A Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger was reported overboard, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
What could have been a scary, life-threatening situation turned out to be nothing more than a teenage prank on one of the world's largest cruise ships.
Jason Peterson of Orlando, Florida, is currently on the Oasis of the Seas with his immediate family. In exclusive email correspondence with Royal Caribbean Blog, Peterson initially reported that an alert was issued on the starboard side of Deck 11.
Someone else in the cruise ship's Facebook group claimed that they heard "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar" (Royal Caribbean's secret man overboard code word) over the public address system around 1:00 p.m.
(Credit: Jason Peterson)
Peterson stated that the ship was going to turn around and attempt a rescue operation, with numerous crew members on the open decks. At the time, the vessel was sailing past the northern coast of Cuba, near Cayo Guajaba in the province of Camagüey.
However, he shortly followed up by saying that the man overboard signal was a false alarm.
"Some teens apparently thought it was a good prank. The individual in question has been found onboard. Everyone is safe," he said.
(Credit: Jason Peterson)
On X, another passenger added that following the Oscar announcement, the Captain reported that the Coast Guard had been notified for assistance, and they would be turning back toward the GPS location where the overboard alert was issued.
After they arrived, the crew searched for around 30 minutes, even asking passengers to help by using the zoom feature on their cell phones. At 1:45 p.m., the Captain came back over the public address system and said the passenger had been found and that it was a joke made by some children.
Continuing on, Peterson said, "It definitely had a somber mood for a little while and impacted people from being able to use the pools and some of the entertainment due to the sharp turn around the ship made as part of the rescue efforts."
(Credit: Screenshot taken from Cruise Mapper)
Multiple other guests have taken to social media to express their frustration and disapproval of the prank.
"Those kids should be confined to their cabin and their parents should have to pay for the rescue boats coming out. They should all be banned. The kids should have to stand on board when we get off and let everyone know that they are responsible," one passenger wrote on Facebook.
Someone else added, "Turns out it was a prank. A little girl had her friends tell her grandma she fell overboard. Coast guard and rescue boats called in to help. Ship turned around. Captain and cruise director just announced he’s calling off coast guard and rescues. Turning the boat back around to continue to port as normal."
"Man if you’re here as the parent of these kids. DO. BETTER. Jesus. Absolutely unbelievable how some of you deal with your kids," chimed in another disgusted passenger.
Although the situation turned out to be a false alarm, Royal Caribbean's skilled crew members sprang into action to activate search and rescue protocols. Had the situation been real, their quick response would have been critical in the potential rescue or recovery of the overboard passenger.
Oasis of the Seas is currently on the last day of a 6-night Caribbean cruise. The 226,838 gross-ton vessel departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 15. The itinerary included stops at Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
(Credit: Jason Peterson)
Despite the incident, Oasis of the Seas is continuing its voyage as scheduled. She's expected to return to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, March 21.
Read more: What happens when someone goes overboard on a cruise ship?
