Cruise Ship Crewman Waves A Giant Hand As Passengers Arrive Late To The Boat And Cannot Board

Aug 11, 2019 by apost team

Waving goodbye from the deck of a cruise ship is a time-honored tradition. However, is it truly a good thing when someone does it with a giant false hand? And people on the dock below have missed boarding the ship?

That's the debate going on right now about a video posted online.

The ship, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, was just departing from the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. A member of the cruise ship crew is shown waving a giant hand. The hand has the words "Bye" written on it.

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The controversy comes from the fact that the crew member appears to be waving it towards two passengers who had just missed getting onboard the ship. They appeared to have arrived late for reboarding after an island excursion.

The person filming the scene makes the statement "They've missed it". The video zooms in towards the crew member waving the giant hand.

What is unclear is whether the crew member is waving the hand towards the stranded passengers or somewhere else. Royal Caribbean is clear that the crew member is not mocking the stranded passengers. A spokesperson for the cruise line told the Mirror:

"Our crew member was not directing her wave to our guests on the pier. She was waving at our sister ship, Anthem of the Seas, which was also in port and scheduled for departure. The gesture was one of respect and nautical camaraderie between crew members. We regret the inconvenience our guests experienced due the late return to the pier..."

"...Guests are encouraged to be back by all-aboard time. Departure times are routinely announced onboard, posted in shipboard newsletters and at gangways to keep our guests informed at all ports of call.” 

So, do you think the crew member was waving goodbye to the sister ship or to the stranded passengers below? Let us know your thoughts. Give others the chance to see the video for themselves by passing this along.