Cruise ship worker shares protocol after ‘worst announcement’ happens at sea

There's a few noises that might spook you while you're out at sea, but alarm bells really start ringing when one certain announcement gets made by the captain of the ship.

Whether you hear the words 'Code Oscar' ring out through the tannoy or they spell it out plainly, it's something you never want to be informed of while you are on a cruise.

Unfortunately for one employee on a ocean liner, she was woken up at 5am by what she described as 'the worst announcement you could ever hear' - which explained that there was a man overboard.

Amber Olivia, better known online as @amboliviaa, regularly shares cruise ship content on social media while working onboard as an entertainer, but one of her recent videos had a more serious tone to it.

She explained that people were jolted out of their slumber after the captain of the ship got on the tannoy to raise the alarm that someone had gone into the water, before explaining the protocol which the crew must follow during these incidents.

The TikToker explained that 'safety duties' aren't part of her role's responsibilities, but the message is broadcast across all cabins as well as crew and guest areas so that the right people can be informed as quickly as possible.

Amber said: "You hear it and it's one of the most scariest announcements ever. There was no way I could go back to sleep - all you're thinking about is did they fall, something else, is it a crew member, is it a guest, is it someone you know? "You've got a million things running through your head, you don't know what to think.

"Of course, there are protocols in place so that when these things do happen - because unfortunately they do - the crew know what to do to try and get the help that the person needs."

After the team in charge of organising a water rescue rallied, she explained that her colleagues were all left panicked about what was unfolding in the water.

She continued: "Of course everyone heard the announcement, we were all texting each other, none of us can go back to sleep. About 20 minutes later, the captain comes on the tannoy and basically gives a rundown of the whole situation."

Amber said it was 'probably the best outcome' that everyone could have hoped for when this kind of incident unfolds.

The cruise ship worker said: "So what apparently happened is a boat came very close to our ship and as we was turning, the waves that come off the bow of the ship pushed their little boat.

"Unfortunately, two guys jumped off of their boat - we don't know why, maybe their ship started to capsize or something.

"But they jumped off of the boat and of course the bridge officers that were working at night did see that. Even though it's not people from our ship that were overboard, there are two humans in the water...overboard.

"So the ship slams its breaks on, we're thrusting, we're doing all we can."

The usual protocol that crews follow when a man is overboard is stopping the ship, returning to the spot where the incident occurred, informing the coastguard and sending out rescue boats.

Luckily, Amber explained that the ship was 'semi-close to land' as they were in port on that day and that the two men who tumbled into the water 'were okay in the end and managed to get back on their boat'.

She added: "The pilot let our captain know and then of course the captain made the announcement to let everyone else know, because we were all worried, no one knew what was going on.

"I'm just glad that no one was hurt and that everyone's okay, but oh my goodness, I never want to hear that announcement again. That was the first time I've heard it and I have worked at sea since 2019!

"I know someone who has worked at sea for 15 years and have never heard that announcement before, so it's really not a common thing and it did shake a lot of people. I tell you, working at sea is so eventful."