Disney Dream cruise tragedy averted near Fort Lauderdale; father and rescue crew save girl who fell overboard

Time of India

17 hours ago

A tragedy at a Disney Dream cruise was narrowly averted on Sunday, June 29, when a young girl fell overboard and her father jumped in to save her. Thankfully, both father and daughter made it out alive after being successfully rescued by the Disney Dream crew. The Disney cruise had been on a trip to the Bahamas, and was returning from the Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in order to head back to Forth Lauderdale, Florida.
It was during this return journey that tragedy almost struck. Thankfully, due to the efforts of the girl's father and the cruise crew, what could've been a harrowing day instead became a story of heroism, with a father who put his life at risk to save his child, and a rescue team that delivered when it mattered the most.
A father jumped after his child after she went overboard
A Disney cruise vacation turned chaotic when a young girl reportedly fell from the Disney Dream ship, prompting her father to jump into the sea to save her. This incident occurred on June 29, as the ship was returning to Florida's Port Everglades after a four-night Bahamian… pic.twitter.com/kbEZNwGcLh — Ashish rai (@journorai) June 30, 2025
The child fell overboard from the cruise ship's Deck 4, which had a walking/jogging track. Given how quickly her father jumped after her, it's widely assumed that he was with his daughter when she fell overboard. This event became a talking point on social media, as many of the passengers on the cruise ship reported that the Man Overboard (M.O.B) alarm had rung out, alerting them to the fact that something was wrong. Their live posting about what was going on was part of the reason the event went viral in the first place.
Online discussions about the girl falling overboard fueled speculation
There was rampant online speculation about the overboard incident on social media, with people questioning how the girl fell overboard in the first place, and whether or not the cruise ship was docked when the incident occurred. The Facebook account of Dewayne Smith posted about the incident, claiming that it was the first time he'd witnessed a fellow passenger falling overboard. He was also among the first people to confirm that both the girl and her father had been successfully rescued.
When it came to speculation about the ship's location at the time of the rescue effort, a cruise passenger with the Reddit username metzd87 explained that the ship wasn't docked at the time: 'Not docked! Halfway between Bahamas and Ft. Lauderdale! Fully moving! Heard in our rooms 'Mr. M.O.B port side.'"
Regardless of the questions raised about how a child could fall overboard in the first place, her successful rescue speaks to the dedication and competence of the girl's father as well as the Disney Dream rescue crew.