‘Less then 1% chance’: Panic spreads after a woman goes overboard on Taylor Swift-themed Caribbean cruise

The cruise ship Allure of the Seas was been sent into a panic on Oct. 22 passengers discovered that someone had fallen overboard on the Royal Caribbean vessel. The ship was packed with a few hundred die-hard Swifties, hoping to enjoy their “cruise era”, and all things Taylor Swift.

The plan was for a series of Swift-themed events, including karaoke, trivia contests, Eras Tour themed fashion shows, and, of course, friendship bracelet swapping. But, for one passenger, the dream turned into a nightmare.

TikTok user @ashleytravels715 took the platform to document the harrowing incident, explaining that those who work on the ship were responding to “a man overboard.” Ashley claims that a loudspeaker had, in the moments after the incident, projected the words “Oscar Oscar Oscar” throughout the ship, indicating the vessel’s emergency code for a passenger in the water. 

Ashley revealed that a second cruise ship had approached the Allure of the Seas vessel with “all its lights on,” presumably conducting a search for the man in the nearby waters. “We are stopped,” Ashley explains in the video, “we were cruising, [but] we have stopped entirely because a man has gone overboard.” 

Later in the video, Ashley shows the boat’s spotlights being beamed into the ocean, even though “typically, all these lights are not on.” The cruise ship passenger then claims that the passenger jumped into the ocean after “apparently shining a light in the water with his cellphone.” Ashley shows footage of the second cruise ship, the Utopia of the Seas, approaching as part of “a search and rescue mission to find anything they can” in response to the passenger going overboard. 

“There is the search boat,” Ashley says, while recording a smaller vessel scouring the nearby waters, “they’re looking everywhere.” The Royal Caribbean vessel had been stopped for an hour to conduct the search, according to Ashley.

Additional footage from the TikTok video shows crew members using binoculars to canvas the area, and passengers crowding on the balcony to observe the search and resume mission. In a follow-up video the next morning, Ashley updated followers on the unfolding situation, revealing that it was a 66-year-old woman who went overboard, and that the cruise ship search mission was stopped when the coast guard arrived at around 2 am.

“It was a 66-year-old woman,” Ashley said, “despite all the false claims.” The passenger went on to say that the cruise ship’s itinerary had not been massively thrown off by the incident, but that the ship’s regular programming — like music upon the arrival at a new destination — did not go ahead. “It’s kind of a different feel on board right now,” Ashley said. 

In her final update on the incident, Ashley said she knows nothing of the woman’s whereabouts or whether the search mission was successful. While that remains the case, local media have reported a few extra details about the incident, revealing that the woman likely went overboard at around 9:30 pm, and that the Coast Guard was called one hour later. 

It has also been reported that the incident took place one day after the Allure of the Seas had departed from the coast of Florida, with the woman falling in the seas surrounding the Bahamas. “Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and is working with local authorities,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said. “We are also providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time.” As of now, officials say the woman is still missing and that search efforts are ongoing.