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Florida Man Dies After Fall on Cruise Ship During His Bachelor Party

Oct. 24, 2018
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2 min read
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Florida Man Dies After Fall on Cruise Ship During His Bachelor Party
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A Florida man celebrating his upcoming wedding on a cruise to the Bahamas died Friday after falling on board the ship.

Christopher McGrory, 29, was taking a Bahamas Paradise Cruise with his friends to celebrate his bachelor party. Reports say that around 8pm on Friday, McGrory fell from a high deck on the 1,680-passenger Grand Classica ship, hitting the deck below, according to the Palm Beach Post. He did not fall overboard.

Marcia Lehmann, who was also on board the ship, told the Palm Beach Post that she was coming out of a show when she heard a "code blue" alert over the ship's PA system.

“I’m thinking someone had a heart attack,” Lehman said, noting she saw a crowd gathered around a staircase on the ship's eighth deck, looking at the decks below. She looked at the scene below. “All we could see was pools and pools of blood and (part of) a white sheet,” she said to the Post. “He fell above us, so it had to have been either the 10th or 11th (deck).”

The Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line's Grand Classica vessel has a total of 10 passenger decks, with other attractions on the ship's higher decks, according to the company's website. The ship, which has been operating two-night cruises to the Bahamas since April, sailed out of the Port of Palm Beach to Freeport in the Bahamas.

Map of the Grand Classica ship by Bahama Paradise Cruise Line.

The US Coast Guard brought McGrory to shore, and local paramedics to him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was scheduled to get married on Dec. 1.

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"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the guest’s family at this time," a Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line spokesperson told the Palm Beach Post. "We commend the crew and U.S. Coast Guard for their swift response.”

The tragic incident follows another fatal bachelor party of US tourists rafting in Costa Rica in which four of the revelers and their guide died in a sudden flash flood.

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  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
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