To wonder how the fluffing hell you can 'fall off' a cruise ship?!

[katiefromtheblock]

I mean HOW? Just HOW?

I am an average height (5 ft 4ish) and the rail was up to my chest when me and DH went on a cruise ship 3 years ago. It was like this on the attached pic.

You don't swim, you don't tread water. You just relax and float.

My parents go on lots of cruises and said the same thing about it being difficult to 'fall off'

Yeah I thought that... how did she swim for 10 hours if she was drunk?!

I don't really see how being drunk stops her from swimming. As PP say, she probably floated, and the drink maybe helped her to cope. There's some reports around that say she kept her spirits up by singing.

I thought odd too. Did someone throw her a life vest or one of those rings?

I would also love to know what the other passengers who have had their itinerary messed up think of her stupid shennanigans. I predict fake news

there was a lady on radio 2 who was on the ship talking about this - 2000 passengers on their ship plus another cruise liner which had to join in the search - plus the people booked on the next cruises now held up - she was rightly furious. I think she jumped in for a lark.

@Sleepyandtired21

She jumped or she was hanging off the rails. There’s no way you can just “fall”. She seems to be loving the attention which is suspicious.

Hmmm yeah I thought too actually. She couldn't get to the press and media fast enough (to tell them her name and age and where she was from...)

Most people would have been traumatised, shattered, scared, dehydrated, and suffering from exposure (though the sea was warmer than usual I think, but still, she was in the sea overnight I think...)

Upshot is, most people would not have been dashing up to the press to tell their story. It's a bit like the kidnapped model girl... Kidnapped and traumatised, but chatting to press and posing for 'model-type' photos the same day she was rescued!

Both very odd stories. I am not calling either of them liars by the way; just saying both stories are very odd.

@TSSDNCOP

It was also a long way up that she fell from.

How did she miss being churned up in the motors?

Too many questions.

This too. ^

And yes @HolyMountain she (the lady who 'fell off' the cruise ship) trod water for ten hours!!!

I don't think you can, unless you're bladdered.
Nor could many people survive 10 hours at sea without being in a state.

More to this than meets the eye I think.

If she didn’t go near the water how the hell did the rescue boat pull her out of the sea?

Also we went on a Norwegian ship, the back was all cabins with balconies, the railings were not very high. I’m 5’9 and felt quite precarious when leaning on the railings of our balcony.

Also she had the perfect weather, the water was calm with no large waves and the heatwave has warmed the water up so no cold shock. She is also physically fit as well which probably helped her endurance.

It’s very rare to survive but not within the realms of impossibility. She was lucky they realised she’d gone overboard and roughly where.

Well at least she's okay! Yes one does wonder just how that occurred. I believe a certain number of people disappear whilst on cruise ships anyway. Then there was the strange story of a pensioner who missed her ship when her and husband had disembarked for an excursion, last seen swimming towards said boat, off the coast of Madeira I believe, clutching her handbag not sure just how she thought she'd catch it up! Anyway picked up by a fisherman. Some people sure are strange.

I think she was pushed......

Like pp I read the story and thought "Hmmnnnnn something not right about that story.". But she was seen falling off on CCTV, that's how they knew the general area to search. She was found by the coastguards ten hours later, but was able to climb the ladder to the deck. So not exhausted.

Yoga my arse.

Maybe she was sitting on the top of the railings, 'tired & emotional' . You couldn't do it just standing (swaying) by them surely? How high are they? Theres prob safety regs for just that reason re railing height.

I am really clumsy - but think that even I would have problem doing this. Unless I decided in a fit of madness to sit on the rail (which no one would do).

April, do you reckon she was pushed by the mate she was arguing with? Could make sense as to why she is staying quiet.

We have just got back from a cruise in the same area (though not the same ship.

I'm 5'9" and could not have "fallen" over the rail. She must have been up on the metal bars and leaning in order to fall. It's quite a long way up so she was extremely lucky not to have injured herself on the way down.

She puts her 10 hour survival down to yoga!

The official commentary is that is was warm sea temp in which you could survive a couple of days and that the med was like a millpond. I have never seen a sea so flat. (And women float more easily becasue of higher body fat percentage)

I also strongly suspect a tad of alcohol was involved.

Could she have jumped? Something doesn't add up.

This reminds me of an episode of Tales of the Unexpected where a man throws himself overboard so that he doesn't lose a bet, and makes sure a fellow passenger sees him fall so they can raise the alarm. Unluckily for him the passenger has dementia of some description and she tells her carer a man went for a swim, he was very friendly as he was waving at her from the water...

That series really spooked me out as a kid!

Did no one notice she wasn't there ?

There's been a newspaper article which claims witnesses saw her arguing with her partner and deliberately jumping in.

The article said she was sitting on the back of the boat, pictures of the back show only a top deck as open to the public, the rest are cabins. My guess is she was sitting on the railing of a cabin balcony, and either jumped or fell. Had she fallen though I’d have expected the propellers to pull her in. If she jumped or was pushed the forward momentum might have just put her out of the pull of the propeller.

It's very wierd, mind you I do yoga and easily the bit I am best at is lying quietly on my back. I never realised what survival skills I was practising

People who "fall" off cruise ships have generally jumped or been doing something stupid (often while drunk). You can't just fall, the barriers are too high

@Acatsnohelpwiththat

Oooooh I remember that Tales of the Unexpected episode.

Some of them were good weren't they?!

@didiplanthis

Yes she was missed, but I am not sure how long it was before it was noticed.

From the BBC report:

“She said she was sitting at the back of the deck before falling overboard and was "very lucky to be alive".”

So she was sitting on top of the railing then. Only way she could have fallen off. Unless someone picked her up and put her on the railing for a laugh.

Could she have jumped?

Yes. The media never say jumped when someone jumps from a ship/bridge/high rise building/in front of a train. They say 'fell' they mean 'jumped'