cruise ship saves yacht

Watch: World's largest cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea for over a week

Passengers caught the unusual sight on video when people stranded on a small boat flagged down the behemoth ship for help..

Cruise ship rescued 14 stranded at sea for over a week

This was the scene from the lunch buffet during the first full day of cruising for the Icon of the Seas. The crew rescued all 14 from the distressed boat which was dwarfed by the largest cruise ship in the world.

The largest cruise ship in the world rescued 14 people Sunday who had been stranded on a small boat for eight days.

Alessandra Amodio was traveling on Royal Caribbeans's Icon of the Seas with her family when the rescue happened.

"We were really surprised and honestly a little freaked out," Amodio said. "We’ve been on a handful of cruises and never seen something like this happen. It was crazy to think that these people were stuck at sea for so long, and we were all on board excited and relieved that the ship was able to rescue them."

WATCH: STORM FLOODS CRUISE SHIP IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

The largest cruise ship in the world has 20 decks, 2,800 guest cabins, holds 2,350 crew, seven pools and a water park.

(Alessandra Amodio / FOX Weather)

She watched the small boat from the windows of the lunch buffet. People on the tiny craft were waving a large white flag.

"The boat turned around, and we pulled up as close as we could to them and stopped," Amodio said. "RCC (Royal Caribbean) deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate."

As you can imagine, turning around the largest cruise ship in the world takes quite a while. Getting near a small boat without swamping it in the ship's wake takes careful skill. The detour and rescue took about two hours, according to Amodio.

"Everyone around us was watching from the windows with us and just talking about how this isn’t something we ever thought to experience, and we hoped everyone on board was OK," she said. "But never were we afraid for ourselves."

CARNIVAL CRUISE'S JUBILEE VESSEL RESCUE TWO MEN OFF MEXICO

The Icon of the Seas at port.

She described the boat as a small dot in the vastness of the sea.

Royal Caribbean didn't provide much information about the rescue.

"On March 3, 2024,  Icon of the Seas  encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance," the company said in a statement. "The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard. The crew provided them with medical attention , and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

Amodio said the crew had to take several trips to the small boat to rescue everyone.

WATCH: MASSIVE ROGUE WAVE BATTERS CRUISE SHIP IN NORTH SEA

One of many rescue trips to bring those stranded on board the cruise ship

This is video of one of the trips the cruise ship's crew made to bring back those rescued.

This was the ship's first full day of cruising. The eight-day vacation started in Miami and the ship was headed for Honduras. Amodio estimated from a map that the Icon of the Seas was between Cozumel, Mexico and western Cuba.

Captain's legal responsibility to aid boaters in distress

According to Amodio, the crew broadcast "Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar," over the loudspeakers, about 3 p.m.

"Then shortly after, the captain came back on the speaker and announced they spotted a distressed vessel, and they were going to turn us around and investigate," she said. 

Amodio said that after the rescue, the captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days. The captain said he didn't know what country they came from.

All the rescued people left the ship the next day while docked in Roatan, Honduras, she said.

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File: In an aerial view, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, billed as the world's largest cruise ship, is moored at PortMiami after returning from its maiden voyage on February 03, 2024, in Miami, Florida. The 1,197-foot long ship cost $1.79 billion to build, has 20 decks, and can hold a maximum of 7,600 people. 

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

According to maritime law, a ship and crew have a legal and moral obligation to help save human life.

"A master of a ship at sea, which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance," stated the International Maritime Organization .

Code Oscar is unique to Royal Caribbean, according to Marine Insight . The emergency code is usually used when a person falls overboard. Captains use the signal instead of shouting orders to "prevent the potentiality of chaos."

This is the Icon of the Seas' inaugural season. Its very first voyage with passengers was early this year, and FOX Weather got a tour.

CRUISE SHIP CARNIVAL SUNSHINE POUNDED BY LARGE WAVES DURING COASTAL STORM NEAR CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

World's largest cruise ship debuting in Miami

It's time to say goodbye to your worries and set sail on your next vacation. Royal Caribbean has made history in Miami this week with the arrival of their largest cruise ship yet, called Icon of the Seas. It has a bunch of weather-ready amenities, including its own chief meteorologist, and that's just the start. Lifestyle expert Carey Reilly is on deck to give us a sneak peek at the boatloads of fun.

