Bahamas: 2 American cruise passengers drown hours apart at Carnival’s Celebration Key site

Police confirmed that one of the victims was a man aged 79 who was snorkeling while the second was a woman aged 74 who was swimming in the pool on the day of her birthday.

2025-08-21 12:06:43

Bahamas: Two American cruise passengers drowned in separate incidents just hours apart on last Friday at Carnival Cruise Lines’ private destination, Celebration Key, in the Bahamas. According to the information, both the victims were in their 70s and were involved in water activities when the tragic incidents took place.  

Police confirmed that one of the victims was a man aged 79 who was snorkeling while the second was a woman aged 74 who was swimming in the pool on the day of her birthday. 

Following the incidents, police confirmed that one person died in a lagoon while the other one drowned at the beach. Kayla, a passenger on one of the cruise ships in port, says that these incidents happening hours apart was surreal. 

She said that the carnival staff at Celebration Quay worked tirelessly to resuscitate the victims. 

As I went to the beach area, there was a big crowd and about 20 or 30 feet away from where I was, I saw lifeguards administering CPR to the gentleman and then after they worked on him for about ten minutes, they put him on a, um, it was like an EMT or lifeguard emergency vehicle and brought him back to the Mardi Gras ship.” 

She said that the staff was very quick to respond once they found out what was going on. 

Reports claim that shortly before noon, the 79-year-old man snorkeling in the waters off Celebration Quay became unresponsive. 

According to officials, lifeguards rushed to his aid, pulling him ashore and administering CPR, but despite their efforts, he could not be revived. 

Kayla called the incident ‘terrifying’ and kind of surreal noting that pretty much the entire beach had their hand raised, praying for him as they took him away.  

She recalled that just over two hours later, a second emergency unfolded. Around 2:30 p.m., the 74-year-old woman was found unresponsive after she faced difficulties while swimming in a pool. Reportedly, she too received CPR but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful. The victim had been celebrating her birthday that day. 

Kayla, the witness of the event, says that she wonders if the heat was a contributing factor. 

She said, “I'm really surprised that two happened in one day, and I wonder if it had something to do. With the heat or something on Celebration Key, it was probably out hottest spit that whole time.” 

While both victims are American citizens, however, their identities have not yet been released. 

Notably, Celebration Key, a 65-acre site on the south side of Grand Bahama, opened in July and initially cost $600 million to build. Unlike Carnival’s other private islands, Grand Bahama is not fully private, with a population of about 47,000. 

The island, which can accommodate two Carnival vessels at a time, features a water park, a swim-up bar, restaurants, the world’s tallest sandcastle and swing along with 1.5 miles of beach. Carnival said one victim had been aboard the Mardi Gras and the other on Carnival Elation. Both ships had departed from Florida last week. 

Sasha Baptiste is a dedicated writer focusing on cultural trends, human interest stories, and social movements across the UK and the Caribbean. With a background in sociology and journalism, Sasha’s reporting brings empathy, depth, and clarity to stories that shape today’s society. She is particularly interested in covering diaspora communities and their impact on modern culture.