Cruise & Cruise Line

Cruise Ship Crew Member Dies After Falling Overboard

Image: Icon of the Seas (left) docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay next to Vision of the Seas (right). (Photo Credit: Eric Bowman)
Image: Icon of the Seas (left) docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay next to Vision of the Seas (right). (Photo Credit: Eric Bowman)
Lacey Pfalz
by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:05 AM ET, Fri July 25, 2025

A crew member on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas fell overboard on Thursday, July 24 and died. 

According to local Florida news station 7 News Miami, the crew member, who remains unidentified, went overboard on Thursday. The ship’s man overboard call went off at around 7:00 p.m. while the ship was sailing to the cruise line’s private island, Coco Cay, in the Bahamas.

Someone was able to film a portion of the rescue effort on their cell phone. The rescue team was able to recover the crew member’s body, but the person had passed away. The incident, and why the crew member fell overboard, is under investigation. 

Royal Caribbean issued a statement, saying “Our crew immediately initiated a search and rescue operation, but unfortunately the crew member passed away. We extend our condolences to the crew member’s family and loved ones. To respect their privacy, we have no additional details to share.”

The itinerary will continue operating without interruptions and is expected to return to Port Miami on Sunday, July 27. Icon of the Seas just debuted in January as the world’s largest cruise ship. It can accommodate over 5,000 guests and 2,350 crew. 


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Lacey Pfalz

Lacey Pfalz

Senior Editor, News & Features

Lacey Pfalz is Associate Editor at TravelPulse. She's a passionate advocate of responsible travel and believes the best travel experiences happen outside of a planned itinerary. Lacey currently lives in rural Wisconsin. She can be reached at [email protected].

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