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Cruise Ship Rescues Yacht, One Dead in Fiji Boat Mishap

Andrea Santillan

• September 26, 2023

Contents Show

Three vessels, including a P&O cruise ship, came to aid a yacht that found itself in distress off the coast of Fiji. One of the passengers was already deceased, while the other two needed medical attention.

Cruise Ship Rescues Yacht

Twelve hours after the distress call, the cruise ship P&O Pacific Explorer was the first to arrive on the scene at 1 a.m. on September 25. The yacht, Second Life, was found with a broken mast amid challenging weather conditions.

Though the Explorer managed to transfer one of the yacht’s crew onboard, the other passenger couldn’t be moved until hours later. “Due to conditions and the comparative size of the Pacific Explorer, assisting the remaining people onboard the yacht isn’t possible,” passenger Ali Christ told the New Zealand Herald .

Two other vessels joined the recovery operation: the Republic of Fiji Navy (RFN) patrol boat Savenaca and the Beast, a private vessel owned by Sir Michael Hill. By the same day afternoon, the patrol boat had boarded the 12-meter yacht and picked up the remaining survivor.

At around 4 p.m., the cruise ship with 2,000 passengers onboard was given the green light to proceed to Suva, Fiji, its original destination.

Spanning several hours, the rescue was described as a difficult operation. “RFNS Savenaca finally arrived this morning carrying one survivor and the remains of the sailor that tragically lost his life at sea. It has been a challenging rescue given the conditions and weather at sea at the time and it was rather unfortunate that a life was lost,” read the Republic of Fiji Navy’s post on Facebook .

The two survivors, including the deceased passenger, have been taken to Fiji while consular services and the New Zealand Police have been alerted.

READ MORE: Captain Kate Assists in Vessel in Distress

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Crew of the giant Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people adrift in the sea

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MIAMI (AP) — The crew of what is considered the world’s largest cruise ship rescued 14 people clinging to a small boat adrift on the ocean, authorities said.

Passengers aboard the Icon of the Seas captured video of the crew using a small vessel to ferry the group to the safety of the cruise ship on Sunday. The cruise had begun in Miami, and the ship was headed for Honduras when the rescue happened, passengers said.

The cruise ship encountered the small vessel “adrift and in need of assistance,” Miami-based Royal Caribbean said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday.

“The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people on board,” the company said. “The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard.”

The crew broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar,” over the loudspeakers around 3 p.m., Alessandra Amodio said in a report on FoxWeather.com .

Amodio said she watched as people on the tiny craft waved a large white flag.

“The boat turned around, and we pulled up as close as we could to them and stopped,” Amodio said. The cruise ship then launched “a small zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate.”

After the rescue, Amodio said the cruise ship’s captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days.

The Icon of the Seas is considered by cruise industry experts to be the largest cruise ship in the world at the moment, the Miami Herald reported . It can host 5,610 guests and 2,350 crew members. The ship has 2,850 staterooms, 18 guest decks and seven swimming pools.

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A Superyacht Gave a Lifeline to 100 Migrants Thrown Into the Sea

A $175 million vessel responded to a distress call and helped rescue survivors in one of the Mediterranean’s worst wrecks in decades, reflecting the new inequality of the seas.

By Jason Horowitz and Matina Stevis-Gridneff

Jason Horowitz reported from Souda, Greece, on the island of Crete, and Matina Stevis-Gridneff from Brussels.

The superyacht Mayan Queen IV was sailing smoothly in clear weather through the dark and calm Mediterranean in the early hours of June 14 when it received a call about a migrant ship in distress four nautical miles away.

About 20 minutes later, shortly before 3 a.m., the towering $175-million yacht, owned by the family of a Mexican silver magnate, arrived at the scene. The distressed boat had already sunk. All the four-person crew could see were the lights of a Greek Coast Guard vessel scanning the water’s inky surface. But they could hear the screams of survivors.

“Horrible,” said the Mayan Queen’s captain, Richard Kirkby, who described the sea as “pitch black” on that nearly moonless night.

