The incident happened eight miles north of Cherbourg,
The 31-year-old Filipino man was seen on CCTV climbing over a railing and jumping from the Celebrity Eclipse at around 10.15pm last night.
The ship, owned by Celebrity Cruises, was eight miles north of Cherbourg, France, when the incident happened.
Crew immediately turned the vessel around and headed back towards the spot where their colleague had jumped. They alerted the French coastguard but no trace of the man was found in an overnight search.
Emergency workers called off the search and rescue mission this morning.
A spokeswoman for Celebrity Cruises said: ”Celebrity Cruises’ Care Team is providing support to the crew member’s family, as well as his friends and colleagues onboard, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The ship was on a 14-night Italian Mediterranean cruise that left Southampton on May 7.
A French coastguard source said: ”Unfortunately there was a man in the sea. We searched for him extensively but we could not find him.
”We deployed our resources to find him but it was to no avail and we can now presume that he is dead.
”The water was very cold and there is no hope for him.”
Celebrity Cruises offer trips around Europe and the Mediterranean, with cruises ranging from eight to 14 nights in length.
The Eclipse cruiser, a Solstice class vessel, joined the fleet last year, according to the company’s website.
Source: The Telegraph
