Following the death of a Royal Caribbean passenger this week, others aboard the world's largest cruise ship have spoken out about the atmosphere after the man went overboard.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed by both Royal Caribbean and the U.S Coast Guard that a man - who has not been identified at this time - died on Sunday after he went overboard the Royal Caribbean’s new 1,200-foot-long Icon of the Seas.
The tragedy occurred on the first night of the man's week-long trip, with representatives from the Coast Guard confirming that the man went overboard shortly after the vessel departed Florida for Honduras.
The massive cruise liner was roughly 300 miles from Port Miami and between 30-40 miles north of Santa Lucia at the time of the incident, per CruiseHive.
Following the ship's crew being alerted, the cruise liner came to a halt for roughly two hours while it deployed a rescue boat to retrieve the passenger.
After bringing the man aboard, he was pronounced dead after succumbing to his injuries.
Now, fellow passengers onboard the ship - which can hold a staggering 7,600 passengers and 2,350 crew members - have spoken out.
Speaking to the New York Post, 31-year-old passenger Zachary Normandin revealed that he witnessed around 300 passengers - who were eating dinner at the time - cheer after the captain made the announcement that that the missing man was found.
"Everyone in the dining room clapped and we’re like ‘yeah,’" Normandin revealed. “We assumed that the guy was fine.”
However, passengers were then informed that the man had sadly passed away, as the cruise continued its voyage.
Normandin recalled how passengers simply continued with their vacations - partying as if nothing had happened. "I don’t think everyone knows about the guy dying. I think it’s kind of purposely silenced,” Normandin said, explaining that he thinks Royal Caribbean officials want to avoid upsetting or scaring those onboard.
Normandin, a married father of one, said the Icon of the Seas’ captain initially revealed a man had went over the edge of the ship and the ship was forced to turn around in hopes of finding the missing traveler.
The father-of-one admits that, after hearing the news of the man's passing, he thought the ship would turn around and head "straight back to Miami".
"But, no everything just kept on going," Normandin said. "I think people we’re just trying not to think about it, maybe, I don’t know.
"It just seemed like more people would have been like ‘oh my gosh, what’s going on,’ but no, people were just going about their day. It’s just kind of dystopian."
There are currently conflicting reports and accounts circulating online about whether the man "jumped" from the cruise liner.
In a statement to CruiseHive, Royal Caribbean officials have said: “The ship’s crew immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard and launched a search and rescue operation. Our Care Team is actively providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones during this difficult time.
"For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share."
Our thoughts go out to everybody impacted by this tragedy.