In a few hours, the 305-foot Mayan Queen, more accustomed to pleasure boating to Monaco and Italy with billionaires and their friends aboard, was filled with 100 desperate, dehydrated and sea-soaked Pakistani, Syrian, Palestinian and Egyptian men, as it played an unexpected role in one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in decades. As many as 650 men, women and children drowned .

The incongruous image of the devastated survivors disembarking the Mayan Queen on a port in Kalamata last week underlined what has become the strange reality of the modern Mediterranean, where the superyachts of the superrich, equipped with swimming pools, Jacuzzis, helipads and other trappings of luxury, share the seas with the most destitute on smuggler-operated boats perilously crossing from northern Africa to Europe.

The world’s waterways have become a reflection of global inequalities in recent days. In the North Atlantic, a billionaire, his son and other businessmen set out to explore the wreck of the Titanic on a luxury tourist submersible that has gone missing, touching off an international search and rescue operation .

Days earlier, the Greek authorities repeatedly decided not to assist a roughly 80- to 100-foot fishing trawler stuffed with as many as 750 people fleeing desperate poverty and the displacement of war in Greece’s search-and-rescue area. Only when the ship sank in front of the Coast Guard did the authorities spur to action, calling on the Mayan Queen, one of the world’s 100 largest yachts.

“As soon as you are notified and in close proximity and you can do so, you are obligated,” to try and rescue, said Aphrodite Papachristodoulou, an expert in the law of the sea and human rights at the Irish Centre for Human Rights. She said it was not unusual to have luxury yachts in the area.

Why the Greek authorities needed to call on a passing yacht to come to the rescue of an overcrowded and rickety ship that they had been monitoring and communicating with in their search-and-rescue area for a full day, she said, was less obvious.

“The practice of nonassistance or delay of assistance and why the Greeks were not proceeding to the rescue is another question mark,” she said.

There was one Greek Coast Guard vessel already on the scene when the Mayan Queen arrived, and its seamen were in a raft saving scores of men from the water. The crew of the Mayan Queen lowered its life raft with three of its own crew, and followed the cries for help, pulling 15 men onboard, the captain said.

A vivid retelling of events provided under sworn testimony by Mr. Kirkby, and obtained by The New York Times, added that none of those saved were wearing life vests. Some clutched floating pieces of wood. For hours afterward, the yacht crew kept eerily quiet and beamed its brightest lights to better hear and see.

Investigators are still seeking to understand what exactly happened as the trawler sank trying to reach Italy — whether smugglers refused assistance and panic on the ship caused it to capsize, as the Coast Guard claims, or whether a failed attempt to tow the ship caused it to sink, as some survivors contend. In either case, it fell to the Mayan Queen to shoulder much of the rescue.

The gleaming yacht, sailing from Italy, transported 100 of the 104 survivors and four Greek coast guard officials — as well as about a dozen bodies — to port.

“I would like to think that we did what anyone would do,” said Mr. Kirkby, who used to pilot the superyacht Le Grand Bleu , of the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. He added on Wednesday that, because of a nondisclosure agreement and the “contentious” circumstances of the ship’s sinking, he could not say much more.

“I wouldn’t like to see the Coast Guard get a bad rap,” he said. “They did all they could.”

Mr. Kirkby spoke briefly in a cafe in the port of Souda, where the yacht was docked near a cruise ship delivering tourists to the Cretan city of Chania, an industrial Russian vessel and a parking lot filled with stationary truck containers. The vessel’s crew carried out chores, and like the captain wore T-shirts featuring a drawing of the yacht on the back and a B, for the family of the ship’s late owner, Alberto Baillères, on the breast pocket.

On Wednesday morning one crewman carried an umbrella up the gangway that the migrants unsteadily walked down last week, some of them met by stretchers and health workers with foil blankets. By the ship’s stern, with the silvered letters of “Mayan Queen” and “George Town” sparkling in the hot sun and under pumping house music, crew members worked where the migrants huddled upon reaching the Kalamata port.

According to Boat International, a yachting news site, the Mayan Queen, which flies a Cayman Islands flag, is in the top 100 for the world’s largest superyachts. It was built by the Hamburg-based shipbuilder Blohm & Voss GmbH in 2008 and designed by Tim Heywood , a favorite of the yachting set.

