Cruise Vacation Turns Nightmare After Rope‑Swing Accident in Honduras

Kristen Lindsey, a 32‑year‑old from Louisiana, thought her first Carnival Cruise would be a breezy escape. Instead, a rogue rope swing on a shore excursion in Honduras turned the trip into a medical ordeal.

According to her boyfriend, Blake Ford, the swing’s retrieval line was hooked incorrectly. "Right before she went over, the line tightened like a snap," Blake recalled, describing the moment they both later called "a catastrophic saddle injury."

At first, Kristen brushed it off as a minor scrape. She climbed back onto the ship, laughed it off, and tried to enjoy the next day’s buffet. But as the hours passed, the pain grew, and a swelling—later described as the size of a baseball—started to appear.

Her mother, Tara, later said they spent more than twelve hours in the ship’s medical bay. The ship’s doctors, after a cursory exam, told the couple they needed to get off the vessel and head for the nearest airport in Costa Maya, Mexico.

Blake dialed 911 from the deck, and an ambulance whisked Kristen to the ship’s clinic. The couple ended up paying roughly $4,000 out of pocket for the initial treatment—nothing compared to what was coming next.

Faced with three grim options—stay on the ship and hope for a miracle, trek to a Mexican hospital, or arrange an emergency airlift—the choice became clear. "We chose the air evacuation because we believed it was the best way to get Kirsten the care she needed," Blake said.

The evacuation price tag? About $50,000 total: $20,000 to get her out of Costa Maya and another $30,000 for the private medical jet that flew her to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Once on the ground, Kristen was rushed to HCA Florida‑Aventura Hospital, where surgeons performed the first of what would become multiple procedures. The injury, they explained, had damaged delicate tissue in a way that required careful, staged repair.

After a few weeks of recovery in Florida, the couple finally made the long drive back to Louisiana. There, Kristen continued her treatment at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center and, as of this writing, is undergoing a second surgery.

All the while, the family has been trying to offset the staggering medical bills, travel expenses, and lost wages. They launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping friends, strangers, and fellow travelers might chip in to help "Kirsten get back on her feet."

What began as a sun‑kissed getaway now reads like a cautionary tale about adventure‑sport safety on cruise excursions. It’s a reminder that a seemingly harmless rope swing can hide serious risks, especially when equipment isn’t set up correctly.

For anyone planning a shore‑day activity, the advice is simple: ask questions, watch how the gear is inspected, and don’t be afraid to say no if something feels off. A few extra minutes of vigilance could spare a vacation‑ruining—and life‑changing—incident.