Getaway rescue at sea

[javafriend]

We are crrently on board the Getaway. Last night at about midnight, we rescued 17 Cuban refugees who were aboard a homemade raft. They had been in the water since Dec. 24th. Way to go fabulous Getaway Captain and staff.

[garnet115]

We are crrently on board the Getaway. Last night at about midnight, we rescued 17 Cuban refugees who were aboard a homemade raft. They had been in the water since Dec. 24th. Way to go fabulous Getaway Captain and staff.

 

Wow! That is incredible! Definitely kudos all around.

[NLH Arizona]

Glad the Getaway was in the right place at the right time. Props to the Captain and all the crew.

[OCruisers]

Thank goodness they were spotted and rescued by your ship! :)

[punkincc]

Probably saved their lives, but won't they be heading straight back to Cuba as soon as they reach the US?

[Ranger719]

Happened to us on the Pearl a little less than 2 years ago returning from Cozumel....Coast Guard came out about 5 hours later to pick them all up

[luvtheships]

Probably saved their lives, but won't they be heading straight back to Cuba as soon as they reach the US?

 

 

No. Cubans get refugee status don't they? They also become productive members of society from what I have seen so I welcome them and know many Cubans here at home

All successful and well educated just a few years after arrival. Rarely do they take govt hand outs either

 

My fear is though that other refugees will and are masquerading as Central American and Cuban refugees.

[Ranger719]

As I was told on the Pearl , if the Cubans don't make U S land on their own then the Coast Guard will take them to Key West for interrogation and then return them to Cuba

[iheartbda]

No. Cubans get refugee status don't they? They also become productive members of society from what I have seen so I welcome them and know many Cubans here at home

All successful and well educated just a few years after arrival. Rarely do they take govt hand outs either

 

My fear is though that other refugees will and are masquerading as Central American and Cuban refugees.

No. The U.S. has a "wet foot/dry foot" rule when it comes to Cubans attempting to emigrate to the U.S. If the Coast Guard picks them up at sea, they must be returned to Cuba. They have to make it to land to be able to stay...dry foot.

[Ranger719]

[beantownmike]

Are they staying in the Haven Suite?

[Leavethekidswithmom]

As I was told on the Pearl , if the Cubans don't make U S land on their own then the Coast Guard will take them to Key West for interrogation and then return them to Cuba

 

 

No Key West, they take them straight back, that would make them dry foot. But on the other hand there are 5 flights a day between Havana and Miami now so maybe they should apply through the proper channels for a visa.

[txagfan]

Are they staying in the Haven Suite?

 

 

Haha, people willing to leave a terrible place on an old crappy boat they may die on so they have a better life is hysterical!

 

(I'm hardly PC, but there are people in this word who face genuine hardships. Not every refugee is a terrorist or seeking a handout.)

Edited January 16, 2016 by txagfan

[adjjb12]

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/15/norwegian-cruise-line-cuban-refugees-board/

 

A Norwegian Cruise liner got some extra passengers Thursday night, when a boatload of Cuban refugees were spotted drifting aimlessly in the Caribbean.

 

A passenger tells TMZ the boat made a sudden stop when the makeshift, raft-like vessel was spotted. The 17 people on board said they were from Cuba and had been lost at sea since December 24.

 

One of the women on the raft was pregnant. The people were hoisted up onto the cruise ship and taken somewhere away from the passengers.

 

The ship docked in Cozumel, Mexico Friday and it appears the 17 refugees were turned over to Mexican authorities.

 

We've reached out to Norwegian for comment ... so far, no word back.

[FreestyleNovice]

With the wet/dry policy some of them even refuse help from ships and hope to get out of the area where the were spotted by the ships to avoid the coast guard picking them up.

 

Glad this group got help from NCL with a pregnant lady on board!