“Her power comes from two diesel engines. She can accommodate up to 26 guests, with 24 crew members,” the magazine wrote. “She is built with a teak deck, a steel hull, and aluminium superstructure.”

That craftsmanship stood in stark contrast to the condition of the ship that hundreds of migrants, paying thousands of dollars a head, crammed into last week in Libya, in the hopes of reaching Italy.

Witnesses said in sworn testimony obtained by The Times that passengers suffered beatings with belts and deprivation. Smugglers threw food into the water. Pakistani men were kept in the hold and hundreds of them sank with women and children into one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean. Only the lucky ones reached the Mayan Queen’s decks.

At around 6 a.m. on the morning of the wreck, as the sun came up, Mr. Kirkby received a call to transport all the 100 rescued men from the Coast Guard vessel to the nearest port.

He offered dry clothes and water to the men, some of whom, he said, “were in a bad way.” For hours the survivors, wrapped in gray blankets and mourning their losses, sailed on the superyacht. At 11:20 a.m. the Mayan Queen and its unexpected passengers arrived to port.

“We took them all,” Mr. Kirkby said.

Niki Kitsantonis contributed reporting from Athens.

Jason Horowitz is the Rome bureau chief, covering Italy, the Vatican, Greece and other parts of Southern Europe. He previously covered the 2016 presidential campaign, the Obama administration and Congress, with an emphasis on political profiles and features. More about Jason Horowitz

Matina Stevis-Gridneff is the Brussels bureau chief, leading coverage of the European Union. She joined The Times in 2019. More about Matina Stevis-Gridneff

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Cruise Ship Rescues 14 People Stranded at Sea for 8 Days as Passengers Look on in 'Shock': WATCH

'We could see in the waves a tiny boat," passenger Alessandra Amodio tells PEOPLE of the incident that happened aboard the Icon of the Seas on Sunday

A cruise ship’s voyage to Mexico and the Bahamas turned into a rescue mission when the boat spotted a small vessel in the waves.

On Sunday, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas , the new world's largest cruise ship that launched in January, rescued 14 people who had been stranded at sea for over a week.

Icon passenger Alessandra Amodio told PEOPLE that the cruise ship was in the midst of an eight-day Caribbean itinerary when they spotted the individuals.

"I was in the lunch buffet with my family when we heard a coded announcement over the loud speakers," Amodio told PEOPLE, adding that the announcement came at around 3 p.m. local time. "A few minutes later people started gathering at the windows and then the captain came on and announced that they had found a distressed vessel and we would be turning around to investigate. We all rushed to the windows and in the nearish distance we could see in the waves a tiny boat waving either a large white flag or sheet."

Shortly after, the ship turned around and pulled up next to the boat and "deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat," she recalls.

@alessandra_rosee/ LOCAL NEWS X/ TMX

"Eventually we saw Royal Caribbean crew helping about two people from the distressed boat onto the rescue boat before returning to the vessel. They then made a few more trips to safely bring everyone on board."

According to Amodio, they later found out that the passengers on the small boat had been "lost at sea for eight days."

Royal Caribibean

"We got a final announcement once they were all on board safely telling us there was 14 people on board," she said, adding that passengers clapped and cheered upon hearing everyone had been rescued safely.

"Our first reaction was shock, I’ve been on six or so cruises and I’ve never experienced anything even close to this," Amodio continued. "During the rescue everyone was more shocked and the general consensus was that this wasn’t something anyone ever thought would be happening. It was crazy to see, even knowing where they were in the water, once they dropped the flag, they were hard to spot. Just seeing this small boat you knew was filled with people surrounded by the vastness of the water was enough to freak you out. "

Royal Caribbean

The ship was on its first full day of sailing and it was between Cozumel, Mexico and western Cuba when the incident happened.

"We weren’t told by the captain or crew what happened to them," Amodio added of the rescued individuals.  

The cruise liner, which departed from Miami, Florida, was headed to Roatán, Honduras, and Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian island, CocoCay, during its voyage.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Royal Caribbean told PEOPLE in a statement, "On March 3, 2024, Icon of the Seas encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance. The ship's crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard. The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told Newsweek that the rescue occurred in Mexico's search-and-rescue area of responsibility.

