Love Boat or Murder Boat?
DON'T KNOW WHY PEOPLE LOSE THEIR MINDS ON CRUISE SHIPS!
CLICK FOR HOME PAGE, CARTOONS, AUDIO BLOGCASTS
7/27/23
Yesterday the U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for a man who jumped off the Carnival Elation near Melbourne, Florida earlier this week. Reruns of The Love Boat may soon have to dub a disclaimer over their theme song:
The love boat soon will be making another run
The love boat promises something for everyone...WHO STAYS ONBOARD!
We're going on a Carnival cruise in a couple of days, and I don't like any negative press about cruising so near our sailing date. I don't like people thinking there's something happening aboard cruise ships that prompts them to jump off. (The cramped quarters and the food aren't that bad!)
Although overboard incidents are considered a rarity, 10 were already reported earlier this year (as of July 6). (The man who jumped off the Carnival Elation would bring that total to 11, if my math is correct.) I suppose I have no choice but to live with those numbers. After all, accidents and suicides can happen anywhere. But I draw the line at murders.
We recently had a conversation with friends of ours, Betty and Maria, who are also avid cruisers. They relayed to us a chilling story that happened while they were cruising on Princess Cruises' Royal Princess in 2018. Imagine sitting on your balcony on a balmy night and seeing a body go by.
What occurred was that Ms. Almarosa Tenorio was killed when she fell (or was thrown) nine floors from the 16th floor lido deck, where she landed on top of a life boat. The impact was so hard that the victim lost a leg in the process. From their cabin, members of Betty and Maria's party could see where the body had fallen.
That night Betty and Maria told us that the hallways were filled with commotion, and, eventually, rumors started to spread that the victim was seen struggling with a muscular man. At 4 a.m. the captain even made an announcement about the incident, which was deemed an "unnatural" death by investigators. (So, jumping from the 16th floor without a parachute is considered unnatural? Don't tell that to Tom Cruise.)
I've seen enough crime TV shows, like Dateline and 48 Hour Mysteries, to know that the spouse is almost always the prime suspect in a murder case. But investigators immediately ruled out the victim's husband in this case. So, what happened to the man she was seen in an altercation with?
It's been five years since the incident, and there are no updates on the case. It seems to me that when passengers were allowed to disembark from that ship, someone might've gotten away with murder. Anyone who watches crime shows knows that it can take decades before those murders are solved. And so many times, the murderer is someone the victim knew.
The world may never know who the murderer was in this case. But I know one thing, it's never the guy who blogs about it.
#IneversawamurdersonTheLoveBoat
