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Island Princess in late


donna travels

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Just heard from my brother in law the Island Princess arrived late to Fort Lauderdale as their ship rescued a sinking boat full of refugees. He said they ranged from ages 4-86 and the boat will full of water. This rescue caused them to just arrive in Fort Lauderdale. I have not heard any other news on this event.

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We arrived in fort Lauderdale two hours late (9:00am) due to the delay yesterday afternoon picking up the 20 refugees. And then transferring them to the Coast Guard later in the evening. Fortunately the airport is so close to the port that it only took 20 minutes from walking across the gangway to airport checking. Great cruise, but a lot of confusion aboard this morning as the announcement detailing the two hour delay was not made in the staterooms last night, only in the public areas. Many were totally surprised and shocked to learn of the time change when they showed up at disembarkation areas this morning.

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No they won't. They must actually set foot on "US soil" to be given refugee status. They will be sent back to their country of origin as soon as they are medically fit. That is unless the rules have changed in the last couple of years. Being rescued at sea does not change their status at all. Princess ship are registered in a foreign country so they do not classify as "US soil".

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Nice to see the Princess crew be so kind to save them. Well I guess those refugees are allowed to stay in the USA.
They never got to or entered the US. Princess ships are foreign flagged so once you step foot on the ship, you leave the US. They will be returned to wherever they're from. Sad but that's the policy.
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I'm at Ft Lauderdale airport. I witnessed the rescue. A ship employee said they had been without food and water for 4 days. It certainly isn't something you see everyday.

I find myself thinking about the people who were rescued. I don't know what happens when they are sent back. They asked for a bible after they had been brought aboard. I know they will be on my mind for a long time.

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No they won't. They must actually set foot on "US soil" to be given refugee status. They will be sent back to their country of origin as soon as they are medically fit. That is unless the rules have changed in the last couple of years. Being rescued at sea does not change their status at all. Princess ship are registered in a foreign country so they do not classify as "US soil".

 

The rules have not changed and the US has become more stringent in sending them back ASAP. I imagine their life in the country they came from (most likely Cuba?) is not going to be good given the fact that they tried to escape. The huge outcry in the US today is not to allow illegal immigration and that is what this is without regard to any circumstances.

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The rules have not changed and the US has become more stringent in sending them back ASAP. I imagine their life in the country they came from (most likely Cuba?) is not going to be good given the fact that they tried to escape. The huge outcry in the US today is not to allow illegal immigration and that is what this is without regard to any circumstances.

 

 

They were likely from Haiti....

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We were near Cuba and not at all near Haiti, though I don't know where this group was from. I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a news story.

 

Yes, it was probably Cubans... but, sadly, it's apparently just not newsworthy.

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Wow. Thanks for the pictures. Very dramatic and heart wrenching. It made me think of a thread a bit ago where people were wanting to cruise to Cuba. If people will risk their lives and the lives of their children in horrid conditions to get away from Cuba.... well ....

 

...and from Mexico (where people regular visit on cruises), and the Dominican Republic ( a stop for many cruises) and Haiti (where Royal Caribbean has its "private island" stop)...and the list goes on and on.

 

Do you personally know Cuba?

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...and from Mexico (where people regular visit on cruises), and the Dominican Republic ( a stop for many cruises) and Haiti (where Royal Caribbean has its "private island" stop)...and the list goes on and on.

 

Do you personally know Cuba?

 

Nope. But I have a friend who has done extensive traveling off the tourist route and I've heard some stories from him. Yes, he has stories of many other countries as well, including Haiti. I don't have much of a desire to go there either.

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wow durendal those are truly amazing pics... thanks for sharing. so heartbreaking to see the sequence. such a tiny boat for so many and so far and with no conveniences... to see them leaving all their belongings in the boat... wow. let us count our blessings.

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