Pianist who fell from Royal Caribbean cruise found alive after hours at sea

Posted November 9, 2026 2:43 pm

Updated November 9, 2026 2:54 pm

3 min read

A pianist employed on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship was pulled to safety off the coast of California after two fishermen spotted him treading water in the Pacific Ocean.

The man, who has not been identified, was found conscious and taken to hospital after being rescued last week, the U.S. Coast Guard told Global News in a statement.

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U.S. authorities believe the man may have been in the water for up to nine hours before California fishermen Sean Norton and Grant Garrett spotted him on their return from a fishing excursion near Catalina Island, according to U.K. and U.S. media reports.

Garrett, talking to CBS News, recalled the moment he realized there was a person in the water, “I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s a human being. Stop the boat; let’s get all of our lines in,” he told the U.S. outlet.

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The fishermen worked together to pull the man from the water, Garrett explained. Once the individual was safely on board, he told the men he was a pianist on board the Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, a 14-deck vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.

How he fell overboard is under investigation, it added.

“The only thing he said to me was, ‘Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,’” Norton told The Guardian.
The two-man fishing crew issued an emergency call alerting Newport Beach lifeguards to the rescue, according to the Coast Guard.

The individual was reported to be transported to Orange County Global Medical Center in stable condition for further medical evaluation and care, the Coast Guard added, noting that the rescue occurred 10 miles (16 kilometres) northeast of Avalon Harbor on the south eastern tip of Catalina Island.

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Norton told CBS News he suspected unusually warm waters for this time of year may have helped the man stay alive.

“You have this crazy super El Niño year. This guy was in the water for probably 10 hours, but the water’s 76 degrees,” he said. “A different year, no way he makes it.”

The current El Niño cycle has driven ocean temperatures to record highs, with waters reaching 3.07°C above average, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The cruise line told CBS News in a statement that it was “providing support and assistance” to the crew member, but that it would not comment further to respect the privacy of its employee.

Global News reached out to Royal Caribbean but did not receive a response.

The incident follows a rescue mission that occurred last month after a passenger aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship was found nearly 20 hours after falling overboard into the Ionian Sea near the island of Zakynthos in Greece.

The victim, a 44-year-old woman from El Salvador, was found conscious floating inside a lifebuoy.

0:41 Cruise passenger rescued after floating adrift for 20 hours

Her rescue came nearly one month after a passenger went overboard from a cruise ship heading to Southern California from Mexico.

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The passenger, a 56-year-old man, was aboard the seven-night cruise that sailed to several coastal communities in Mexico before heading back to Southern California. Rescue efforts were suspended after 41 hours.