A man jumped overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas after he lost more than $16,000 in the ship’s casino. The man has been identified as Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez Diaz.

The incident occurred around 9:15 a.m. on September 7, just as passengers were disembarking in San Juan following a week-long Caribbean voyage.

Gonzalez Diaz was quickly rescued by two men passing by on jet skis who brought him ashore, where he was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. The story took a twist as CBP agents discovered he was carrying $14,600 in cash and subsequently arrested him for failing to declare more than $10,000 upon reentering the United States, as outlined in the federal complaint.

In addition to the cash, CBP agents found two phones and five different identification forms with conflicting names. Two of the identifications included a Tennessee driver’s license and a birth certificate under the name Jeremy Omar Gonzalez Diaz. Jeremy is allegedly the brother of Gonzalez Diaz and was arrested in January 2025 on drug trafficking and firearms charges per Wapa.TV. Investigators said Gonzalez Diaz used the alias “Jeremy Diaz” to board the Rhapsody of the Seas and to gamble in the ship’s casino where he ran up gambling debts.

When asked why he jumped overboard, he told authorities “he did not want to report the currency in his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed on the duties for bringing in the currency,” as reported by NBC News. Though not stated in the complaint, his gambling debts under his brother’s name surely played a role in his decision to jump.

He has been released on bail pending trial where if convicted he could face 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to $250,000.

Regardless of his impending legal troubles, Gonzalez Diaz is lucky to be alive. Jumping from a cruise ship, even while docked, is incredibly dangerous. The risk of injury on impact with the water is high and the tides in port can challenge even a strong swimmer. Paired with cruises lines’ continued failure to install man overboard systems (MOB), falling overboard is often fatal. In this case, it wasn’t Royal Caribbean that rescued him, but two men on passing jet skis who happened to spot him in the water.

Image credit: Rescue – Homeland Security Investigations; Ship – Wikimedia

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