My wife Liz and I were aboard a floating vacation around Christmas and New Year’s when Celebrity turned into Liberty Cruise.
On our final leg of the cruise, we were somewhere between Havana and Key West when we noticed a lot of our fellow passengers running to a window. We thought someone might have fallen overboard – after all, “drinks are included” as they say.
But no, what we saw was a number of people in a very small boat. They seemed to be waving and asking for help. Our cruise ship reversed course, pulled alongside of them, and took them onboard. Our captain came on the PA system and told us what was going on. She yes, she explained that we would be maintaining our position so that the Coast Guard could meet with us to evaluate the situation. In the meantime, the rescued folks were given food, water, and medical attention on our ship.
There were 19 migrants. They were in a homemade boat built from wood and Styrofoam. There are some detailed pictures on this article.
https://www.cruisehive.com/celebrity-flagship-rescues-refugees-from-styrofoam-boat/91693
Say what you will about the migrant crisis, but things have got to be pretty bad back home for these people to leave everything behind, risking their lives in hopes of making it to the USA. Between this, and the rat-hole conditions we saw during the shore excursions we took in Mexico and Honduras, we feel very blessed to be as comfortable as we are, here at home.
Yet, during this rescue operation, we overheard some folks on the cruise ship complaining about whether the delay was going to impact them catching their next flight after the cruise. Geez, people. Have another drink and shuddup.
By Robert Bybee