Lizard Island is about 250km (155 miles) north of Cairns ============================================================= I think it was a ship sponsored shore excursion.............
Posted on 10/30/2025 10:58:29 AM PDT by Red Badger
Missing a boarding time for a cruise ship could end up fatal.
An 80-year-old Australian woman was discovered dead on a remote island after she was left behind by the cruise ship she was traveling on.
The woman was hiking on Lizard Island with a group of other passengers, but was separated from the group after she decided to take some time to rest.
The Coral Adventurer cruise ship ended up leaving the woman on the island, but returned several hours later to find her after she was discovered not to be on board.
On Sunday, she was discovered dead.
Per BBC:
An 80-year-old Australian woman has been found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island after being left behind by the cruise ship she was travelling on.
The woman had been hiking on Lizard Island, 250km (155 miles) north of Cairns, with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday but is believed to have broken off from the group to have a rest.
The ship left the island around sunset but returned several hours later after the crew realised the woman was missing. A major search operation found her body on Sunday morning. No details have been released.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said it was investigating and would meet the ship’s crew later this week. It is understood the woman, who has not been named, was on the first stop of a 60-day cruise around Australia, with tickets costing in the tens of thousands of dollars for the journey.
The woman has since been identified as Suzanne Rees.
Suzanne’s daughter Katherine Rees revealed the day her mother was hiking was very hot and her mother rested after unfeeling during the hike.
Katherine Rees, in a statement to the press, stated the cruise ship’s “failure of care and common sense” led to her mother’s death.
She added, “She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mom died, alone.”
Cruising expert Adrian Tassone shared that cruise ships usually know who is on and off board. The case of Rees being unaccounted for appears to be a tragic blunder.
Lizard Island is about 250km (155 miles) north of Cairns ============================================================= I think it was a ship sponsored shore excursion.............
Poisonous snakes .,.it’s Snakestralia after all.
THIS
That was a Coca Cola add in the 1980s - "Can't Beat the Unfeeling!"
Especially when you're 80 years old, in a deserted place, in harsh weather ...
Never go to a place with snake or lizard in it’s name.
The 80 year old woman may have not had the capacity to make a good decision if she was suffering from heat stroke. Her companions should not have left her alone.
I would not have walked off and left an 80 year old alone on a trail.
This is not the cruise line’s fault. Its sad that it happened but they did what they were supposed to do. Its not their job to round up every single person before they leave a location.
Actually it is. That is why the cruise ship went back.
Brutally hot, probably got dehydrated and overheated
I found Lizard Island on gargle arth at 14.669130° S145.458543° E
It has a small runway, a similarly small fuel farm, a few houses (?), and a lot of shallow water in which I might like to go snorkeling.
How much does Australia allow the grieving family to sue for?
In the us it would be millions
Terrible. I think the cruise ship is negligent. Although they do tell you if you are not back in time for departure, they will leave without you, she did tell people she was not feeling well plus she was 80. I do wonder how someone with a conscious could leave without her.
I have a few more years until I’m 80, but I would have passed on the Lizard Rock excursion. Doesn’t look like much to see or do there.
Exactly, if I had been there, there is no way I would have walked off and left her alone.
You climb the hill, stand where Captain Cook once stood, go back down the hill and go back to the ship.................
It is. I remember lifeboat drills on a military ship carrying families across the Atlantic in 1956. They held roll-calls, calling out every name and looking each in the eye during the answer.
Perhaps it was her time, and she wanted to put an exclamation mark on the statement: This Cruise Line Sucks
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