Last evening, a member of Cruise Critic commented that his father was sailing on the Carnival Spirit to Hawaii and texted him that a passenger went overboard in the Pacific.

Another passenger on board the cruise ship posted this comment:

They announced a Bravo Bravo about 45 mins ago. They then came on and announced it was a passenger that went over and we were circling around to look for them. Another announcement came that we were heading straight for them and were about two miles out. They asked everyone to look out for the passenger. Finally, a life boat went out and they announced the passenger was alright and in "Good Condition."

Some cruisers on the message board suggest that the passenger jumped from the Serenity deck, as ironic as that may be.

Great news the passenger was quickly rescued.

Rescue of overboard passengers and crew is relatively uncommon.  Last year in June, a passenger from the Norwegian Spirit cruise ship was rescued near New Orleans after going overboard into the Mississippi River en route to a seven day Western Caribbean cruise.  One of the most dramatic rescues occurred last October when a passenger went overboard from the P & O Ventura, in the dark, in the middle of the Atlantic, and yet was rescued.  Read: A Miracle In Dark Waters

If anyone has photos or video of this latest rescue, please leave a comment below. 

Carnival’s statement is below:

STATEMENT REGARDING CARNIVAL SPIRIT
April 17, 2012 – 10:35 a.m. EDT

Yesterday, while the Carnival Spirit was en route to Hawaii, a 28-year-old man was witnessed jumping overboard. Search and rescue operations were initiated and the guest was located and brought back on board where he was treated at the ship’s medical center.

Carnival’s CareTeam is providing its support to the guest and his family.

Carnival Spirit is currently sailing on a 15-day Hawaii cruise that departed San Diego on April 13 and will return to San Diego on April 28.

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