Disney Cruise Line Makes Emergency Stop After Passing Capsized Boat

After passing by a capsized boat, Disney Cruise Linehad to make an unexpected stop in the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, May 7.

Disney Cruise Line currently operates five ships -- the Disney Magic, the Disney Wonder, the Disney Dream, the Disney Fantasy, and the Disney Wish -- and offers a variety of itineraries to destinations around the world, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, the Bahamas, and more.

The Disney Dream is currently sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Barcelona, Spain. As the ship sailed Southeast of Bermuda, they passed by an overturned boat.

Passengers who were on board witnessed the unexpected event as the ship had to turn around to investigate.

Jose Carreon exclusively told The Blast that the Disney Dream passed a capsized boat late evening on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Shortly thereafter, an announcement came over the loudspeakers, informing the passengers that the ship had to turn around and investigate.

The ship stopped for approximately 30 minutes but then left the site. According to Mr. Carreon, the captain of the Disney Dream contacted local authorities.

Similarly, Kevin O'Connor, whose parents were on the Disney Dream, exclusively told The Blast that the ship "pulled alongside the capsized boat and began searching for signs of life."

Another passenger, Lacey Harris, told The Blast that the staff announced that "they saw lights and a capsized catamaran off the starboard side and would be stopping to investigate."

Ms. Harris witnessed the captain and crew "shine the big searchlight on the wreckage for about 30 minutes."

"They searched the water and wreckage, but no one was found," she exclusively told The Blast. "After they realized no one would be found, the Captain came back [over the loudspeaker] and announced they would be continuing on to Ponta Delgada and thanked us for our patience."

According to Ms. Harris, the Captain also said he contacted authorities in Bermuda.

This is not Disney Cruise Line's first run into a capsized boat. In 2016, three individuals were found clinging to a capsized boat about 40 miles north of Varadero, Cuba. According to ABC, U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas Jr. of the Southern District of Florida, the three were rescued by the Disney Cruise Line ship and were turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard, who discovered upon fingerprint analysis that two of the individuals had outstanding arrest warrants in New Orleans.

"I think it was evident from the law enforcement standpoint that they were fleeing the U.S. to avoid federal and state charges," Barry Golden, Senior Inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service, told ABC News at the time. "Cuba is somewhat a safe place for fugitives to hide."

All three men also had multiple arrests between them for credit card fraud.

Additionally, the Disney Dream stopped last year after a man was spotted in the water and needed rescuing. The individual was seen struggling in the water off the coast of Cuba and had to divert. According to a passenger at the time, the man was a 29-year-old from Cuba.

The Cuban Coast Guard later picked up the man from the Disney Dream and brought him to the mainland.

Earlier this year, a pregnant woman who was sailing on Disney Cruise Line had to be airlifted by the U.S. Coast Guard after needing a high level of medical attention.

According to FOX, in a video shared by the Coast Guard, a rescuer was seen "rappelling down from an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter" as she "required a higher level of medical care."

"Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a communication from the Disney Fantasy Monday morning requesting medevac assistance as the cruise ship was transiting 260 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico," the agency wrote in a press release at the time.

"Once on scene, the Coast Guard Jayhawk aircrew deployed their rescue swimmer aboard the cruise ship, who prepared a rescue basket and litter to safely hoist the patient and cruise ship doctor aboard the aircraft," the Coast Guard said.