A Carnival Spirit passenger jumped overboard yesterday into the Pacific Ocean and was quickly rescued by the ship's crew.
In a statement provided to Cruise Critic, Carnival said witnesses saw a 28-year-old man jumping off the ship as it steamed for Hawaii on the fourth day of a 15-night cruise. Search-and-rescue operations were initiated and the passenger was located and brought back on board, where he received treatment at Spirit's medical center.
Carnival's CareTeam is providing support to the guest and his family, said the line.
Cruise Critic readers on board the ship provided additional reporting of the dramatic rescue.
"Shortly after Captain Volpi announced we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and had passed the point of no return, the man jumped overboard," wrote member cruisingcouple2008 on his Facebook page. "We immediately heard the BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO PORTSIDE alert and the ship came to a quick slowdown from 23 knots to about 4 knots. We turned around and the lifeboats were lowered. Within moments, the man was located and the quick work of the staff of the Spirit rescued the man alive."
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Smarks, who is also on board, said on the message boards that the man jumped from Spirit's adults-only Serenity Deck.
The majority of man overboard scenarios don't end in a rescue — but it does happen. In February, fast-acting crew members rescued a crew member who jumped off of Carnival Magic. Last October, a man who jumped overboard from P&O's Ventura was pulled out of the water alive. More strangely, a Carnival Inspiration passenger who went overboard in June 2009 was rescued when he was found hugging a pilot marker in a shipping channel near Tampa. The man told authorities that he climbed up on a railing to get a better view of the pilot boat when he slipped and fell overboard.
Carnival Spirit is in the midst of a 15-day Hawaii cruise that departed San Diego on Friday and will return to San Diego on April 28.
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