Thomas Gigler’s family is speaking out after the 56-year-old father of three went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship during what should have been a celebration of 15 years of marriage.
Gigler and his wife Michelle, 48, were sailing with their three young sons on the Carnival Panorama when he exited the vessel’s 11th deck on September 19. The family had been at sea for six days on a voyage from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Long Beach, California. Their wedding anniversary was scheduled for September 23, just days after he vanished.
Michelle Gigler raised the alarm when she could not locate her husband and asked crew members to page him over the ship’s public address system. The announcement failed to produce results, and at approximately 3:30 p.m. Staff ordered passengers to return to their staterooms to enable a thorough deck-by-deck search.
Security footage reviewed after the room-to-room sweep captured what authorities believe was the moment Gigler went overboard. The ship was positioned off the coast of Baja California at the time. The U.S. And Mexican Coast Guards were notified and launched search operations.
A fellow passenger who was onboard described the crew’s response in a statement. “The captain made a statement they needed everyone to their staterooms so the crew could search the decks and do accountability checks room-to-room, scanning all sail and sign cards,” the traveler recalled. The same passenger added: “When they did their door-to-door, they stated that they didn’t have any other info and the captain would guide us over the intercom system.”
Carnival Cruise Line addressed the incident in a statement issued Saturday. “Carnival Cruise Line confirmed Saturday that a male guest aboard Carnival Panorama jumped overboard while the ship was sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Long Beach, California,” the company said. The spokesperson continued: “When notified of a missing guest, the ship’s team initiated search and investigation procedures, including reviewing CCTV footage and notifying both the US and Mexico Coast Guards.”
Gigler worked as a computer programmer in California. His sister, Wendy Dowden, has rejected the theory that her brother intentionally ended his life. “We think something must have happened in his head,” she said. “He wasn’t in his right mind to have done this.”
Passengers aboard the Panorama responded to the tragedy by creating an impromptu memorial for Gigler and his family using decorated rubber ducks, a cruise tradition where travelers hide personalized ducks throughout ships for others to discover. “People will have ducks made with their names, cruise dates, ship name, hometown, etc.,” one passenger explained regarding the custom.
The overboard incident occurred during the return leg of the family’s Mexican Riviera sailing, a route that typically features stops at multiple coastal ports before heading back to California. The Carnival Panorama is one of the line’s newer vessels, based year-round on the West Coast.