The Icon of the Seas made its maiden voyage out of South Florida in late January. The ship departed from Port Miami and docked at ports including Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico, Basseterre in St. Kitts & Nevis and Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas.

Along with the world’s largest pool and water park at sea, Icon also boasts eight "neighborhoods" to explore and an open-air "Central Park."

The record-breaking vessel overtook Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas , which formerly held the title of largest cruise ship in the world.

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Carnival Jubilee cruise ship rescues 2 men stranded in Gulf of Mexico

Men spotted floating in kayak near isla mujeres, mexico.

Carnival Vista rescues 6 people after cargo vessel capsizes

Video shows the rescue of 6 people from the ocean near the Dominican Republic on Dec. 13, 2023. Courtesy: @torifoster2/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX

A Carnival cruise ship has rescued two men who were spotted floating in a kayak in the Gulf of Mexico after their boat reportedly sank. 

The crew of the Carnival Jubilee discovered the men off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, on Monday, according to a statement from the cruise line. 

"The men said their boat sank, and they used the kayak to stay afloat," Carnival said. "They were welcomed onto the ship safely and were evaluated by the ship’s medical staff and given first aid and food." 

Carnival said the Jubilee’s crew and "Carnival’s Fleet Operation Center staff in Miami kept in close contact with Mexican Navy officials and arranged a transfer, which was completed shortly after the rescue." 

CARNIVAL CRUISE CREW MEMBERS HELP RESCUE 12 PEOPLE FROM OCEAN AFTER CARGO VESSEL CAPSIZES  

The two men are seen floating in the kayak in the Gulf of Mexico prior to their rescue on Monday, Jan. 29. (Carnival)

The ship is now heading on its normal course to the Honduran island of Roatan on Tuesday. 

The rescue happened about a month after the Carnival Vista saved six people who were stranded in the ocean near the Dominican Republic following the capsizing of a small cargo vessel. 

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In that incident in mid-December, the Vista’s crew received an emergency alert and then "spotted six men on a life raft and stopped to rescue them and bring them on board," according to Carnival. 

5 CRAZY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE LINER ‘ICON OF THE SEAS ’  

One of the men is pulled aboard the Carnival Jubilee cruise ship. (Carnival)

That rescue was caught on video. 

"On the way to Amber Cove the Carnival Vista rescued this life raft," a woman posted alongside a clip on TikTok. 

"This is insane," the person believed to be filming can be heard saying. 

The men were later transferred over to the Mexican Navy after being rescued by the Carnival Jubilee, Carnival says. (Carnival)

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS         

Carnival said following that rescue, a "successful search and rescue operation for six additional vessel crew was carried out thereafter by Coast Guard authorities." 

FOX Business’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report. 

Passengers see dramatic raft rescue from cruise ship balcony: 'Heart-wrenching experience'

Cruise passengers see dramatic raft rescue.

A Port Canaveral-based cruise ship saved six men stranded in the ocean. It happened near the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and people on board the Carnival Vista watched the rescue unfold from their balconies.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A Port Canaveral-based cruise ship saved six men stranded in the ocean. It happened near the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and people on board the Carnival Vista watched the rescue unfold from their balconies.  

The cruise ship saved six people, and the U.S. Coast Guard saved six others who were drifting in the ocean. Passengers on board are still in shock, but thankful everyone is alive. 

An orange life raft was nearly swallowed by the sea after a boat sank off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Passengers came out to see the rough seas from their balconies and ended up seeing a rescue unfold on their vacation. 

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"It was something we’ve never seen, and hopefully we don’t ever see it again," said Lacey Farrington. 

She says the entire rescue took about an hour, and she wasn’t sure if they’d make it to safety.  

"I was worried about it because the water looked like it kept getting closer and closer to the ring of the raft, and was like – I hope they get over here," she exclaimed. 

The cruise ship rescued six people from the flimsy orange raft, but six others were still out there. Victoria Foster captured the others floating away. 

"It was definitely a heart-wrenching experience," said Victoria Foster who was worried the others wouldn’t be saved. 

The Coast Guard stepped in and was able to find and save the other stranded men using a helicopter and lift them to safety.  

