A British woman has gone missing from a cruise ship on a mid-Atlantic crossing, the travel operator Tui has said.

The 72-year-old was last seen on board Tui’s Marella Voyager on Monday as the vessel was on a trip to the Caribbean. The ship could have travelled hundreds of miles from when she was last seen to when she was reported missing.

Staff realised the passenger was missing on Tuesday, when it was noticed her bed had not been been slept in. The alarm was raised and a search carried out, Tui said in a statement.

The Daily Mail reported that the USCG Rescue Coordination Centre in Norfolk, Virginia, has issued an alert calling on any ships nearby to “keep a sharp look out” for the woman. The BBC has contacted the USCG for comment.

Holidaymakers were told to abandon dinners, drinks and evening entertainment as the crew carried out an emergency headcount, according to the media outlet.

Passengers stood in lines of four while staff scanned boarding cards to verify every person on the ship, the Mail reported.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British national reported missing on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean and we are in touch with the relevant authorities.”

The Marella Voyager, carrying around 2,000 passengers and 800 crew, left Malaga on 4 November and is due to arrive in Antigua on Friday before calling at Dominica and finishing its voyage in Barbados on Sunday.

In a separate case, a cruise ship pianist was found treading water on Sunday around 20 miles (32km) off the Californian coast after falling overboard.

Two fishermen discovered the Royal Caribbean employee near Catalina Island and officials believe he may have been in the Pacific Ocean for nine hours, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner.