Live From The Magic!!! We Stopped To Help Refugees Out On The Water!

[mmouse37]

Hi all my Dis friends....we are having a fantastic time and I will post a trip report when we return home but just wanted to let you all know about the excitment we had onboard last night.

So, guess what happened yesterday???? Mike and I come to our stateroom after breakfast and there is a note in the little fish outside the door. We open it and it is an invitation to have dinner with THE CAPTAIN AT PALO!!!! Can you believe it???? I was so excited!!!! Were to meet for drinks with a few other chosen couples up in Palos at 7:45 and then have dinner with the Captain.

Well, after the Disney Dreams show, we came into the Atrium to find a million people looking out the portholes at something in the water.....We go out on deck 4 and look over the rail and there is a little rowboat with 5 people in it yelling Cuba, Cuba, Cuba....they were refugees looking for asylum from Cuba!!! It was so sad, they were bobbing up and down next to the ship with just oars. They had no water and were out on the sea since Monday. An officer on deck spotted them and turned the ship towards them and then we stopped dead in the water for about 1 hour while Disney contacted the Coast Guard to see what we should do. Turns out we were instructed not to take them onboard until the coast guard came from Miami (we were off the coast of cuba at the time). There was no land in sight whatsoever!!! It was amazing to see these people (one was a young boy).

Anyway, practically the whole ship was hanging over the side of deck 4 looking down at them and taking pictures (me included, though I felt kind of bad about it). It was so sad seeing them in this tiny little boat in this vast ocean. I could not imagine five people in this boat out at sea for that length of time, out of water for 3 days. We finally threw them a line so they did not have to keep rowing to stay along side the ship. Thank God the water was extremely calm.

We had an update from the Captain that we could now take them onboard and continue on our way and meet up with the Coast Guard ship. So, we took them aboard (did not see this take place as we headed up to Palo) and started sailing for about 45 minutes and stopped again to transfer the group to the Coast Guard ship. Unfortunately, we think they are being sent back to Cuba.

Well, back to our supposed dinner with the Captain....of course with all the excitement and his needing to be in constant control of the situation, he was unable to join the group for dinner. We still were invited (four couples) to eat at Palos with complimentary drinks, etc. The Vice President of DCL was onboard and came to talk to us and extend the Captain's apologies about being unable to attend dinner. Obviously we all understood the severity of the situation.

The other couples were all very nice. Palo's even had place markers with our name on them where we should sit.....and we get a signed & dated menu with a group photo in it (less the Captain!!!). All the other couples were just as crazy about Disney as we were, and all seemed to be past cruisers, though no one knew for sure why we were each chosen for this dinner. I let them all know about the DIS!!! There was a couple from England that comes over to go to WDW about twice a year, and she was a CM at a Disney Store in England. She was really interested in the DIS!!

Anyway, it was a great experience, too bad the timing was off....couldn't the refugess have waited until after dinner to seek asylum!!! ONLY KIDDING!!!!!

I was up early and took pics of the beautiful sunrise before we get into to Castaway Cay. I can't believe it is almost over already. I am sad!!!

Oh, at the Return Cruises cocktail reception the Captain mentioned how one family has sailed the Wonder over 21 times with many more booked for the year.....I "Wonder" who they could have been talking about!!!!! Not our own Barb and Tony, could it!!!!!

Captain Marvins was great.

Now I have go get sticker shock when I pick up my room charges from guest service!!!

Talk to you all soon!

MJ

 

[prymsu]

thanx for taking the time to tell us about this situation. How awful for those folks. I hope everything turns out OK for them.

 

[fireplug]

Now that is an exciting day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve

 

[disneyholic family]

very interesting.....and terribly sad if they sent them back to cuba....
on a side note, that's a tad dangerous doing that....
although i suppose they looked cuban.....
but it would be a way for terrorists to get on board ship.....

 

[Kelsie]

I had the same thoughts. In todays environment, it really doesn't seem like a great idea. But, someone has to help! I am really torn on this one.

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by disneyholic family
. . i suppose they looked cuban.....
but it would be a way for terrorists to get on board ship.....

I agree. Their situation was sad, if they <I>were</I> Cuban (and most likely they were), but it would be very easy for terrorists to pose as a family in need of help, even down to going without water or food and being in the middle of the ocean. When you consider the suicidal attitude of so many terrorists, this scenario is not unthinkable. Not to mention there could be terrorist divers under the ship after it stopped. However, we can assume that upon boarding the ship, those people were fully searched and kept under tight security. I'm sure DCL knew what they were doing.

