How Many People Die On Cruise Ships Per Year?

The average number of deaths on cruise ships each year is around 200, largely due to natural causes, accidents, and murders. However, the actual number may be much higher, as not all cruise lines and countries share their death statistics. The most passenger deaths occurred on Carnival Cruise Lines (29%), Royal Caribbean Cruises (12%), and Norwegian Cruise Line (10%). Overboard incidents on cruise ships are rare, but factors such as alcohol use, delayed reporting, and ocean rescue challenges can make them fatal.

The number of passenger deaths ranged from a low of three in 2001 to a high of 75 deaths in 2015. Between 2005 and 2011, 16 people died in cruise ship accidents. Since 2000, around 300 people on cruise ships have fallen overboard. Researchers who studied passenger and crew member deaths aboard cruise ships found that a total of 623 people were reported to have died on cruises between 2000 and 2019.

Although cruise lines prefer to avoid discussing people dying on their ships, there are an estimated 200 annual passenger deaths, which is hardly surprising given that 31.5 million people take a holiday at sea each year and their average age is approaching 50. 200 deaths out of 30 million yearly passengers equate to 1 in 150,000 guests, meaning that there are around 3 to 4 deaths per week.

Each ship had an average of approximately 800 passengers with a median age about 65 years. Out of the over 23 million passengers that sail each year, based on 2016 numbers, approximately 200 of them die while onboard. This is not a small number given the number of people going on cruises.