When you go on a cruise, perhaps after saving and planning for years, you expect to relax and unwind, enjoy all of the included food and drinks you can handle and get a tan. Most passengers don’t expect to end up bearing witness to a harrowing rescue of people stranded on a life raft, but it happens more often than you might think.
A recent example took place as the Carnival Vista was sailing toward Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. According to CNN, the ship’s crew received an emergency alert about a small cargo vessel that had capsized off the coast, prompting them to immediately change course in search of the vessel. Eventually, they came upon six men on a small life raft, promptly rescuing them and bringing them onboard the ship before continuing on its original course. The U.S. Coast Guard later rescued six other crew members from the capsized vessel.
In a video posted to TikTok by a passenger onboard the Vista, the men can be seen clinging to the life raft in incredibly turbulent waters as the passenger comments, “I had no idea… This is insane… Oh my gosh!” Commenters on the video shared their similar experiences, with another passenger on the ship writing, “Girlll I’m on deck one and wanted to throw up from going in circles I’m like what’s going on LOL,” while someone else wrote, “I worked on Royal Caribbean. We rescued tons of ppl at sea weekly.”
That likely isn’t an exaggeration. According to a Washington Post report from April, Carnival Cruise Line alone carried out 14 rescues at sea between June 2022 and April 2023, with most carrying migrants. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that between October 2022 and mid-April 2023, it had intercepted more than 6,300 Cuban migrants off the coast of Florida alone.
Coast Guard Lt. Peter Hutchinson said in a press release about the increased numbers, “The Coast Guard is maintaining a heavy maritime presence to detect and interdict anyone attempting to illegally migrate by sea in the Florida Straits and Caribbean region. These voyages are not only illegal, but also incredibly dangerous. No one should risk their lives on unsafe rustic vessels in unpredictable seas.”
Otherwise, you’re leaving your fate in the hands of Carnival Cruises.
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