A passenger drowned on a Southern California-bound cruise ship from Mexico over the weekend, prompting an ongoing search by the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican authorities.
The accident occurred aboard the Carnival Panorama ship, operated by Carnival Cruise Line, while the ship was headed from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Long Beach, California, a Carnival Cruise spokesman said. NBC News and ABC News.
Global News reached out to Carnival Cruise Line for further comment, but did not receive a response.
“Carnival Cruise Line confirmed on Saturday that a guest aboard Carnival Panorama jumped overboard while the ship was sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Long Beach, California,” a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement to the media.
“When the missing guest was notified, the ship’s team began search and investigative procedures, including reviewing surveillance footage and notifying both the U.S. and Mexican Coast Guard. Carnival is providing support to the family who was traveling with the guest, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones,” the spokesperson added.
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The passenger, identified only as a 56-year-old man, was on a seven-night cruise that sailed to several coastal communities in Mexico before returning to Southern California.
In a statement to Global News, the US Coast Guard said it is currently searching for a 56-year-old man who was reported aboard the Carnival Panorama cruise ship off the coast of Mexico late Friday night.
“The Rescue Coordination Center in Alameda was notified Saturday afternoon and is coordinating search and rescue efforts. The Coast Guard launched fixed-wing aircraft to assist in the search and is coordinating search efforts with the Mexican Navy and commercial vessels in the area. A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson added that the search remains ongoing.
The US Coast Guard spokesman added that the reason for the passenger’s descent into the sea is under investigation.
The accident comes months after a woman died after falling from the balcony of a Carnival cruise ship in California.
Carnival Cruise Line confirmed the death of Carnival guest Firenze in a statement to Global News at the time, adding that the unidentified woman fell from her living room balcony and landed on the deck below.
The woman was traveling with her family, who alerted the ship’s crew, according to the statement provided to Global News.
“The Carnival care team is supporting the guest’s family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones,” said company spokeswoman Julie Leonardi.
“As is customary following this type of incident, law enforcement was on board the vessel while it was on Catalina Island on Monday to gather information,” the statement read. “The family is now off the ship and back home.”
Carnival Cruise Line has also made headlines recently due to the death of Anna Kepner, 18, who died on a Carnival cruise ship last year.
Kepner’s 16-year-old brother has pleaded not guilty and waived his appearance at a hearing in Miami federal court on charges of murder and aggravated sexual assault in her death.
Timothy Hudson was indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury on April 13 in the death of Kepner, whose body was found under a bed in the Carnival Horizon room she shared with him and another teen during a family trip in November 2025.
According to court records, Hudson was traveling on the Carnival Cruise Line Horizon ship with Kepner and other family members on or about Nov. 6-7, 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida. He said in a press release.
“During that time, while the ship was in international waters en route to Miami, TH allegedly sexually assaulted and intentionally killed Kepner. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office later determined the cause of death to be mechanical asphyxia.”
Mechanical asphyxia is when an object or physical force prevents a person from breathing.
—With files from The Associated Press
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