Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas: Death-defying 55ft dive on the ship in stunning video: ‘How is this allowed?’

Most of us take a cruise to do not much but relax – but this high dive is proof you can still find an adrenaline rush onboard.

In a death-defying video, Ginni van Katwijk, a trained high diver for Royal Caribbean, performs a spectacular leap on the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship. 

Katwijk travels the world on the world’s biggest cruise ship, which holds more than 5,000 passengers and crew, and is part of the high diving team that showcases their skills to passengers at the AquaTheater. 

The thrill-seeker made it clear that only trained professionals are allowed to jump from the high deck into the pool, not passengers. 

Katwijk showed what the adrenaline-fueled 55ft dive in the middle of the ocean is like. 

Katwijk is seen mid-air as one of her teammates recorded her from the stage below 

Katwijk starts off by putting her toes at the edge of the diving board as she points down and shows her view to the 17ft pool.  

She points at the pool, the stage, the deck and the center aquatic lift inside the pool before she points down in front of her to show where she has to land. 

‘So we want to land there,’ Katwijk says as she softly giggles and gives a thumbs up. 

She starts to prepare for her dive as she turns around to the camera and says: ‘Just like normal, just like normal. We got this, easy peasy,’ as the ship moves in the ocean. 

Katwijk then raises both arms and puts her finger tips together as her hands slightly shake before she bounces off the diving board, flips, and disappears into the water with a small splash. 

As she got out of the water, people are heard cheering her on and clapping.  

As someone filmed her from on top of the diving board, another recorded her from the stage, while another captured her daring moment from the deck. 

People have since reacted to her astonishing video, as one said: ‘Just like normal? Excuse me.’ 

‘You couldn’t pay me enough to do this,’ another wrote. 

One wrote: ‘She is braver than I am!’ while another said: ‘Oh wait, this was on a ship???’

The thrill-seeker made it clear that only trained professionals are allowed to jump from the high deck into the pool for the many aquatic shows the ship offers

As the video ended, Katwijk was applauded and cheered on by people who witnessed her daring spectacle 

Another adrenaline junkie commented under Katwijk’s video and asked: ‘Who can I talk to about jumping off the platform?’ 

‘I wish there was a package you could buy that lets you train with the different entertainers,’ they added.  

Besides high diving, the ship offers incredible shows that feature aerial artists, soaring and flipping through the sky, aquatic dancers and a trampoline. 

Nick Weir, the Vice President of Entertainment for Royal Caribbean International, explained what takes place behind the scenes to pull off high-flying stunts onboard.

‘Around the outside of a beautiful production is controlled chaos,’ Weir said as he described the ‘new dimension’ that he and his team embark on for each show. 

Alex Williams, the stage and production manager for the AquaTheater said that the most important part of the ‘incredibly complex’ shows is the pool. 

‘During the show, we have three individual stage platforms that move up and down independently,’ Williams explained in a YouTube video. 

Each performance is conducted by a massive team of rigging specialists, aquatic stage staff, and safety divers who direct performers underwater and keep them out of harm’s way. 

‘The only way that these shows function is an incredible level of trust and skill between everybody involved. Everybody has to be on their game 100 percent every single day, or it just doesn’t work,’ Williams said. 

He explained that divers know when and when not to go based on the red and green traffic lights set up ‘out in the house’, while the crew member beside him controls the movement of the diving boards, the stage platform and the trampoline. 

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas cruise ship can hold more than 5,000 people. Besides high diving, the ship offers incredible shows that feature aerial artists, soaring and flipping through the sky, aquatic dancers and a trampoline

‘For the audience it must seem like magic, but there is a lot of moving behind the scenes, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle,’ Williams added. 

‘And our goal is that you don’t notice anything that we’re doing.’ 

In 2017, another professional high diver documented her daring moment onboard the same cruise ship. 

Cesilie Carlton, an American high diver, was seen limbering on top of the high platform as the fast-moving ocean churned past below her, before she leapt off and performed several somersaults into the pool underneath. 

The impressive and frankly terrifying video was shot aboard the cruise ship by her colleague, fellow diver Sydney Brown.

Performers typically stay on the ship for six to nine months at a time, putting on regular shows for their spectators. 

‘We always begin with rehearsals at our entertainment facility in South Florida and then have about two weeks to bring the show to life onboard,’ Brown explained.