Cruise ships face situations that never come up at land-based vacations.
Disney World, for example, does not have to worry about pirates, and while the weather has occasionally forced the resort to close, it's generally not a life-or-death situation. And, if a visitor to a land-based hotel, resort, or theme park gets sick, it's relatively easy to get them medical attention.
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On a cruise ship, medical emergencies can force a ship to return to port and, in some dramatic cases, passengers can be airlifted to land when the situation warrants it. Sometimes, a cruise ship captain has to make decisions based on health and safety that passengers do not like.
Sometimes that's a minor inconvenience, like staying in port longer or returning to a port unexpectedly. When that happens, in most cases, the casino and onboard shops have to close.
Passengers may not like that, but the safety of passengers takes precedent over everything else. Cruise ship captains are also bound by maritime law. That means that in certain situations they don't have a choice and have to act a certain way.
Image source: Pixabay
Carnival rescues Cuban refugees
Cruise ships somewhat regularly come upon situations at sea where they need to offer aid, That's a law, not a decision, according to Carnival brand ambassador John Heald.
"Last night I posted a report of how the Carnival Paradise had rescued Cuban refugees. These men, women and children had dire need of food, water and medical care. I could not believe some of the comments I read, I really was gobsmacked. So then, let me say a few things here if I may. It is maritime law that we rescue people in peril on the sea. That’s the first thing. Secondly to answer some of the at best, silly statements people made and at worst some of the disgusting 'leave them, they made that choice, we do not want them in America,'" he wrote.
The ship's captain, he noted, was following the law and there are strict protocols for the rescued people.
"There are stringent and well-practiced safety and security protocols when these rescues are carried out. I am not going to share all of them but for those who were worried and those who were angry that we did this I will share a few things. The refugees are not allowed anywhere but the medical centre and an area on a crew deck where they are always under watch from our Security team. They are not allowed to be in any guest areas, obviously, and all security and medical precautions are undertaken before they are handed over to United States Coast Guard," he added.
Carnival's brand ambassador poses a question
Heald, who rarely expressed anger despite often being treated poorly by a small subset of his followers, had a strong rebuke for some of the responses to this rescue.
"I want to also say this to those who wrote such bile-filled words yesterday. Forget the fact that rescuing those in peril on the sea is Maritime Law. Instead let me give you this scenario," he wrote. "You are the Captain of the ship. You see a group of men, women and children in a boat that is obviously not going to survive at sea much longer. You see these hands waving in the air, desperate for help, desperate to live. Could you ignore them? Could you just keep going and not have any guilt about doing so?"
He reiterated that the cruise line will always do the right thing.
"Carnival Cruise Line will always help all people of all nations who need lifesaving rescue at sea. We are true to that principle and that will never change," he added.
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Hundreds of people responded positively to Heald's post.
"We are all human beings regardless of where we are from or our station in life. Glad Carnival continues to share the love," Robin Woodruff wrote.
