Turns Out Jumping Off Of A Cruise Ship Isn't The Best Way To Escape Debt

In case you've been thinking about jumping off a cruise ship to avoid paying a bill, you may want to think of Jey Gonzalez-Diaz. According to a report from CBS News, Gonzalez-Diaz jumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in an alleged attempt to avoid paying a $16,710 debt he accrued in the ship's casino. And now he's probably worse off than before.

Gonzalez-Diaz reportedly jumped into the water with $14,600 in cash, two phones, and five IDs while the Rhapsody of the Seas, one of Royal Caribbean's 28 ships, was undergoing a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection at a port in Puerto Rico. In a moment caught on surveillance, Gonzalez-Diaz was then brought to shore by someone on a jet ski.

He initially told officers that he jumped to avoid being taxed for his currency, but the cruise line told investigators that Gonzalez-Diaz — who had booked under a fake name, Jeremy Diaz — owed over $16,700 to Royal Caribbean, largely from gambling on the ship's casino. Currently out on bail, Gonzalez-Diaz could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. That will surely add to his tab, although it may be better than his fate if he'd stayed in the water.

Jumping off a cruise ship is extremely dangerous, and Jey Gonzalez-Diaz's possible prison time is a favorable outcome, all things considered. Research by the Cruise Lines International Association showed that an average of 19 people fell off cruise ships every year from 2009 to 2019, making for a total of 212. Of those, 170 died. Only 28.2% were rescued. It's a situation that has led to many tragic stories, like a 2024 incident where a Norwegian cruise ship had to give up searching for a 51-year-old man who fell overboard less than 24 hours after he was first reported missing.

While rescue boats can be deployed when someone is reported overboard, cruise ships have very little time to save individuals in the water. It can sometimes take a few hours for an incident to be reported, and it takes a while for the ship to turn around once notified — cruise ships aren't very fast. Depending on the ocean's temperature, waves, and current, those who fall overboard may end up drowning or suffering from hypothermia. 

Falling off a ship, then, can be deadly: "It's a huge ocean. Just being found at all would be incredible," cruise industry researcher Ross Klein told The Washington Post. "The longer you are out there, whether you're alive or not, the lower the possibility of being recovered. The vast majority of people are gone forever."