Cruise Ship Rafters: Disney Picks Up Cuban Migrants; How Long Were They Out At Sea?

Two Disney cruise ships off the Florida Keys picked up a group of 21 migrant rafters on two separate days last week. The rafters are currently in U.S. Coast Guard custody. An officer of the ship, called the Carnival Conquest, told CNN that the 13 people picked up by his ship are Cuban.

Disney spokeswoman Rebecca Peddie said that the crew of the other Disney cruise ship, the Wonder, rescued 8 of the 21 rafters at the request of the Coast Guard last Thursday afternoon. The Wonder was in the midst of a five-night cruise upon being picking up the rafters who were given food, water and medical attention. No deaths or serious injuries were reported.

An iReporter captured images of the rafters as the cruise ship neared them and before they came on board. The photo shows eight men on a small, evidently makeshift, boat; some of them smiling as they look up at the ship. According to the iReporter, an announcement was made over the intercom notifying passengers in the late afternoon that the ship would be encountering a raft of people and picking them up to later drop them off with the Coast Guard.

"They seemed like they were pretty happy to [be] rescued. The assumption was that they were probably trying to get to Florida from Cuba, one of the guys had an American flag on his head, we were so close to Cuba heading back to Miami," a CNN iReport producer wrote.

The second rescue, performed by the Carnival Conquest, occurred on Friday afternoon, also about 40 miles from Key West. Again, the ship consulted with the Coast Guard before acting to take them aboard and provide food, water and medical treatment. The Conquest was wrapping up a seven-day trip at the time.

"We are happy to have come to the aid of these individuals and to support the long-established tradition among the global maritime community of providing assistance to mariners in distress," Carnival President and Chief Executive Gerry Cahill said in a statement.