When something goes wrong that a cruise ship can't handle with onboard personnel, drastic steps are often taken. Sometimes, the ship changes its itinerary and heads for a port that has whatever is needed to solve the problem.
If that happens, passengers usually will be told a broad reason for the change, but nothing too specific. Icon of the Seas, for example, missed a port earlier this year because it was being slowed by a damaged engine.
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In other cases, when it's a medical emergency, the ship has a few options. It can head for the nearest port with available medical personnel and equipment, or it can have the impacted passenger airlifted to a hospital.
An airlift is incredibly rare because it's massively expensive, and it's not easy to pick up a passenger on a cruise ship from a helicopter. A woman was rescued from Carnival Vista by a Coast Guard evacuation on Nov. 14.
Carnival Cruise Line passenger rescued by helicopter
Transcript:
This is Cruise News Today with Doug Parker. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a daring medical evacuation of a 69-year-old woman from the Carnival Vista off the coast of Puerto Rico on Thursday. The patient, who experienced health complications, required more medical attention than the ship could provide.
Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a call for assistance and dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter to coordinate with Carnival Vista. All of this was happening during high winds and waves. The copter had to actually get closer to the ship than normal in order to pick the woman up. Then her husband and nurse followed suit.
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She was then transferred to a hospital in San Juan for further care.
Hats off to the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard.
That looked crazy.
And the move of the historic SS United States from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama has been delayed. Initially set to depart on November 15, plans have shifted due to logistical considerations and a tropical disturbance currently in the Gulf of Mexico.
No new departure date has been announced at this time. The 1952-built ocean liner is slated to become the world's largest artificial reef off the coast of Florida. Okaloosa County also plans a museum in Destin, Fort Walton Beach to honor the ship's legacy.
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And Carnival Cruise Line has expanded its 26 itineraries in 2027 featuring new sailings from New York City on Carnival Venezia and additional sailings from Long Beach on Carnival Forense and Carnival Radiance.
Venezia's seasonal deployment in Manhattan will offer 4-8-day cruises, including sailings to Bermuda, Canada, and the Caribbean. While over in Long Beach, Calif., departures include short trips to Mexico on Carnival Forense and extensive itineraries on Carnival Radiance, such as Mexican Riviera cruises and 14-day Hawaii cruises.
Carnival Panorama will also continue year-round sailings in Long Beach.
Doug Parker with Cruise News Today. Take care.
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