By: Zola
Chief Dieter
Plan Z Diet
I’ve been on enough cruises to have a pretty good idea of how the people captive on the broken down Carnival Splendor felt.
Stranded at sea after an engine fire.
Spending days in the hot sun with no air-conditioning. They couldn’t even swim in the pool because the ship could not pump chlorine and the company could not take the risk that the swimmers would get sick and make everything worse.
Waiting for hours in line only to be served Spam and pop tarts. Talk about the antithesis of gourmet.
No casino for entertainment.
No cold beer. The thought of drinking warm beer just makes me gag. No ice for drinks.
No TV even. Inside cabins didn’t even have light! They had to sleep with the door open if they couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping in complete blackness. And hot!
I’ve never had a mechanical failure on a cruise. I’ve never had a toilet that didn’t work. I’ve never missed a meal. We can all sort of imagine what a floating house of horror that was.
Now balance that off with the experience a small group of Cubans had on a cruise that I was on.
It was in the 1990’s. My husband and I decided to sail the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Sovereign of the Seas. It wasn’t the maiden voyage for the ship, but it was close. The ship was sparkling new.
There was a five story shopping center that went up the middle of the ship. The gold glass elevators floated up and down overlooking the shopping and the middle lobby of the ship. I’d never seen such a stunning floating city.
That ship, like the Carnival Splendor held about 3000 people plus over 1000 crew members. It was full.
Our weather was perfect at the start. We left Miami in early evening and watched the sunset as we watched the shoreline shrink in the distance. We had a lovely dinner, enjoyed a fun cabaret show and went to our cabin to sleep. On the way to the cabin we had a hard time walking in a straight line. We weren’t drunk. The weaving was caused by huge waves forming in the sea. There was a hurricane brewing further south. They warned us that it was going to get a bit wavy and we might have to change the itinerary of the cruise up a bit if it turned out we had to make our way around or away from the hurricane.
The next day we got up, had breakfast, lounged around and toured the ship; just sort of casing things out so we could plan our week’s activities. The waves were reported to be 10 – 15’ high now. It did cause the ship to sway but only slightly.
Just before lunchtime we noticed the ship wasn’t really moving. We seemed to be turning too. It’s hard to turn something that’s the length of three football fields so turning doesn’t happen very abruptly. We’re talking about a half hour. We just knew something was going on.
We went out on the deck and looked down. On the lowest decks, where only crew can go, we could see some scurrying. Men tossing out instructions to each other. Waving arms. Something was up.
Then we saw it. Just a speck at first but there was something in the water and the crewmen were preparing to catch it. What was it? What was so important that a cruise ship would stop and turn like that?
We watched for about 30 more minutes while the scurrying ramped up to a minor frenzy. What came into focus was a small craft with people on it. This craft had an engine of some kind. The engine was spewing a constant cloud of black soot. The people were hardly recognizable. They were coal black from head to foot.
We could tell one of them was a woman because she had a dress on and long hair. One looked like a small child; probably a boy but we could not be sure. Then there were two men. One was trying desperately to navigate the craft toward the massive cruise ship. The other man just kept waving his arms and trying not to get tossed out of the craft by the large waves.
As the boat got closer we could see it. This rickety craft was built from metal pieces. Junk. The front bow was made from the hood of a car. The rest of it was just pieces you’d find in a salvage yard. They had managed to weld it together and attach something about the size of a lawn mower engine on it for power.
It took probably another 30 minutes to get the craft (I don’t think it could qualify as a boat) next to the cruise ship and help the people on it get off. The high waves really made it difficult for all involved.
By now our side of the ship was pretty much covered with passengers leaning over to see what was going on.
When they got the people out of the pile of junk and onto the cruise ship applause broke out from the observers. Then something shocking happened. It didn’t take two minutes before the craft they were in was swallowed by the sea. It was gone.
What if they’d still been in it? Talk about timing.
The excitement seemed to be over. Everyone went back to lying in the sun, swimming in the pool or drinking in the bar. But everyone was talking about these people rescued from the sea. The ship was all abuzz.
It was just a couple of hours before the Captain came on the intercom to give us an update.
He told the story of how this craft was spotted on radar. We were the closest ship to the craft and maritime law dictated that we were immediately designated as a rescue ship. We were required by international law to go find out what that craft was and find out if they did indeed need to be rescued.
Turned out this was a group of relatives that had escaped from Cuba during the night. They had been on that little craft all night long, trying desperately to make their way to Miami. They could have easily died but they were desperate, so they took the risk.
