Social media users have been left stunned after a diver jumped from an extreme height on a cruise ship.
Cruise vacations aren’t typically associated with death-defying stunts - unless you’re Ginni van Katwijk.
The 40-year-old from the Netherlands shocked Instagram followers last March after posting a video of herself taking a terrifying plunge off a 55-foot platform aboard Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas.
Watch the dive below:In the jaw-dropping clip, Katwijk stands at the edge of the high dive board, calmly pointing to the tiny pool far below that she plans to land in.
She gives the camera a confident thumbs-up, saying: “Easy peasy,” before launching into a twisting, acrobatic descent that ends with a perfect splash.
But for viewers watching from the safety of dry land, the pool looked alarmingly small. The cruise ship holds over 5,000 passengers and crew, but only trained professionals like Katwijk are allowed to attempt these high-altitude dives at the ship’s AquaTheater.
Online, people couldn’t believe what they were seeing. "That should be illegal," one person reacted, while another reacted: "More scarier than a survival horror movie."
"Her hands were trembling above her head before the dive. There was nervousness there. I'd die if a heart attack just standing on that board," a third user commented.
A fourth shared: "Isn’t there a hardwired place in our brains that tell us…DON’T RUN AWAY, BACK AWAY FROM THE EDGE, DANGER??? Are you just missing that gene, or else you must be a higher level of being that has found away to override our natural instinct for self-preservation. You are a Zen Master!!! I bow to you."
A fifth viewer said it "looks terrifying" and "dangerous", adding: "Wow to those who have done it, but [surely] this should not be legal for the safety of the staff who do this."
One more person praised the diver for being so "calm".
High diving might steal the spotlight, but it’s just one part of the spectacle aboard Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas.
The ship’s AquaTheater also features aerial artists flipping through the air, aquatic dancers gliding across the water, and even trampoline stunts, all unfolding in one of the most technically complex shows at sea.
Nick Weir, Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, described the behind-the-scenes effort as “controlled chaos", as the Daily Mail reported.
“Around the outside of a beautiful production is controlled chaos,” Weir said, explaining the “new dimension” he and his team explore with every performance.
Alex Williams, stage and production manager for the AquaTheater, revealed that the pool is the heart of the show. “During the show, we have three individual stage platforms that move up and down independently,” he explained.
Each show relies on a massive crew of rigging specialists, aquatic stage staff, and safety divers, all working in sync to guide performers and prevent accidents underwater.
“The only way that these shows function is an incredible level of trust and skill between everybody involved,” Williams said. “Everybody has to be on their game 100 percent every single day, or it just doesn't work.”
As for the drivers, they’re cued by a unique traffic light system. Red means stop, and green means go. The crew member beside Williams controls the movement of the diving boards, the stage platform, and the trampoline.