FBI Investigating After Passenger Dies From Balcony Fall on Carnival Cruise Ship

The woman, whose identity has not yet been released, died as the ship was nearing Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California.

Audrey Simons

Published: 4/29/2026, 2:14:50 PM EDT

FBI Investigating After Passenger Dies From Balcony Fall on Carnival Cruise Ship — A Carnival Cruise Line sign is displayed at PortMiami in Miami on Jan. 29, 2021. (Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

A female passenger aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship died earlier this week after falling from her balcony while the vessel was sailing off the coast of Southern California.

The woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was traveling with her family on the Carnival Firenze, which departed Long Beach on Sunday for a four-night cruise.

The ship had been scheduled to visit Catalina Island on Monday before continuing to Ensenada, Mexico, the following day, according to CruiseMapper tracking data. The woman died as the ship was nearing its first stop.

Julie Leonardi, a spokesperson for Carnival, told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that the woman went over the balcony of her cabin early Monday morning and landed on a deck below. Leonardi said law enforcement officers subsequently boarded the ship to gather information when it docked in Catalina Island.

"The female guest was traveling with family who alerted the ship's crew of the situation," Leonardi told the station. "The family is now off the ship and has returned home. Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones."

NTD reached out to Carnival for more information, but a response was not received by publication time. The FBI typically investigates suspicious deaths and serious crimes that occur aboard cruise ships in or near U.S. waters under federal maritime jurisdiction. A spokesperson for the agency's Los Angeles Field Office told NTD via email on Wednesday that agents did respond to the ship and are investigating the reported death.

Amber Reinhold, a passenger aboard the Carnival Firenze, recorded video showing the aftermath of the incident as the woman's body was removed from the ship by harbor patrol. She told NBC 4 that Carnival staff on board said the woman had been in her 20s and had gone over the balcony around 2 a.m.

"In order to fall over this railing—I'm 5-foot-9 and it's up to my rib cage, like high rib cage—it would have to be pretty abrupt or like sitting on the railing or something along those lines," Reinhold told the station.

Officials have not shared any additional information about what might have led up to the fall.

The Carnival Firenze is more than 1,000 feet long and can carry over 4,000 passengers and roughly 1,500 crew members. According to online tracking data, the Italian-themed vessel continued on its planned voyage after the incident and is scheduled to return to Long Beach on April 30.