Awhile later someone else from the crew came on the PA to ask for clothing. The sizes of the men, the woman and the little boy were broadcast over the speakers. These people had nothing more than what they had on their backs. And that was covered in soot and ruined. They needed a shower and clothing. The people who worked on the ship came up with the idea to ask the passengers to donate clothing.
And get clothes? They did. Tons of them. More than they needed, for sure.
The saga continues.
That night if you went to the big show room to see the performance you got a treat. They brought the Cubans out on the stage, all cleaned up and in their new clothes. They introduced them to the audience. Everyone cheered, of course.
But now it got complicated.
Remember that we were on a cruise that had an itinerary including several stops. Our next stop was going to be a foreign country. Maritime law then also dictates that you take the people you rescued to the next country and drop them off. This particular country would have taken them into custody at the immigration office as soon as they disembarked. This was not good news. What was going to happen was that country intended to send then back to Cuba. That would mean sure death or prison for a very long time.
The ship we were on is registered Norwegian so they were okay as long as they were on the ship and until the ship got to port. We had two days before they’d be turned over to authorities in the other country.
Now what?
Many of the workers on the ship spoke Spanish and were immigrants themselves from countries all over the planet. They got together and brainstormed. They made a plan. They figured out that the only way these people could remain on the ship until we docked back in Miami is if the US would clear them for asylum before we got to that next country. The radio airwaves were very busy as they crew made calls to negotiate with US authorities.
The US officials came back with word that they US was only willing to clear them if they had jobs lined up in the US.
These same crew members started kicking into high gear and contacted relatives and friends in and around Miami to find companies who would hire these people sight unseen. No time to interview. Just know they are strong, healthy people desperate to live in the US.
Sure enough. Within 24 hours all of the adults had confirmed new jobs when they got to the US.
They were not only rescued. They were saved.
Now just sit back for a minute and think about their introduction to the US. Can you imagine what it felt like to come from abject poverty to being on one of the most lavish cruise ships to ever sail? To be housed, clothed and fed the cruise ship’s midnight buffet on your first day out of Cuba? I’m not sure how they managed to survive the shock. It makes me tingle at the thought. My reliving that cruise while I tell you the tale of the Cuban refugee rescue makes my hands shake again; just like they did the night they brought those amazing people out on that stage to face 3000 people who were applauding them in a welcome to their new life in the United States of America.
God bless this land and its people. And double bless those from the various nations that worked so hard on behalf of a few soot-covered strangers.
Cheers,
I’ve been on enough cruises to have a pretty good idea of how the people captive on the broken down Carnival Splendor felt.
Stranded at sea after an engine fire.
Spending days in the hot sun with no air-conditioning. They couldn’t even swim in the pool because the ship could not pump chlorine and the company could not take the risk that the swimmers would get sick and make everything worse.
Waiting for hours in line only to be served Spam and pop tarts. Talk about the antithesis of gourmet.
No casino for entertainment.
No cold beer. The thought of drinking warm beer just makes me gag. No ice for drinks.
No TV even. Inside cabins didn’t even have light! They had to sleep with the door open if they couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping in complete blackness. And hot!
I’ve never had a mechanical failure on a cruise. I’ve never had a toilet that didn’t work. I’ve never missed a meal. We can all sort of imagine what a floating house of horror that was.
Now balance that off with the experience a small group of Cubans had on a cruise that I was on.
It was in the 1990’s. My husband and I decided to sail the Caribbean on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Sovereign of the Seas. It wasn’t the maiden voyage for the ship, but it was close. The ship was sparkling new.
There was a five story shopping center that went up the middle of the ship. The gold glass elevators floated up and down overlooking the shopping and the middle lobby of the ship. I’d never seen such a stunning floating city.
That ship, like the Carnival Splendor held about 3000 people plus over 1000 crew members. It was full.
Our weather was perfect at the start. We left Miami in early evening and watched the sunset as we watched the shoreline shrink in the distance. We had a lovely dinner, enjoyed a fun cabaret show and went to our cabin to sleep. On the way to the cabin we had a hard time walking in a straight line. We weren’t drunk. The weaving was caused by huge waves forming in the sea. There was a hurricane brewing further south. They warned us that it was going to get a bit wavy and we might have to change the itinerary of the cruise up a bit if it turned out we had to make our way around or away from the hurricane.
The next day we got up, had breakfast, lounged around and toured the ship; just sort of casing things out so we could plan our week’s activities. The waves were reported to be 10 – 15’ high now. It did cause the ship to sway but only slightly.
Just before lunchtime we noticed the ship wasn’t really moving. We seemed to be turning too. It’s hard to turn something that’s the length of three football fields so turning doesn’t happen very abruptly. We’re talking about a half hour. We just knew something was going on.
