When his young daughter fell from the fourth deck of a Disney Cruise ship, a father didn’t think twice and immediately jumped straight into the ocean himself to save her before the crew could react.
The incident happened on 29 June, aboard the Disney Dream, as the father was taking photos of his daughter against a railing, according to a witness who spoke to the BBC. A Man overboard (MOB) alert was quickly activated and the crew rushed to the rescue. The father and daughter were in the waters for approximately 10 minutes before the rescue team reached them.
The ship was moving at high speed, making it all the more remarkable that the father managed to get to his daughter before the crew could.
Passenger Laura Amador told the BBC that ‘the ship was moving so quickly, it is crazy how quickly the people became tiny dots in the sea and then you lost sight of them’.
She further explained how the captain slowed the ship, turned it around, and dispatched rescue teams on a tender vessel to retrieve the father and daughter.
A father jumped off the Disney Dream cruise ship after his daughter fell overboard.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 1, 2025
He held onto her and stayed afloat for about 20 minutes before they were rescued. pic.twitter.com/uUXLIqbpkc
Another passenger, Janice Martin-Asuque from Florida, shared on her Facebook account: ‘We heard an M.O.B. (man overboard) call over the ship’s speaker. A little girl had fallen into the water, and her father jumped in after him to save her. Thank God they’re both safe.’
The Disney Dream which can welcome up to 4,000 passengers, was returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida after a four-day trip to the Bahamas.
The rescue, fitting for Disney, could have ended in tragedy but instead had a storybook ending.
Videos of the incident were captured by passengers and shared widely on social media. In one video, the father is seen being safely rescued by the cruise crew, met with applause from fellow guests.
Several reports say the father put his daughter on the railing of the 4th deck to take a photo. She fell in and he jumped in after her.
— LoBe (@RegardingThat) June 30, 2025
Here’s a video from the 4th deck of the Disney Dream cruise ship to show how easy it would be to end up in the water if you sat on the railing. pic.twitter.com/iDVUDcIgyu
Passenger Gar Frantz recounted the rescue op to NBC News saying, ‘We watched it, you could see two little things… it was crazy, it was horrific’.
Sharing the video on X, Jason Howerton wrote, ‘The weight of being a father we don’t talk about a lot is you literally have to be ready to die to save your children at any given second. Thank God for strong fathers.’
However, some comments under his post criticised the father, suggesting he might have been responsible for putting his daughter on the railing in the first place. Full details of the incident have yet to emerge. At the time of publication, Disney Cruise Line has not provided additional information.
The weight of being a father we don't talk about a lot is you literally have to be ready to die to save your children at any given second.
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) June 30, 2025
Thank God for strong fathers.
Father jumps overboard to save his 5-year-old daughter, who fell off a Disney cruise ship 👇 pic.twitter.com/yBfFuJUXZO
A spokesperson for Disney Cruise said that ‘The Crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water. We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes’.
While such incidents are rare, they do happen. In 2015, a former Miami Dolphins player famously swam more than nine miles to shore after falling from his boat near the South Florida coast. According to a 2019 Cruise Lines International Association report, 25 people fell overboard that year, but only nine were rescued.
This time, it was truly a Disney ending.
