On Sunday the Disney Fantasy was cruising from Florida to Grand Cayman when it spotted 4 men in a raft near Key West. They men had been signaling for help when the ship spotted them.
After being brought on board the men who are believed to be Cuban were given food and water. They were also given any medical treatment that they needed. It is still unclear what the men were doing in the raft and where they were going. It is also still unclear as to what will happen to the men once they arrive at Grand Cayman.
It was reported that a Disney spokesperson said, “We have notified the U.S. Coast Guard of this rescue and we are working with the proper authorities to coordinate the debarkation of the group … It would be up to those authorities to determine next steps.”
The U.S Coast Guard is currently working with officials to decide where to take the rescued men, and the Disney Fantasy ship will be in Mexico for the next 2 days, before it heads for the scheduled port of call at Castaway Cay, Bahamas and then back to Port Canaveral, Florida.
This story is in stark contrast to the story we wrote about with Princess Cruises, in which 3 Panamanian fishermen were stranded at sea for weeks before they tried and failed to flag down the Star Princess cruise ship. Princess is currently in a law suit with the sole survivor of that fishing vessel, who is alleging negligence on the part of the cruise line.