addition to writing for Cruise.Blog, Elizabeth has bylines in Business Insider, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruiseshipfood.com.
