Just days before the final preparations of Carnival’s newest cruise ship Mardi Gras to set sail on the very first cruise, a tragedy struck the vessel leaving the crew deeply shaken by the death of a colleague. We are sad to report that a team member died of apparent suicide on the Mardi Gras. Crew Center received several messages from the crew confirming that the team member lost his life on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Hours before his death the crew member was with friends laughing and having fun, and nobody could believe something like this would happen. The crew said a mental health professional was sent on board the ship together with a team to talk with the crew and provide much-needed support after this traumatic event.

The crew member is a young man from Brazil. Out of respect for his family, and fellow teammates we will not release his identity and additional details.

Madi Gras crew will welcome the very first guests on board tomorrow July 31, but behind the masks and the cheers there will be sadness after the loss of a friend.

This tragedy is another sad reminder that mental health professionals are needed to be on board to provide physical support 24/7 for the crew, to talk with each one about their concerns, challenges and fears.

Before the pandemic, Carnival Cruise Line launched Carnival’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help crew who need support by providing guidance and resources. The program is in partnership with ComPysch and any Carnival team member can call and talk with land-based trained clinicians and councilors.

The mental health and wellbeing of the crew needs to be the main focus for the cruise lines, especially during the restart of cruises when the crew undergoes several quarantines on land and onboard before they start working. Another concern are the shore leave restrictions in ports, as most of the crew haven’t step foot on land for several months. At this stage, there is also concern about the increased workload for the crew when the ships sail with reduced capacity. They have more duties and responsibilities now, and less time to rest and spent free time. As more ships restart cruises thing will get back to normal. They will sail with full crew capacity and eventually they will be allowed shore leave. But the challenges about the mental health of the crew will remain. That’s why mental health professionals need to be on board the ships all the time.

This is second reported death of a crew member not related to COVID-19 after the cruise industry restart this year. In April Odyssey of the Seas crew member went overboard as the Royal Caribbean newest ship sailed south of Cyprus en route to Haifa.