<p class="speakable">Cruise passengers expecting to visit Kauai, Hawaii, this week faced a scary "man overboard" alert. </p><p class="speakable">The Emerald Princess was about to enter a port at Nāwiliwili Harbor on the southeast side of the island on Feb 10. As the ship approached, a harbor pilot who was climbing a rope ladder from a pilot boat next to the ship slipped and fell into the water, according to <a href="https://kauainownews.com/2026/02/12/scary-situation-off-the-coast-of-kauai-harbor-pilot-slips-falls-into-rough-waters/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Kauai Now</a> and other accounts. </p><p>"Scary situation off the coast of Kaua‘i on the [Princess Cruises] Emerald Princess," user whereswaltertravel — otherwise known as <a href="https://www.whereswaltertravel.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">travel agent</a> and founder Walter Biscardi Jr. of Florida — wrote in a Feb. 10 Instagram post.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/rescue-operation-underway-possible-overboard-incident-carnival-cruise-ship" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>RESCUE OPERATION UNDERWAY AFTER POSSIBLE OVERBOARD INCIDENT ON CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP</strong></a></p><p>"Our pilot slipped on the ladder trying to board the ship in very rough weather conditions," he added. Biscardi was a passenger on the cruise. </p><p>Witnesses said the pilot tried multiple times to board the ship during rough seas before he lost his footing. </p><p>One passenger said the harbor pilot fell around 10 to 20 feet from the ship’s hull, not alongside it.</p><p>The crew on the boat worked quickly to rescue the pilot. Video shows that the man was pulled back onto the small vessel within minutes. </p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/travel/island-cracks-down-tourists-slapped-new-fees-fed-up-locals-revolt" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><strong>ISLAND CRACKS DOWN AS TOURISTS ARE SLAPPED WITH NEW FEES, FED-UP LOCALS REVOLT</strong></a></p><p>He did not seem to be injured, according to <a href="https://www.cruisehive.com/rough-seas-disrupt-kauai-cruise-arrival-after-harbor-pilot-falls-overboard/199429" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cruise Hive</a>.</p><p>"Fortunately, the crew on the boat were able to retrieve him safely," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUlsu-0gXQW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=7be2f86a-34a5-4f6f-82c0-666679486a17&amp;img_index=5" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Biscardi wrote</a> on Instagram. </p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong><u>CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES</u></strong></a></p><p>"Our port call is waived … but none of that matters when a life and death situation unfolds."</p><p>After the cruise's port call on Kauai was canceled due to the emergency, it traveled on to Maui — where the ship was slated for its next port call.</p><p>"Thanks to God for a quick recovery and a well-trained crew … [the harbor pilot] is healthy and fine," a passenger told Cruise Hive. </p><p>"I am amazed [at] how [the] well-trained and efficient Emerald staff handled everything quickly and professionally. Well done, crew."</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER</u></strong></a></p><p>Fox News Digital reached out to Princess Cruise Line for comment.</p><p>The 3,090-passenger cruise ship departed Los Angeles on Feb. 4 for a 16-night <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/travel/general/cruises" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hawaii voyage</a>, with Kauai scheduled as the first port call.</p><p>Trish Walters of Portland, Oregon, another passenger, recounted the frightening incident on social media.</p><p>Replying to a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/doug.walters.35/posts/pfbid032jCq2heX48hryAkN4vgtBXa4e4wMo74fDd6tt6RXnZJCdz2b1FwH5uq48LMrx3RUl" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook post</a> by her husband, she mentioned how choppy the waters were that day.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/lifestyle/quizzes" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong><u>TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ</u></strong></a></p><p>"Very windy — and kinda scary," Walters wrote. </p><p>"We could see the breakwaters for the Kaua‘i port, but the ship needed lots of room to fit into the harbor; the wind was pushing us pretty good, so the captain and port folks decided it was too dangerous to try."</p><p>Strong winds caused massive breaking waves along the shorelines of the island, according to Cruise Hive.</p><p>The National Weather Service recently issued a high surf advisory.</p><p><a href="https://foxnews.onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP</strong></a></p><p>"We will come back to visit another day," Biscardi said. </p><p>"Thankful for the safety of the pilot and for the work all pilots do to help make <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/good-news" rel="noopener" target="_blank">our cruises amazing</a>."</p>