"It was a relief to know that they were safe. It was, that was all I was worried about," Foster concluded.

The men were taken to the hospital, and the coast guard says, all 12 survivors are doing okay after a terrifying ordeal in the ocean. 

There’s still no official word on what exactly caused the men’s boat to sink in the first place. The coast guard says the weather was less than ideal for a rescue like this and credits training and hard work to the successful mission. 

Carnival cruise ship rescues 2 shipwrecked men stranded on kayak in Gulf of Mexico

Two men stranded on a kayak in the Gulf of Mexico were rescued by the Carnival Jubilee cruise ship Monday.

The cruise team spotted the men off Isla Mujeres, Mexico, on their scheduled route from Texas to the western Caribbean,  Carnival said in a news release .

The men ended up in the middle of the ocean after their boat sank, and they relied on a kayak for survival. They received first aid, food and a medical evaluation once they were safely aboard the cruise ship.

The cruise ship contacted the Mexican navy and transferred the men to its custody shortly after the rescue. Officials have not released their identities.

The rescue occurred about a month after a similar incident in which the Carnival Vista team saved six men stranded in the ocean near the Dominican Republic after a small cargo vessel capsized. 

The Carnival Jubilee will continue on its scheduled route.

Katherine Itoh is a news associate for NBC News.

• water rescue

Cruise ship that departed from Galveston, TX rescues 2 men whose boat sank in Gulf of Mexico

A Carnival cruise ship that departed from Galveston, Texas last week rescued two men after their boat sank in the Gulf of Mexico.

The men were using a kayak to stay afloat after their boat sank.

According to the cruise line, Carnival Jubilee's team rescued the men off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

The crew spotted the two men in a kayak and brought them on board, where medical staff evaluated them and gave them first aid and food before dropping them off on land.

Photos from Carnival show the Jubilee crew pulling the men to safety.

Carnival Jubilee continued with its regular schedule, the cruise line said.

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Carnival cruise ship rescues 6 people after small cargo boat capsizes

TAMPA, Fla. ( WFLA ) — A Carnival cruise ship rescued six men Wednesday morning after a small cargo vessel capsized overnight.

The cruise line said in a press release that its Carnival Vista team saved the men, who were stranded in the middle of the ocean near the Dominican Republic, after the ship’s onboard monitoring system received an emergency alert.

The crew spotted the six men on a life raft, stopped to rescue them, and brought them aboard.

The U.S. Coast Guard later rescued six additional crew members who had been on the small, unidentified vessel. Carnival said it alerted the Coast Guard about the additional missing crew members, which led to a “successful search and rescue operation.”

The cruise ship departed from Port Canaveral on Sunday, Dec. 10 and was advised to return to its regularly scheduled route. It’s visiting Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, as part of a six-day cruise.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WANE 15.

A look at the most expensive superyachts at the Palm Beach yacht show and their insane features, from basketball courts on deck to ice baths and saunas

• The Palm Beach International Boat Show kicks off later this week.
• Eight megayachts are expected to be on display for would-be buyers and charter customers.
• These are the show's biggest yachts — and how many millions of dollars they are going for.

The Palm Beach International Boat Show — the yacht world's flashiest event stateside — is returning this year with over 800 boats for both deep-pocketed potential owners and window shoppers to peruse.

While it's impossible to know what exactly will be on display until the show begins on Thursday, it's expected that eight megayachts — generally defined as ships over 60 meters long — will be docked at the show and at nearby marinas like the Rybovich Marina in the ritzy Florida town.

Some of these are for sale at eye-popping prices, but others are available to if in case you fancy living like a billionaire for a week or two this summer (and if you have six figures to spare on a vacation).

These are the eight biggest yachts that will be at the Palm Beach International Boat Show and nearby marinas, in size order.

Nero: 90.1 meters

Price: From $497,000 a week (charter) Standout features: Pizza ovens, beauty salon, massage room, resistance pool

Reportedly owned by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien, Nero is modeled after J.P. Morgan's 1930s ship , and was built in 2007 and updated in 2021.

She now boasts a gym on her sundeck with multiple cardio machines and a beauty salon, and has an on-board beautician for manicure, pedicure, hair, and massage needs. There's also an upgraded movie theater, two new pizza ovens, and both a pool and a jacuzzi.

