Liberty of the Seas - Cuban refugee rescue

[Cruise Gopher]

Friend sent me this photo. They are currently on Liberty of the Seas and the ship had to rescue 17 Cuban refugees from this boat yesterday. 
 

Seems this is becoming a more frequent occurrence. What happens once they are rescued? Do they just put them on a plane back to Cuba once the ship returns to Florida?
 

[HicksRA]

I think my underwear would catch more air than that sail…

[island lady]

Are you sure it was Cuban refugees?   Liberty is currently sitting right next to us here in Nassau, having been here since early this morning.  

 

Liberty is doing 3 night cruises to Coco Cay and Nassau.  They were no where near Cuba.  

[2chiefs]

7 minutes ago, island lady said:

Are you sure it was Cuban refugees?   Liberty is currently sitting right next to us here in Nassau, having been here since early this morning.  

 

Liberty is doing 3 night cruises to Coco Cay and Nassau.  They were no where near Cuba.  

Not really that far away. Also, I'm sure the refugees don't have a navigator on board.

Here's part of the news article:

 

 

A Royal Caribbean Liberty of Seas cruise ship rescued 17 Cuban migrants after they were spotted aboard a small makeshift boat Saturday. 

The ship had been heading for CocoCay in the Bahamas when its captain spotted the puny vessel that had been at sea for weeks, WPTV reported. 

“The captain came on and said we have to stop,” cruise passenger Josh Levine told WPTV. “People just started running down the hallway to go check it out and we kind of followed them. It was a surreal experience.”

Edited January 15, 2023 by 2chiefs

[2chiefs]

2 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

 

Seems this is becoming a more frequent occurrence. What happens once they are rescued? Do they just put them on a plane back to Cuba once the ship returns to Florida?
 

 

Good question. Not sure what the ship would do. It used to be if they set foot on US soil they were allowed in. If caught at sea, they would be returned. Not sure if that's still US policy or not.

[smokeybandit]

They get delivered to the coast guard then put into the black box that is US border security.

[island lady]

36 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Not really that far away. Also, I'm sure the refugees don't have a navigator on board.

Here's part of the news article:

 

 

A Royal Caribbean Liberty of Seas cruise ship rescued 17 Cuban migrants after they were spotted aboard a small makeshift boat Saturday. 

The ship had been heading for CocoCay in the Bahamas when its captain spotted the puny vessel that had been at sea for weeks, WPTV reported. 

“The captain came on and said we have to stop,” cruise passenger Josh Levine told WPTV. “People just started running down the hallway to go check it out and we kind of followed them. It was a surreal experience.”

 

That would make sense.  Being at sea for weeks might bring them all the way around Andros.  They must have really been blown off course.  There was a lot of wind out there the last few days.  

[island lady]

7 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

They get delivered to the coast guard then put into the black box that is US border security.

 

But Liberty did not go back to the states.  It's next stop was here in Nassau. 

[island lady]

38 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Good question. Not sure what the ship would do. It used to be if they set foot on US soil they were allowed in. If caught at sea, they would be returned. Not sure if that's still US policy or not.

 

They were not in US waters, and "wet foot/dry foot" went away in 2017.   

[smokeybandit]

In a statement to Insider, Royal Caribbean said: "While en route to The Bahamas, Liberty of the Seas encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance. The ship's crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 17 people onboard. The crew is actively giving them medical attention, and working with the United States Coast Guard." 

[island lady]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

In a statement to Insider, Royal Caribbean said: "While en route to The Bahamas, Liberty of the Seas encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance. The ship's crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 17 people onboard. The crew is actively giving them medical attention, and working with the United States Coast Guard." 

 

Interesting it was not the Bahamian officials that got involved, having the whole thing happen in their waters.   Though if it is the USCG...they will return them to Cuba as is their policy.  

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by island lady

[Bead Pirate]

Been a lot of this the last 2-3 weeks, many boats making it to the keys. Not sure what is driving the huge increase in attempts but if you read across the various cruise line threads there have been a lot of intercepts lately by cruise ships...

[cruizzing]

Was onboard Liberty. They were picked up a few hours after captain had determined we couldn't dock at Coco Cay due to weather.  Captain said they were at sea for 15 days, 17 people rescued.  No further announcements were made, but onboard map showed we went back to the Ft. Lauderdale vicinity Saturday evening.  Unsure if that was due to weather or to drop them off. Made it to Nassau on schedule Sunday morning. 

[2chiefs]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:25 PM, Bead Pirate said:

Been a lot of this the last 2-3 weeks, many boats making it to the keys. Not sure what is driving the huge increase in attempts but if you read across the various cruise line threads there have been a lot of intercepts lately by cruise ships...

I'd answer but we're not supposed to discuss politics on these threads.