Welcome to migrant cruises! Man on Carnival ship that saved 27 migrants from wooden dinghy off Cuba reveals the asylum seekers stayed onboard for two days before being dropped off in Mexico

A passenger aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship that picked up over two dozen Cuban migrants from a makeshift wooden craft revealed they were taken off board by armed Mexican authorities. 

The group of 27 migrants were rescued from the tiny dinghy on Sunday afternoon around 20 miles off the coast of Cuba, before passenger Frank White told DailyMail.com they spent two days aboard the cruise. 

Following the 48-hour stay on the 70,000-ton, 2,000 guest vessel, pictures provided by White showed the migrants being shuttled away from the ship by heavily armed Mexican police. 

He added that the cruise initially stopped in Roatan, Honduras on Monday, but Honduran authorities denied taking the migrants and they were forced to remain on the ship. 

Footage captured the moment over two dozen Cuban migrants were saved from a makeshift wooden craft around 20 miles off the coast of Cuba on Sunday 

A passenger aboard the ship revealed that armed Mexican authorities shuttled the migrants from the cruise ship, after Honduran officials rejected them on the first stop 

Footage captured the moment the migrants boarded the Carnival Paradise cruise ship on Sunday, which came after they reportedly signaled for help from out on the ocean.  

The cruise liner set off from Tampa, Florida on Sunday, but diverted its course hours later after crewmembers found the stranded refugees. 

The migrants, made up entirely of Cuban nationals, were helped aboard before they received food and medical attention, reports Fox13. 

The cruise is set to end in Florida on Thursday, where officials have typically repatriated Cuban nationals back to Cuba under similar circumstances. 

Before the rescue mission, the US Coast Guard said it had repatriated 348 migrants back to Cuba in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in October 2023.

The group of migrants were offered food and medical attention as the US Coast Guard was called to the Carnival Paradise cruise liner 

The rescue mission came as crews aboard the 70,000-ton Carnival Paradise vessel - which houses over 2,100 guests and almost 1,000 staff - diverted course after spotting the migrants signaling for help 

Crews aboard the 70,000-ton Carnival Paradise vessel - which houses over 2,100 guests and almost 1,000 staffers - altered their course around 2:30pm while on route to Roatan. 

Despite the detour, the cruise arrived at its intended port at Mahogany Bay. Honduras on schedule on Monday, the cruise liner said. 

The vessel is next set to port at Cozumel, Mexico on Tuesday before concluding its trip in Tampa, Florida on Thursday. Trips on the five-day cruise start at $464. 

While it is unclear when the migrants were let off the cruise ship, one passenger remarked on Facebook that the group were 'cruising with us' after the rescue.  

The most recent heroics aboard the Carnival Paradise cruise ship were not the first time it has been used to save stranded migrants. 

In 2019, a sailor was rescued near Cozumel, Mexico, and over 20 migrants were saved in two separate incidents in 2022 by staff on board the cruise liner, according to Travel and Tour World. 

That same year, dramatic footage also captured a rescue mission aboard an 11-night Caribbean cruise from Rotterdam in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where 14 people were saved as a Category-1 storm rolled in. 

Earlier this month, another group of 16 migrants were saved from a makeshift craft close to the Florida coastline, as the US Coast Guard released a shocking image of the improvised vessel used. 

Sixteen migrants on board the craft made of planks of wood and scraps were picked up by officers before being repatriated back to Cuba. 

'The Coast Guard's primary mission is to preserve human life at sea,' Lt. Matthew Miller, Coast Guard Seventh District, said at the time.

Earlier this month, another group of 16 migrants were saved from a makeshift craft close to the Florida coastline, as the US Coast Guard released a shocking image of the improvised vessel used 

The Carnival Paradise cruise liner (pictured) has made similar rescue missions in years past, including saving over 20 migrants in two separate efforts in 2022 

'The maritime environment is inherently dangerous. The Coast Guard and our HSTF-SE partners are committed to preventing unsafe voyages at sea and enforcing U.S. immigration laws and regulations,' Miller added.

'Do not take to the sea.' 

Following the rescue mission, the US Coast Guard said it had repatriated 348 migrants back to Cuba in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in October 2023. 

Efforts to enter the US illegally via boat have increased in recent years, with violence and unrest in neighboring Haiti causing a spike in daring attempts. 

On Friday, two days before the Carnival Paradise cruise rescue, a yacht was stopped by Miami-Dade County police marine patrol officers that turned out to be smuggling over 30 Haitian migrants. 

The stop near Key Biscayne, Florida, and was notably aboard a luxury 60-foot yacht, with migrants kept in a cramped cabin below the deck, reports the Miami Herald.