WATCH: Girl falls overboard from Disney cruise ship’s 4th deck, heroic father jumps in to rescue her

A dramatic scene played out on the Disney Dream cruise ship on June 29, 2025, as a young girl fell overboard from the fourth deck while the cruise ship was underway from the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale. Her father jumped into the water to save her. The cruise ship crew raised a “man overboard” alert, threw life preservers into the water and launched a rescue boat.

Passengers described the father’s courage as he kept his daughter, who looked to be about 5 years old, afloat for more than 10 minutes while waiting for rescue. Videos posted on social media captured the emotional moment when the rescue boat arrived and both were safely returned aboard. Passengers erupted in cheers when they saw the rescue.

The Disney Dream, with a capacity to transport 4,000 individuals, has safety walls on its decks. Nevertheless, the accident serves to emphasize caution. Disney Cruise Line praised their staff’s exemplary skills and speedy response in ensuring the safe return of both guests onto the ship in minutes. The passengers referred to the father as a hero who risked his life to rescue his daughter.

The vessel safely docked back at Port Everglades in early Monday morning, marking the end of the planned cruise. Falling overboard from cruises is uncommon; in a 2019 report, only nine of 25 individuals who have fallen overboard from cruise ships that year survived.

WATCH the viral video here: 

NEW: Father jumps overboard to save his 5-year-old daughter, who fell off a Disney cruise ship from the 4th deck into the ocean.

The ship was heading back to South Florida when the intense rescue was made.

“The ship was moving quickly, so quickly, it’s crazy how quickly the… pic.twitter.com/PTGmAzZJ7O

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 30, 2025

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