Cruise ships are obligated to provide aid to ships at sea in need of help.
That can often mean taking in passengers from pleasure vessels that have run into trouble. Sometimes, it means taking people on board who were attempting to flee to the United States.
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In all cases, anyone who gets rescued receives medical care and food. They do not get access to any passenger areas and are kept in strict quarantine.
Usually, the passengers are released either on their own or to the appropriate authorities in the next port.
This is not a choice for cruise lines. It’s maritime law, and not offering help would actually be a crime.
Doug Parker has all the latest on a rescue where Celebrity Reflection helps an ailing sailboat and rescue its passengers on the latest edition of Cruise News Today. He also has a sad tale of a how a medical emergency ruined a recent MSC honeymoon cruise for one couple and that lesson that can be taken from it.
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Celebrity Refectlion makes a save
Transcript:
This is Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning. Here’s your cruise news for Tuesday, December 17.
Celebrity Reflection came to the rescue of a sailboat in distress off the coast of Cuba yesterday morning. The ship was sailing approximately 40 miles north of the Cuba coast when a guest saw a boat in the distance shoot up a small flare and then notified the ship. Reflection diverted course to rescue the boat and brought them on board.
Once he was transferred to this ship he was treated for medical attention, looking dehydrated per guests.
Last month, sister brand Royal Caribbean saved a family adrift on a sailboat off the coast of Africa. Good work.
Honeymoon cruise becomes a disaster; MSC offers a credit
And a honeymoon cruise turned into a financial nightmare for a couple when a stomach issue forced emergency surgery just two days into their trip.
Sharing the story on Reddit, the passenger said, not only did I have appendicitis, but my appendix also ruptured. The passenger also stressed the value of travel insurance, saying, not only are we out our entire honeymoon budget, our savings have been wiped clean as well.
Doctors’ bills were over $10,000.
And, passengers aboard the MSC Seashore are receiving a future cruise credit after that small fire that broke out of the ship’s emergency generator room last Sunday. Now, the small fire, which caused no injuries, briefly disrupted services like elevators, dining venues, air conditioning, and internet.
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MSC Cruises apologized with a note offering impacted guests a 20% discount on a future cruise fare. Some passengers were impacted more than others. They received an additional $200 in onboard credit.
The incident happened shortly after the ship departed Port Canaveral heading to their private island.
[email protected]. Have yourself a great Tuesday. I’m Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
