A passenger on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas has spoken of the bizarre chaos that unfolded on board after a man jumped off the ship on Sunday.
An unidentified man fell off the world’s largest cruise ship shortly after it departed Florida on the first night of a weeklong trip to Honduras on Sunday.
Zachary Normand was aboard the ship and said travelers were aware of the passenger’s disappearance.
He was in the dining room having dinner with about 300 other people when the ship’s captain announced that the man had been found.
“Everyone in the dining room applauded and said ‘yes,'” Normand told the New York Post. “We assumed the guy was fine.”
A passenger on the Icon of the Seas died after jumping overboard on Sunday. The ship was about 300 miles from the Port of Miami at the time.
The man was in critical condition when he was brought back to the ship, where he was pronounced dead, but passengers applauded and celebrated after he was found, not realizing he had died.
He says they were informed that a rescue mission would be carried out and that the ship would turn around.
But only later did they learn that the passenger had died.
To Normandin’s surprise, he said the atmosphere on board was completely surreal as most people just continued enjoying their vacation as if nothing had happened.
‘I don’t think everyone knows the guy is dying. “I think he has intentionally silenced himself,” Normandin added.
Normandin expressed surprise at how quickly normal activities resumed despite the tragedy.
‘I thought we were going straight back to Miami, I thought that was it. But no, everything took its course, I think people are just trying not to think about it, maybe, I don’t know,” she said.
“It seemed like more people would have said, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ But no, people were just going about their daily lives. It’s kind of dystopian.”
The unidentified man jumped more than 80 feet into the sea from the massive Icon of the Seas shortly after it set sail from Miami on Sunday.
The ship was detained for two hours while crews assisted with the search and rescue mission.
The US Coast Guard confirmed that rescue boats were deployed and the man was recovered from the water before being pronounced dead.
The unidentified man jumped more than 80 feet from the massive Icon of the Seas shortly after it left Port Miami on Sunday.
He had been on the first night of a seven-day voyage through the Gulf of Mexico, with stops in Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.
The ship was about 300 miles from Miami when the man fell overboard, according to CruiseHive.
Ultimately, the ship was detained for approximately two hours while the crew assisted with the search and rescue mission before the ship continued its journey.
The 1,200-foot-long Icon of the Seas made its first voyage in January
The 1,200-foot-long Icon of the Seas made its first voyage in January.
It has capacity for 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew members.
One passenger who shared images of the rescue team said on X: ‘On Icon of the Seas right now.
‘Someone jumped/fell overboard and a search and rescue is now underway. There is little chance of them being found. Keep your loved ones close, guys.’
The $2 billion ship spans nearly 1,200 feet (365 meters) from bow to stern and has 20 decks, 2,350 crew members, 2,805 staterooms and room for 7,600 passengers.
Levion Parker, 20, was a high school football player and popular athlete from North Port, Florida.
Aside from this, the ship also features a 55-foot artificial waterfall, 40 restaurants and bars, seven pools, including a 40,000-gallon “lake,” 50 musicians and comedians, as well as a 16-piece orchestra.
In April, 20-year-old Levion Parker jumped overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in front of his horrified family.
The 18-story Liberty of the Seas was traveling between Cuba and Grand Inagua Island in the Bahamas when the shocking incident occurred.