Shocked passengers have broken their silence after a woman jumped overboard while vacationing on a Taylor Swift-themed Royal Caribbean cruise in the Bahamas.
The woman who went overboard, an unidentified 66-year-old, jumped from the 14th floor around 9:40 pm on Tuesday, sending the remaining of the ships 400 passengers into a chaotic frenzy.
Ashley Sindaco, 38, and Marie Sindaco, 67, were aboard the Swift-themed ship when the woman fell off the 236-foot tall Allure of the Seas vessel – just 17 miles north of Nassau, Bahamas.
While Ashley was exiting an on-ship show when she first caught wind of the accident, her mother, Marie, stayed to watch the remainder of the performance.
A frantic search ensued after a woman fell overboard while vacationing on a Taylor Swift-themed Royal Caribbean cruise in the Bahamas. Pictured: Passengers line up after the unidentified woman fell overboard on Tuesday
Crew members immediately began search and rescue efforts with later help from an airplane and helicopter crew from Air Station Miami
To Ashley’s surprise, she heard repeated warnings over the boat’s loud-speaker system. In an effort to discover what the alert may have meant, Ashley tried to exit the deck she was on before realizing the doors were locked.
‘The doors were closed, there was somebody guarding it and everybody was yelling, “Someone jumped!”‘ she told TMZ Live on Wednesday.
Ashley then found her way to the top deck only to see a frenzy of passengers and crew searching for the overboard passenger.
‘I stayed up there for about three hours, just watching, praying and wondering what was happening,’ she recalled.
Not long after her mother joined her atop the ship, a sister ship, the Utopia of the Seas, joined the search.
‘Another sister ship came over, and we were both doing rotating searches, along with a plane and a helicopter that came around midnight,’ she said.
Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans departed from Miami on Monday on the Allure of the Seas as part of a fan-sponsored event
‘They were making a flower formation around both ships and the other four different ships in the water.’
The mother-daughter-duo recalled remaining on the top deck of the ship until 2 am the next morning, hoping for a miracle.
Since then, a Royal Bahamas Defense Force spokesperson confirmed to TMZ that the woman leapt from the 14th floor.
After learning of the overboard passenger crew members immediately began search and rescue efforts with later help from an airplane and helicopter crew from Air Station Miami, the agency said. However, that search has since been called off as of Wednesday afternoon.
‘Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and is working with local authorities. We are also providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time,’ a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said.
Additional crews from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard were still searching for the missing woman until approximately 2:45 pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Additional crews from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard were still searching for the missing woman as of Wednesday morning before efforts were called off around 2:45 pm that afternoon
The four-day excursion, appropriately named ‘In My Cruise Era’ as a tribute to the pop-icon, was arranged by three travel agents and fans of Swift, according to the group’s website
The Coast Guard had been assisting the RBDF in the case.
‘To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share,’ the Royal Caribbean spokesperson added.
Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans departed from Miami on Monday on the Allure of the Seas as part of a fan-sponsored event.
The four-day excursion – appropriately named ‘In My Cruise Era’ as a tribute to the pop-icon – was arranged by three travel agents and fans of Swift, according to the group’s website.
The agenda for ‘Swifties’ on the cruise includes making friendship bracelets, Taylor trivia and ‘Eras’-themed outfit nights.
Videos shared to TikTok showed ‘Swifties’ on the ship looking overboard after the woman jumped.
It was not immediately clear if the woman who went overboard was part of the group.