We went out on the deck and looked down. On the lowest decks, where only crew can go, we could see some scurrying. Men tossing out instructions to each other. Waving arms. Something was up.
Then we saw it. Just a speck at first but there was something in the water and the crewmen were preparing to catch it. What was it? What was so important that a cruise ship would stop and turn like that?
We watched for about 30 more minutes while the scurrying ramped up to a minor frenzy. What came into focus was a small craft with people on it. This craft had an engine of some kind. The engine was spewing a constant cloud of black soot. The people were hardly recognizable. They were coal black from head to foot.
We could tell one of them was a woman because she had a dress on and long hair. One looked like a small child; probably a boy but we could not be sure. Then there were two men. One was trying desperately to navigate the craft toward the massive cruise ship. The other man just kept waving his arms and trying not to get tossed out of the craft by the large waves.
As the boat got closer we could see it. This rickety craft was built from metal pieces. Junk. The front bow was made from the hood of a car. The rest of it was just pieces you’d find in a salvage yard. They had managed to weld it together and attach something about the size of a lawn mower engine on it for power.
It took probably another 30 minutes to get the craft (I don’t think it could qualify as a boat) next to the cruise ship and help the people on it get off. The high waves really made it difficult for all involved.
By now our side of the ship was pretty much covered with passengers leaning over to see what was going on.
When they got the people out of the pile of junk and onto the cruise ship applause broke out from the observers. Then something shocking happened. It didn’t take two minutes before the craft they were in was swallowed by the sea. It was gone.
What if they’d still been in it? Talk about timing.
The excitement seemed to be over. Everyone went back to lying in the sun, swimming in the pool or drinking in the bar. But everyone was talking about these people rescued from the sea. The ship was all abuzz.
It was just a couple of hours before the Captain came on the intercom to give us an update.
He told the story of how this craft was spotted on radar. We were the closest ship to the craft and maritime law dictated that we were immediately designated as a rescue ship. We were required by international law to go find out what that craft was and find out if they did indeed need to be rescued.
Turned out this was a group of relatives that had escaped from Cuba during the night. They had been on that little craft all night long, trying desperately to make their way to Miami. They could have easily died but they were desperate, so they took the risk.
Awhile later someone else from the crew came on the PA to ask for clothing. The sizes of the men, the woman and the little boy were broadcast over the speakers. These people had nothing more than what they had on their backs. And that was covered in soot and ruined. They needed a shower and clothing. The people who worked on the ship came up with the idea to ask the passengers to donate clothing.
And get clothes? They did. Tons of them. More than they needed, for sure.
The saga continues.
That night if you went to the big show room to see the performance you got a treat. They brought the Cubans out on the stage, all cleaned up and in their new clothes. They introduced them to the audience. Everyone cheered, of course.
But now it got complicated.
Remember that we were on a cruise that had an itinerary including several stops. Our next stop was going to be a foreign country. Maritime law then also dictates that you take the people you rescued to the next country and drop them off. This particular country would have taken them into custody at the immigration office as soon as they disembarked. This was not good news. What was going to happen was that country intended to send then back to Cuba. That would mean sure death or prison for a very long time.
The ship we were on is registered Norwegian so they were okay as long as they were on the ship and until the ship got to port. We had two days before they’d be turned over to authorities in the other country.
Now what?
Many of the workers on the ship spoke Spanish and were immigrants themselves from countries all over the planet. They got together and brainstormed. They made a plan. They figured out that the only way these people could remain on the ship until we docked back in Miami is if the US would clear them for asylum before we got to that next country. The radio airwaves were very busy as they crew made calls to negotiate with US authorities.
The US officials came back with word that they US was only willing to clear them if they had jobs lined up in the US.
These same crew members started kicking into high gear and contacted relatives and friends in and around Miami to find companies who would hire these people sight unseen. No time to interview. Just know they are strong, healthy people desperate to live in the US.
Sure enough. Within 24 hours all of the adults had confirmed new jobs when they got to the US.
They were not only rescued. They were saved.
Now just sit back for a minute and think about their introduction to the US. Can you imagine what it felt like to come from abject poverty to being on one of the most lavish cruise ships to ever sail? To be housed, clothed and fed the cruise ship’s midnight buffet on your first day out of Cuba? I’m not sure how they managed to survive the shock. It makes me tingle at the thought. My reliving that cruise while I tell you the tale of the Cuban refugee rescue makes my hands shake again; just like they did the night they brought those amazing people out on that stage to face 3000 people who were applauding them in a welcome to their new life in the United States of America.
God bless this land and its people. And double bless those from the various nations that worked so hard on behalf of a few soot-covered strangers.
Cheers,
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