Who says romance is dead? Micah Lugones proved he is definitely his wife’s knight in shining armor when he leaped off the pier to rescue her hat from the water while visiting the Progreso Cruise Port in Mexico.
The couple explored the popular port as part of a 5-night Western Caribbean sailing onboard Carnival Valor – which embarked from New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 17, 2025.
The Conquest-class ship had already called on Cozumel, Mexico, on February 19, and arrived in Progreso on February 20 – which is when Lugones’ inner hero made an appearance.
The couple, who were only recently married in January of 2025, were on their honeymoon – which also doubled as their first ever cruise.
They were enjoying their day in the port when a hat belonging to Lugones’ new wife, Laci, was blown into the harbor. As the hat was a memento from their wedding, Lugones simply had to get it back.
As he swam, onlookers watching on the pier and from their balconies on the 110,000-gross ton ship cheered him on.
“When my wife’s special wedding hat flew overboard at Progreso I knew I had to get it back. Got the hat and a story too! Thanks for everyone cheering me on, haha,” Lugones shared in a Facebook group made for passengers of the voyage to connect.
Among Lugones’ fellow cruisers, the husband quickly earned a reputation as a hero – with one person even comparing him to Aquaman.
“We were right there and saw you jump in and swim back! Very brave of you!!”, one onlooker shared.
“You two are the sweetest…he is definitely a keeper!!,” another passenger exclaimed.
But while he clearly had good intentions, it’s likely best not to follow in his footsteps. Lugones was lucky to not get in trouble and to emerge from the ocean uninjured.
As is the case at the majority of destinations around the world, swimming in cruise ports is strictly forbidden for safety reasons.
An Eventful Sailing With a Happy Ending
Swimming in an operational port is quite dangerous for a multitude of reasons – most notably because of the risk of being hit by a ship.
On February 20, the Progreso Cruise Port was at its two-ship maximum – with Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas also docked nearby.
But in addition to cruise ships, Progreso is also one of Mexico’s few deep-water cargo ports and is of course frequented by shipping vessels – with the iconic pier stretching four miles directly into the Gulf of Mexico.
A windy day can also create dangerous currents in the water that may be stronger than they appear from the surface – which could have pushed the man into some nearby rocks.
Carnival Valor Cruise Ship in New Orleans (Photo Credit: James Andrews1)
In the most recent event where a man tried to swim in a cruise port, which unfolded in December 2024 in Gran Caneria’s Las Palmas Cruise Port, the person was taken into protective custody after he was rescued.
There was also another unfortunate incident at the end of last year where an elderly guest died after accidentally falling into the harbor while visiting Philipsburg, St. Maarten.
Read Also: What Happens If You Jump Off a Cruise Ship?
Thankfully, this story had a happy ending. The couple – along with the up to 2,978 other passengers sailing with them – disembarked in New Orleans on February 22, 2025.
But interestingly, even disembarkation was a tad eventful – as it was delayed due to maintenance needs.
In turn, this pushed back the embarkation for the following sailing – which is an identical 5-night Western Caribbean cruise.
“Our engineers are handling some repair work as we sail back to New Orleans. As a precautionary measure, we may be escorted by tugboats and could dock later than scheduled,” Carnival wrote in a letter to the now current guests.
That said, cruise tracking data shows the 2004-launched ship is already sailing at normal speeds in the Gulf of Mexico – while the newlyweds could very well be home by now, with a story they’ll never forget.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
