Caribbean cruise ships are increasingly becoming the site of maritime rescues, with almost 5000 Cuban migrants being picked up at sea.

Just two nights before passengers of the Celebrity Beyond had been enjoying champagne and a glitzy New Years’ ‘sail away’ party. They hadn’t expected that their luxury cruise would become a humanitarian rescue vessel.

On January 2, passengers were informed that there was a developing situation and a ship in distress.

The small, improvised boat was spotted flagging down the cruise ship. Onboard were 19 Cuban migrants who had been at sea for days.

A 3,260-passenger luxury vessel, with suites costing up to $1,200 per night - the Celebrity Beyond loomed in stark contrast to the migrant vessel. Fortunately the quick thinking crew were able to act quickly to get them safely aboard.

As one of Celebrity’s Fagship Vessels in the region, it brought the incident into sharp focus.

A US Coast Guard vessel intercepts a migrant vessel south of Key West, Florida in December. Photo / US Coast Guard, Supplied

At the helm Captain Kate McCue - who is a celebrity in her own right with half a million TikTok followers - shared her view of the rescue.

America’s first female cruise captain, she said that it was part of the maritime code and her duty to come to the aid of the vessel in distress.

 “Thank you to all the crew who made this rescue possible. Chief Officer Nikos, you will always be my eagle eyes!” she posted via her social media along with a clip of the rescue.

However this was not a lone incident. In under a week, on January 7, the Beyond would be making yet another rescue of a migrant ship, stuck at sea.

According to the US Coast Guard, there has been an uptick in ships being picked up at sea. 4,795 people have been rescued since 1 October. With almost as many Cuban migrants making the crossing in the first two weeks of January as the whole of 2022, the experience of encounters with migrant vessels are likely to increase.

So far this year there have been at least seven such rescues by cruise ships in the region.

The latest occurred this weekend with Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas identifying a small boat with 17 people adrift onboard.

On Saturday the ship diverted its course to assist the makeshift vessel, while en route to the Bahamas. All those onboard, who identified themselves as Cuban nationals according to Fox News, were rescued. Although it meant that the itinerary had to be altered to forgo one of the planned stops.

The Cruise operator said in a statement that the crew of the Liberty was “actively giving them medical attention, and working with the United States Coast Guard.”

But what happens to those picked up at sea? This depends on where they are picked up.

The 17 migrants were rescued and given medical attention aboard the Celebrity Beyond. Photo / Instagram, captainkatemccue

What happens to migrants picked up at sea?

According to the US Coast Guard, most of the Caribbean migrants picked up at sea are transferred to US Customs and Border Protection.

Those intercepted are given food, shelter and a legal hearing whether they have the “right to remain”, however the exact process is a murky one.

Talking to CNN last week, Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander John Beal said that of the six boats intercepted by cruises most passengers have already been repatriated to Cuba. In some cases the turnaround is less than 48 hours.

For passengers, whose holidays become the scene of a maritime rescue, it is a distressing insight into the number of people trying to make the dangerous journey to the US.

Australian passenger Kester Howard, who was aboard the Celebrity Beyond on 2 January, said that it was a harrowing experience. The traveller from Melbourne shared clips of the event to Facebook.

Although no guests were directly involved in the rescue, she said they could hear cries “Help me! Please!” from the waves. Some passengers were shouting support back too, she said.

Spotted in the dusk with little daylight remaining, Howard said that it was a miracle they were spotted at all.

“I honestly don’t know how they spotted them,” she wrote. “Makes me wonder how many others are out there tonight and how many drown at sea.”