The Miami Herald reports that Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas stopped to pick up nine Cubans (eight men and one woman) as the cruise ship sailed back to Fort Lauderdale around 2 p.m. today.
The newspaper indicates that the migrants had been at sea for eight days. The cruise ship personnel provided food, water and medical attention to the Cubans.
I have written a couple of articles about the the cruise industry and Cuba lately, U.S. – Cuba Politics: No Cruise Ships In Havana and Royal Caribbean Intercepts Cuban Immigrants. Notwithstanding the U.S. embargo of Cuba for over the past four decades, there is no question that U.S. based cruise ships will stop in Havana as an integral part of their Caribbean
The news today is filled with stories about a cruise ship which "rescues" rafters adrift in the Atlantic.
What the news reports fail to mention is that the "rafters" were trying to get to Florida. They are probably already back in Cuba pursuant to U.S. immigration policy.
Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas cruise ship reportedly "rescued" six people who were