Carnival cruise passenger rescued in Gulf of Mexico says he was ‘lucky to be alive’: report

A Carnival Cruise Line passenger who went overboard and was missing for 20 hours before getting rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Thanksgiving in the Gulf of Mexico told Good Morning America he “couldn’t really say” how many drinks he had that night and he was “lucky to be alive.”

James Michael Grimes, 28, was traveling for the holidays with 18 of his family members sailing out of New Orleans on the Carnival Valor that departed on Nov. 23. In a GMA interview that aired Friday, Grimes said he had not been drunk that night, but said he had no memory of what his sister told authorities, that the last time she saw him, he had left her at a bar and gone to use the bathroom.

He does not remember leaving, going to the bathroom or falling off the ship.

“When i came to, regained consciousness, I was in the water with no boat in sight,” he told GMA.

The sister did not report Grimes missing until the next morning and Carnival officials reported the overboard passenger to the Coast Guard while doubling back on its path searching for him, according to a statement from the cruise line.

The Coast Guard released the ship from its search at some point and the Valor continued on to Cozumel as part of its normal cruise schedule.

“Carnival’s Care Team is providing support to the family members of the missing guest who were sailing with him and remain on board,” the line said in the statement before Grimes’ rescue.

Grimes told GMA, “My worst fear is drowning, and that is something i didn’t want to have to face. I wanted to see my family and I was dead set on making it out of there. I was never accepting that this was it, that this was the end of my life.”

Grimes said he spotted the lights from a tanker ship as the sun was setting on Thanksgiving and began to swim toward it. The Coast Guard found him treading water about 20 miles south offshore of Southwest Pass, Louisiana. Rescuers told GMA that when they pulled him out of the water, Grimes “had nothing left.”

Grimes said he expects to go on a cruise again.

“I ain’t going to let it discourage me that much,” he said. “I might not get within 10 foot of the rails, but I’d definitely be open to going on another cruise because I really didn’t get to go on this one.”

You can watch the interview at goodmorningamerica.com.