Carnival Luminosa ‘man overboard emergency’ issued after Queensland couple dispute

A cruise ship passenger sent a holiday liner into meltdown after raising fears he had fallen overboard during a domestic dispute.

On Wednesday, the man had been arguing with his partner on the Carnival Luminosa liner off the Central Queensland coast.

He was believed to have fallen into the water as the argument escalated, prompting the crew to declare a ‘man overboard’ emergency.

Distraught passenger Sally recalled the horrifying incident and the initial moment of panic and confusion that swept the ship.

‘The siren went off with three calls of ‘man overboard port side’,’ she wrote on Facebook.

‘We looked out our balcony and saw the lifebuoys going in the ocean. Orange smoke activated when they hit the water, and they made a bit of a line to make them easier to find.

‘Ship turned around very slowly and went back, but in the meantime, old super sleuth Sally got some answers.’

Sally went to inspect the commotion when a ship mechanic told her that a crew member might have fallen off the boat.

She then went down to the spa deck, where she spoke to two other holidaymakers who quickly filled her in on what had actually happened.

‘They said they were on deck six and could hear a man and woman yelling at each other,’ she wrote.

‘Then a man jumped over the deck seven railing and landed on one of the lifeboats in front of them and scurried back onto the ship.

‘The woman called ‘man overboard’ thinking he’d jumped into the water. So the whole ‘man overboard’ process was initiated.’

Sally said she was able to piece together what had actually happened after speaking to more people about the incident.

‘I later heard on the grapevine that he went back upstairs to his room and started banging on his door to be let in,’ she wrote.

The man had been in an argument with his partner on the Carnival Luminosa liner off the Central Queensland coast on Wednesday (stock image)

‘So I’m assuming she locked him on the veranda and out of the room, he jumped over the balcony and onto the deck below and ran back up to try and get back in that way.

‘Reports from other people later that night were that they both ended up in the brig.’

Carnival Cruise Line Vice President Kara Glamore confirmed a passenger had climbed the rail.

‘Thankfully, he was not injured, but climbing over the rails is strictly against our safety protocols,’ she said.

‘The guest was confined to a stateroom at the end of the cruise.’