And mmouse37: Let us know if you ever find out why certain people were invited to the special dinner at Palo's. Too bad Captain Tom was unable to attend, but at least you've had another memorable cruise!

 

[Katesdad]

Have they won? Seems to me if we can't stop and help someone with out worrying about international terrorism, they've succeeded.

 

[Kelsie]

No, I don't think it means they have won. But I do think we need to take more precautions than we did prior to 9-11. Should we discontinue scanning luggage and using metal detectors at airports? Do the extra precautions we are taking now mean they have won? I don't think so.

Like I said before, I have very mixed feelings about this. I think I would have stopped also.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

mmouse37, thanks for checking in with us.

disneyholic family, I recall someone reporting from a cruise last year that when they picked up some stranded fishermen, rather than bringing them right onboard, DCL sent some CM's out in one of the lifeboats and search the... well, I don't want to say "refugees" in this context... ah, fishermen, before they were allowed on the ship.

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by Katesdad
Have they won? Seems to me if we can't stop and help someone with out worrying about international terrorism, they've succeeded.

No, they haven't won! We still travel and we still strive to hold onto our freedoms and our way of life. But if we are going to keep that, then we DO need to be careful and we have to look at everyone in a new way instead of <I>assuming</I> that ALL people are good people. As an example: We are put through things at airport security now that, as good, law-abiding U.S. citizens, we should <I>not</I> have to experience. But the reason for that is <I>because</I> of the "worry about international terrorism." Even though we don't like it, the one thing "they" succeeded in doing was necessarily changing our response to strangers and our security procedures everywhere. But I'll stop rambling about that. This thread is about mmouse37's experience! (Sorry mmouse37 )

 

[CruellaDuVille]

You gave me a thrill just reading a post from the Magic since you got on the day I got off.

PS. As long as we travel freely, as long as the Magic sails and the planes fly, they have not won. I will not let them make me a prisoner in my own home.

 

[tezb]

Hey mmouse....glad to hear from you. Maybe they invited certain guests to dinner who have sailed DCL multiple times...your family certainly meets that criteria! Wonder if the others invited with you, also have sailed multiple times. Just thinking that they might pick random cruisers who have been repeat customers. Or maybe since your husband was one of the rescuers at ground zero?

Don't forget mmouse....let me know how you liked the WEstern compared to the Eastern....see you on 7/19/03...

Have a safe return....

 

[Hopkins]

I assume when the five cubans were picked up by the Magic and then by the Coast Guard that they were in International waters. What's the proceedure if they don't want to go back to were they came from? People without country. We are so blessed to live were we are free. I'm sad for them if they wanted to leave (as it appears to be the case) and had to go back.

Tina

 

[glo]

how sad to risk all...see such extravagances...what freedom at its best can give you, and have to go back to worse than what you left.

I feel sorry for those people...may God bles them

 

[alikat99]

I have to agree that I don't think that the terrorists have won. I just think that we are all a little more cautious than we have been in the past.

And, unfortunately for those refugees, they are probably on their way back to Cuba. Living in FL, we hear of these heroic tales of people trying to make it here from Cuba. I believe that the law says that if they are picked up in the water, then they are sent back to where they came from. But, if they make it to land here in the US, then they can seek asylum here.

 

[Hopkins]

That makes a lot of sense, if not, people trying to leave Cuba would just have to find their way into the shipping lanes.

How sad.
Tina

 

[din]

Originally posted by Kelsie
I had the same thoughts. In todays environment, it really doesn't seem like a great idea. But, someone has to help! I am really torn on this one.

Putting aside the fact that we live in dangerous and crazy world, isn't there like an unwritten rule or written for that matter that assistance have to be provided to boats, big or small, in distress? That could be why the Magic stopped, it saw them on the horizon or the radar may have picked it up.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Originally posted by din

isn't there like an unwritten rule or written for that matter that assistance have to be provided to boats, big or small, in distress?

Yes. I'm not sure if it's unwritten or not, but it is generally accepted in maritme law that any ship which is able is obligated to aid another vessel. That's why both the the Princess and HAL ships heaved to and waited while the Magic was on fire, in case they needed to help in any way.

 

[ennazus]

Thanks for posting your story!!

 

[disneyholic family]

i assume that's why the coast guard initially told the Magic not to take them on board...after all, 2 months ago the coast guard warned of attacks on US coastal areas and ships (water borne terrorist attacks that is)..
wasn't the USS Cole attacked by a tiny boat...(suicide boat?)...
it's definitely no longer a simple matter....