It's not very easy to fall overboard from a cruise ship

NEW YORK — How hard is it to fall off a cruise ship?

"It is so hard to fall overboard that when someone does go over the side, it's either because, sadly, it's a suicide attempt or it's because they're being incredibly foolish," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of the Web site CruiseCritic.com.

Yet three people have gone overboard on cruise ships in the past two weeks. Michael Mankamyer, 35, went over a Carnival Glory ship off Florida's coast on March 16 and was rescued eight hours later. He said he had been drinking and that "alcohol took over with my medication."

Last weekend, a 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman went overboard from the Grand Princess. They were found four hours later 150 miles off Galveston, Texas. Neither was seriously injured, and they asked the cruise line to keep their names and the circumstances that led to the fall private.

"I can only think that it's near spring break time," said Douglas Ward, author of the annual "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships." "I suspect that drink is usually involved in these kinds of occurrences."

Douglas Stallings, editor of "Fodor's Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises" and "Fodor's Caribbean Ports of Call," pointed out that "you never hear of a child falling off a balcony. That's because the balcony dividers are quite high. Many of these incidents involve the excessive use of alcohol."

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, cruise ship railings are required to measure 39.5 inches high (one meter), and while cruise lines determine their own alcohol policies, the drinking age on most North American itineraries is 21.

But what should you do if you witness a "man overboard"?

"Alert the crew immediately," said Julie Benson, a spokeswoman for Princess. If you don't see a crew member nearby, find a house phone and call the emergency operator. "And if you do happen to be in the vicinity of a railing where there are life rings, toss one of the life rings into the water."

All cruise passengers are required to attend what are called "muster drills," where safety procedures are described. Some cruise ships even take attendance at the drills to make sure everyone knows the rules.

In the incident involving the Princess ship, the captain retraced the ship's path, then turned off the engines and air-conditioning and asked passengers to stay in their cabins and make as little noise as possible.