There is at least a short list of reasons to eschew cruise ship vacations – food borne illness, other illness, having seen The Poseidon Adventure – and for most people, falling overboard probably makes it on there somewhere.

That nightmare recently came true for one passenger, though he is lucky enough to be alive to tell the tale.

The passenger, a 28-year-old male, had been with his group, having drinks, when he decided to go to the bathroom. Apparently he needed some air and never returned, and after his family didn’t hear from him the next morning, either, his sister raised the alarm.

The Coast guard dispatched boats and a surveillance plane and a report from a nearby carrier, the Crinis, about a person in the water helped narrow down the search area.

Cameras helped detect the man, still treading water after at least 15 hours, and a Jayhawk helicopter was able to perform the rescue operation.

Though he showed signs of hypothermia and dehydration, doctors at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport reported that he was stable and relatively unharmed.

Lt. Seth Gross, a Sector New Orleans search and rescue coordinator, released a statement.

“We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome. It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety. If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crinis, this case could have had a much more difficult ending.”

This man was extremely lucky, as the chances of surviving a fall alone from the upper decks of a cruise ship are very slim. Add in cold water shock, sharks, chop, and a hundred other factors the ocean can throw at you without warning, and this is basically a miracle.

Gross totally agrees, according to his interview on CNN.

“The fact that he was able to keep himself afloat and above the surface of the water for such an extended period of time, it’s just something you can’t take for granted and certainly something that’ll stick with me forever. It’s the absolute longest that I’ve heard about – and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles.”

This guy better head to Vegas before his astounding luck runs out.