Royal Caribbean bans man for life after he jumps ship...for fun

Don't jump off the ship.

You'd think this would be a no-brainer, right? Not according to a cruiser from Vancouver, Washington. 

Royal Caribbean has banned a man for life after he decided to leap off his eleventh floor balcony of The Symphony of the Seas...for fun. 

Nick Naydev survived the approximately 100 foot leap of faith, but his actions cost him, his trip in Nassau, Bahamas, as well as the vacations of his friends who captured the moment on video, which unfolded on Jan. 11th. 

"This was stupid and reckless behavior and he and his companions have been banned from ever sailing with us again," Owen Torres, manager, corporate communications, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., told PAX in an email. "We are exploring legal action."

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A publicity stunt?

In a video uploaded on YouTube, Naydev tries to explain his behaviour, saying:

"I told them, 'hey, what if I just jump off this ship right now?' and everybody got excited; they told me 'you should do it'; and the next thing you know, I was jumping off the ship. As I was jumping off the ship, there was a small boat that was passing by, so I was hoping 'if I do jump right now', that the boat would come and pick me up, and that's exactly what happened."

According to Naydev, he was taken back to the dock by the small boat, where he says at least 10 people were waiting for him, and demanded he comply with their requests, which involved a questioning period.

"At first, they thought I was trying to commit suicide, which kind of shocked me at first, because I had no thoughts of trying to kill myself," Naydev said in the video. "After the questions, they said I need to pack my bags and leave the ship immediately."

Naydev was then questioned by the local authorities, who he claims thought the stunt was "kind of amusing, and they were laughing about the video."

No charges were laid, but Naydev was forced to pay for a new ticket home.