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Controvery onboard Empress of the Seas

niya305

By niya305,
in Royal Caribbean International

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brn2crz

brn2crz

Posted
Posted

RCI and all cruise lines are saving people out there all the time...I have personaly been on 2 times that we have had to stop.There are very specific guidelines that have to be followed... This reporter needs to wise up.:rolleyes:

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leahjade

leahjade

Posted
Posted

My parents were on a cruise 4 years ago where they had to rescue people whose boat had been hijacked by robbers! The rescue was made with the help of the coast guard who were trained to handle these type of emergencies. Just like the press to second-guess every situation!

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Jayme580

Jayme580

Posted
Posted

The 1st cruise I went on was on the Empress in 1994 and we stoped to pick up two men that stolen a yacht and ran out of gas. They were out on a waverunner that was on the yacht. We picked them and the waverunners up and waited for the coast guard.

 

Jamie

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Iamthesea

Iamthesea

Posted
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From reading the article, I don't understand if the migrants were eventually rescued or if they drowned. :confused:

 

The passengers say their cries went unheard for almost half an hour. "The whole thing took about half an hour to go back to the original point where they first saw the people in the small boat."
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Keksie

Keksie

Posted
Posted

When I was on a Rhapsody cruise we found a group of Cubans in what looked like some kind of tub. The Captain radioed the Coast Guard who told him to wait until they got there. Only if the Cubans looked ito be in danger of drowning were we to pick them up. We stayed close by and threw some food and water to them which they paddled over to retrieve. It took a couple of hours before the Coast Guard showed up and we could leave. The Captain has to defer to the Coast Guard's orders in these matters.

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grvdggr71

grvdggr71

Posted
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I agree whole-heartedly with KewlGuy. In the post 9-11 age, the Coast Guard wants to take every precaution. By having Empress stay on station until a Coast Guard cutter or helicopter could get there, the Empress would be able to rescue the people should the raft capsize. As long as the raft did not capsize, then just wait a few minutes until the Coast Guard can take care of this problem as a law enforcement matter as it should. This is just a case of the press and certain passengers overreacting. Shocker there!

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Spence

Spence

Posted
Posted

On my cruise on the Empress of the seas, Tuesday night (6/21/05) we came to a complete stop to investigate a capsized boat off the Florida coast. The crew and passengers looked for people in the water for 45 minutes, seeing no one and after radioing the Coast Guard, we left the area with thier permission. The crew used infrared night vision goggles to look for survivors.:mad:

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gert

gert

Posted
Posted
What if these "migrants" were terrorists and took over the ship after being rescued?

 

 

Terrorist? Come on now. You haven't heard about the hundreds of rafters making their way to Florida every year? Both from Haiti and Cuba.

 

The captain did what he was suppose to do. They should always follow Coast Guard orders, safety first no matter what. But you do not just sail by and ignore distress calls. I live in Miami as you can see by my profile, Channel 7 News is "tabloid news" at its best.

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hdawson

hdawson

Posted
Posted

There is an international convention that almost all countries subscribe to requiring any vessel at sea to come to the aid of anyone at risk. It's not just the coast guard regulations.

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yusi50

yusi50

Posted
Posted

I'm a rafter myself. I came from Cuba in 1994 by crossing the Straight of Florida in a boat. I agreed with the cruiseline in just calling the CG. They are trained to handle this situation and believe me that they know how to rescue people. I remember that back in 94 cruise ships were allowed to take refugees to port but not anymore. It is all about the new immigration laws with Cubans. Before you only had to be Cuban to be rescued at sea and being brought to shore to get your Resident Card. Now, you have to get here by your own means and touch land before you can get your green card. It is call "Dry or Wet Feet Law" (roughly translated). All those refugees that RCCL could not pick up are probable either already in Cuban or on their way to Cuba (or Haiti if they were haitians).

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wblynch

wblynch

Posted
Posted

I live in Miami as you can see by my profile, Channel 7 News is "tabloid news" at its best.

 

I didn't even have to click the link to know it had to be a FOX news station...

 

(I did click, though, to verify my hunch)

 

America sure was better off before Rupert Murdoch.

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gert

gert

Posted
Posted
I didn't even have to click the link to know it had to be a FOX news station...

 

(I did click, though, to verify my hunch)

 

America sure was better off before Rupert Murdoch.

 

Amen to that.

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Tra4

Tra4

Posted
Posted

On our Brilliance new years cruise, our last night we came across many cubans that's raft was filling fast with water. We also waited until the CG came and made the rescue. Our captain gave them blankets, water and some food, and tied their small dingy to us. Its amazing to me that these men made it that far on a dingy. I never realized how common this was and it was amazing to see!

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Cruiser-T

Cruiser-T

Posted
Posted
I didn't even have to click the link to know it had to be a FOX news station...

 

(I did click, though, to verify my hunch)

 

America sure was better off before Rupert Murdoch.

 

You have got to be kidding??? FOX ALL THE WAY. I suppose you think CNN is "Fair & Balanced"?

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crusinben

crusinben

Posted
Posted

Forget terrorists posing as migrants trying to take over a ship. I could envision terrorists in an ugly dinghy filled with explosives waiting for a cruise ship to come by. Remember the Cole. This is farfetched I know but I don't put anything past anyone. By the way is there armed security on the ships? I don't remember seeing any on my 3 previous cruises, but you'd think with over 4500 people on the bigger ships there would be.

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Bsan1221

Bsan1221

Posted
Posted

Am surprised they didnt stop but if RCI says they couldnt because of the Coast Guard then what could they do..

 

I can say I live in Miami and WSVN 7 (which is the station of the link) here is a joke...

 

That station always reports things taken out of context or blown out of proportion...

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waterrats

waterrats

Posted
Posted

What some people don't realize is that a ship traveling at 22 to 25 knots does take some time to slow down. In the Caribbean Sea away from everything, it may not seem like it would take so long. Put a small boat with refugees on it and that little boat will move past the ship faster than you can believe. It does take some time to also turn the ship around and keep an eye on the raft.

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BobBeaSea

BobBeaSea

Posted
Posted
What if these "migrants" were terrorists and took over the ship after being rescued?

 

You are kidding, aren't you? Make sure you you check under your bed tonight before you go to sleep...there might be some "terrorists" (dangerous dust bunnies) lurking there.

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mojo4trav

mojo4trav

Posted
Posted
By the way is there armed security on the ships?

 

There is a weapons locker, but security does not routinely carry weapons on their person. While I'd be interested to know what they have available to them, in a post-9/11 world I doubt you'd see anyone providing specific details regarding weapons compliment.

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Sillyjilly

Sillyjilly

Posted
Posted
You are kidding, aren't you? Make sure you you check under your bed tonight before you go to sleep...there might be some "terrorists" (dangerous dust bunnies) lurking there.

 

They'll use any tactic to harm us. Remember the USS Cole?

 

Jill

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Marykatesmom

Marykatesmom

Posted
Posted
You are kidding, aren't you? Make sure you you check under your bed tonight before you go to sleep...there might be some "terrorists" (dangerous dust bunnies) lurking there.

 

Right after I booked my cruise two friends sent me articles roughly describing that cruise ships were to be the new targets of suicide bombers. Can you imagine if terrorists took out the Disney ship with Disney being such a icon of

Americanism?

 

I can't believe people are still in denial regarding our safety.

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