A group of men have been banned from cruising with Royal Caribbean for life after one of them was filmed jumping from their 11th floor balcony on the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship while it was docked in the Bahamas.
Nick Naydev posted footage of the frightening jump into the ocean at Nassau on his Instagram account on Friday. As of Thursday, it's been viewed more than 87,000 times and has more than 1,300 comments.
The footage filmed by a friend shows a smiling Naydev stand up on the balcony's railing and pause briefly before jumping into the blue waters below as someone laughs. The video doesn't capture him hitting the water.
WARNING: Instagram Video Contains Explicit Language:
Naydev, from Vancouver, Wash., answered several questions in the comments, estimated the drop at about 110-120 feet. He said he put his arms and legs in "at the last minute" but said it still hurt "very bad."
"My feet were actually fine. It was my neck and tailbone that hurt," he wrote. "Could barely walk for 3 days and could barely sleep from the pain. I'm good now."
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Naydev said he was picked up by a small boat and had to gather his belongings from the ship and was kicked off. He said he took a $200 flight from Nassau to Miami.
"Ship was docked at Nassau and my plan was basically to swim to shore but when I got back to the dock they told me I need to get my stuff and leave the ship," Naydev wrote.
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Royal Caribbean spokesman Owen Torres confirmed that Naydev and his friends have been banned from the cruise line for life.
"This was stupid and reckless behavior and he and his companions have been banned from ever sailing with us again. We are exploring legal action," Torres said in a statement.
While some commenters called the jump legendary, others called it pure stupidity.
"Did you understand before you jumped that you could easily die doing that?" one user commented.
"Honestly didn't really think about it. How else would I have jumped lol," Naydev replied.
