New research from an independent cruise travel agent has found that over a tenth of cruisers dropped technology products overboard when on a cruise holiday last year, with the average value of each product costing £89.46. This would equate to over £16.5 million worth of tech products being lost overboard by cruisers in one year alone.

As part on ongoing research into the cruising habits of Britons, an independent online cruise travel agent has conducted a study of 1,151 avid cruisers across the UK to discover how many technology products have accidently fallen overboard when on a cruise holiday. All respondents had been on a cruise in the past 12 months, and were polled about their experiences.

The study, conducted by www.bonvoyage.co.uk, initially asked the respondents if they had accidently dropped any technology products overboard whilst on a cruise in the past 12 months; to which over a tenth, 11%, said ‘yes’.

The 11% of respondents that admitted to accidently dropping technology products overboard when on a cruise were presented with a list of possible products and asked to select which products they had dropped; with respondents able to select more than one response if applicable. According to the results, below are the top five technology products that were most commonly dropped overboard:
1.    Mobile phone – 41%
2.    Digital camera / video camera- 38%
3.    MP3 player – 32%
4.    Kindle – 29%
5.    Handheld game console – 26%

In order to establish the monetary value of technology products lost at sea, the quarter of respondents who had dropped products overboard were asked the approximate value of the product(s) that they dropped overboard. With all responses taken into account, the study found that the average cost of technology products accidently lost overboard was £89.46.

When considering that industry figures reported that 1.7 million people in the UK embarked on a cruise last year, and that the study found 11% of these passengers had dropped a technology product overboard to the average value of £89.46; it can therefore be estimated that £16,729,020 worth of tech products are dropped overboard by cruisers each year.

Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk, spoke about the findings:

“This was really interesting research to conduct as it really brings home how much money is lost by simple mistakes when onboard a cruise ship. Leaning over the deck to take a picture of the sunset can seem like a great idea- but it’s very easy to accidentally have your camera fall from your hand!”

She continued:
“I would strongly recommend that people check whether these sorts of accidents are covered by their holiday insurance provider before they cruise because unfortunately once it’s overboard, it’s gone. Many handheld items such as cameras and mobile phones have attachable straps that can be looped around your wrist or around your neck so be sure to use these if you have one. To think that over £16 million is dropped into the ocean every year is an incredible amount- and really does prove that treasure lies at the bottom of the sea!”