For those who want to go overboard, she has more than a dozen toys, including a waterslide, Jet Ski, and flyboard.

Victorious: 85 meters

Price: From $876,600 a week in the summer and $950,000 a week in the winter Standout features: Hammam (Turkish bath), wine cellar, wood-burning fireplace, children's playroom

Victorious brings a party vibe to the yacht show. With a beach club on board, a wine cellar, a cigar clubroom , multiple bars, and a lounge with a piano, the vessel is made for entertaining. Plus, there's a playroom and movie theater to entertain the kids.

For tamer charter clients, Victorious has a suite of wellness features such as a gym, massage room, beauty salon and hammam, or Turkish bath — perhaps a custom request of her owner, Turkish businessman Vural Ak.

She also boasts a treasure trove of water toys, including Jet Skis, jetsurfs, inflatable kayaks, and scuba equipment.

Casino Royale: 72 meters

Price: TBD Special Features: Infinity pool, helipad, private jacuzzi

Purchased and refitted by car dealer magnate John Staluppi last year, Casino Royale is the latest of his James Bond-inspired yachts (he's also owned an Octopussy and a Skyfall, among others).

Casino Royale has a helipad that turns into a dancefloor, an infinity pool, and a wellness center with a gym and sauna. The owner's cabin has its own deck, which features a private bar and jacuzzi.

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However, the boat's price isn't listed, and while she's not necessarily officially for sale, that might change depending on who's prepared to buy, Mr. Bond.

Talisman C: 70.6 meters

Price: $60 million (or from $567,000 a week to charter) Special features: Massage and beauty room, private library

Likely the largest yacht for sale (not just charter) at the show, the Talisman C is a 2011 six-bedroom boat. The owner's cabin comes with an en suite bathroom, dressing room, private library, and crystal chandeliers.

Amenities include a gym, a beauty room, oversized jacuzzi, and a fully equipped bar. Her crew of 19 includes a trained masseuse, and the toy room comes equipped with a wakeboard, eFoil , and WaveRunners.

Joy: 70 meters

Price: From $650,000 a week Special features: Disco club, basketball court, onboard fitness instructor

Superyacht Joy testifies to the fact that owners want as many on-board experiences as they can get.

There's an expansive suite of fitness features, including a basketball court (don't shoot that hoop too hard!), a personal trainer on staff, boxing equipment, and a handful of machines. For post-workout winddowns, there's a spa with a steam room and onboard masseuse. And for entertainment, there's both an outdoor and indoor cinema, and a disco club.

Triumph: 65.4 meters

Price: From $707,600 a week in the summer and $650,000 a week in the winter Special features: Sauna, helipad, banana boat

This 2021 superyacht is named after Triumph motorcycles — a reported favorite of her rumored owner, British businessman Chris Dawson — and even has one on display as an art piece in the upper deck's lounge. The primary suite is 1,400 square feet and has its own study , and there's a sauna, an indoor-outdoor gym, a helipad, and a massage room spread among her six decks.

She boasts an "armada of water toys," including two kinds of Jet Skis, electric water bikes, and a banana boat.

Seanna: 64.5 meters

Price: $54,000,000 (or from $462,000 a week to charter) Special features: marble foyer, movie room, sundeck pool

The recently refurbished Seanna is available for sale and charter.

Her indoor-outdoor gym is on sea level so that passengers can take a dip after a session with the onboard personal trainer. There's also a sundeck pool, a helipad, a two-room massage facility, and, for the more cerebral guests, a library with an electric fireplace.

There are a number of toys on board, including a popular water trampoline and two WaveRunners.

Come Together: 60 meters

Price: $65,000,000 Special Features: DJ and videographer on board, ice bath, sauna

Next-to-new yacht Come Together is looking for a new owner after doing charters during the 2023 season.

The Beatles' influence is evident beyond the yacht's name, with guitars dotting the sky lounge and a crewmember who doubles as a DJ. There's also an outdoor cinema and bar for entertainment and an ice bath and sauna for the day after the party. The owner's suite has a private study and lounge, and each guest cabin has its own ensuite.

The sale includes a number of toys, like Jet Skis, kayaks, and Seabobs.

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