[cruisegirl1976]

We were on the oasis a couple years ago and the same thing happened as we were coming back from Cozumel. The Cubans were brought onboard , I think one of them had a broken leg, the mast fell on him in the small boat they had. Then the coast guard came and picked them up.

[punkincc]

If the Cubans were in fact handed over to Mexican authorities rather than the US, they may have been very lucky. It looks like Mexico's policy is much different from ours, and they may in fact be able to remain in Mexico or even be free at some point to walk across the border into the US.

 

Would hate to see them be returned to Cuba. To the person who suggested they apply for a visa from Cuba to enter the US, just because Cuba very recently began to allow some travel into to the country does not mean it is easy for Cubans to leave their borders. The average Cuban makes $18 per month. It could take the equivalent of months of wages just for a passport, then add in the cost of applying for a visa and airplane tickets. About as likely for you and I to book that world cruise as it is for a Cuban to get out of Cuba. And, the government still gets to decide for arbitrary reasons who is granted and who is not. Professionals are usually not granted as it would be a detriment to the country to lose them, and non professionals can't afford it.

Edited January 16, 2016 by punkincc

[roger001]

No Key West, they take them straight back, that would make them dry foot. But on the other hand there are 5 flights a day between Havana and Miami now so maybe they should apply through the proper channels for a visa.

 

My sister and friend hopped on one of those 5 flights the other day and are now spending a week in Havana riding around in '55 Chevys I guess.

[punkincc]

My sister and friend hopped on one of those 5 flights the other day and are now spending a week in Havana riding around in '55 Chevys I guess.

 

'55 Chevy's held together with spit balls and chewing gum.:D

[barnacle_boy]

If the Cubans were in fact handed over to Mexican authorities rather than the US, they may have been very lucky.

 

Lucky in terms of their personal circumstances, but it's just standard international maritime procedure. Ships that rescue mariners in distress must provide them safe passage to the nearest or next port.

[luvtheships]

Haha, people willing to leave a terrible place on an old crappy boat they may die on so they have a better life is hysterical!

 

(I'm hardly PC, but there are people in this word who face genuine hardships. Not every refugee is a terrorist or seeking a handout.)

 

 

And unfortunately a lot of bad refugees are masquerading as Cuban and Central America refugees

[moonieelf]

I was also on the ship, deck 14 with a Port facing balcony. We saw the whole thing unfold from our stateroom. Apparently, because they didn't know where these people came from, no life boats were launched. Rather, we used thrusters to stay in place and let them drift close. The "raft" looked like it was made of barrels and 2x4's. They had children on board as well. My heart breaks for them to be so desperate to try and flea that way.

[Crusin6]

I was also on the ship, deck 14 with a Port facing balcony. We saw the whole thing unfold from our stateroom. Apparently, because they didn't know where these people came from, no life boats were launched. Rather, we used thrusters to stay in place and let them drift close. The "raft" looked like it was made of barrels and 2x4's. They had children on board as well. My heart breaks for them to be so desperate to try and flea that way.

 

 

Kudos to ncl for using precaution

 

 

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[pottsiepa]

I was also on board and on deck 14 and watched the rescue. Such a sad situation for these people.

[chengkp75]

I was also on the ship, deck 14 with a Port facing balcony. We saw the whole thing unfold from our stateroom. Apparently, because they didn't know where these people came from, no life boats were launched. Rather, we used thrusters to stay in place and let them drift close. The "raft" looked like it was made of barrels and 2x4's. They had children on board as well. My heart breaks for them to be so desperate to try and flea that way.

 

Kudos to ncl for using precaution

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I would say that rather than being because they "didn't know where they came from", it was more a decision by the Captain not to risk his crew in the prevailing weather conditions, whatever they were. While maritime law requires a Captain to provide assistance to those who request it, it does not require him to place his vessel, cargo (passengers), or crew at risk in order to render any assistance.

 

I really don't think that any terrorist is going to risk his life in a rickety boat or raft, in this case, in the hope that a cruise ship will happen along.