Coast Guard rescue crews in South Florida have been busy over the weekend with two Royal Caribbean vessels requiring medical evacuations on December 14, 2025.
First, the US Coast Guard Southeast, District 7, which covers South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean, reported its US Coast Guard Air Station Miami was dispatched to Grandeur of the Seas, which was 40 miles southeast of Miami.
The 73,817-gross-ton ship, which had departed from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on December 13, was en path to its first name, Royal Caribbean’s non-public vacation spot in Haiti, Labadee, when a 56-year-old man suffered from extreme belly ache simply hours into the voyage.
The air group, based mostly in Opa-Locka, arrived on the scene and airlifted the passenger to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in steady situation.
Following the swift and profitable rescue, Grandeur of the Seas maintained its journey with as much as 2,446 passengers and arrived on schedule for its Labadee name on December 15, 2024. It would proceed to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao earlier than returning to Fort Lauderdale on December 22.
In the meantime, off the alternative coast of Florida, US Coast Guard additionally reported its Cortez base, protecting the Tampa Bay and Sarasota space, additionally despatched a crew to medevac a younger woman from Radiance of the Seas for an undiagnosed well being situation.
The 90,090-gross-ton vessel carrying as much as 2,466 visitors had simply departed from Tampa for a 7-night Western Caribbean crusing and was simply 13 miles west of Anna Maria Island when the woman required emergency help.
“The feminine required increased degree care and was transferred to awaiting EMS at Station Cortez,” reported the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard used a ship to move the woman, accompanied by her mom and father. No additional particulars on her situation have been shared.
After the minor delay, Radiance of the Seas resumed her course to Cozumel, the place the vessel will arrive on schedule on December 16. The cruise will proceed to Belize, Honduras, and Mexico earlier than returning to Port Tampa Bay on December 21, 2024.
Coast Guard to the Rescue for Cruise Ships
These weren’t the primary cruise rescues the US Coast Guard groups have executed in December.
On December 1, 2024, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Jubilee needed to flip again towards Galveston, Texas, when a 64-year-old man required an airlift.
The passenger, experiencing appendicitis-like signs, was rescued by an Air Station Corpus Christi group, assisted by an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew.
Simply days later, on December 3, 2024, one other vessel within the Carnival fleet wanted help off the coast of North Carolina.
The Carnival Delight, crusing from Baltimore to the Bahamas, needed to flip towards the Outer Banks to satisfy with the US Coast Guard to get a male passenger to an area hospital for an undisclosed medical emergency.
Though these incidents have been latest, Grandeur of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas haven’t skilled any emergencies as of late. Actually, most sicknesses on cruise ships may be managed by onboard medical doctors and medical personnel.
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Cruise ships are outfitted with medical facilities that may deal with a spread of well being points, from minor accidents to extra critical circumstances.
Whether it is decided a passenger wants pressing care, the extremely expert and courageous efforts of the Coast Guard come into play. These groups can function beneath all climate circumstances and cope with difficult hazards to ensure passengers get the care they want.
Undoubtedly, the households of the latest Royal Caribbean voyages who skilled their help first-hand really feel they bought the best reward forward of the vacations.
