Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Getaway rescued a group of distressed sailors off the coast of Belize on Tuesday evening. The ship was sailing on a seven-day western Caribbean cruise that departed Miami January 28.
According to a statement by the cruise line, the ship responded to a distress call by the S/Y Larwin, a 42-foot sailboat, reporting that there were two people onboard and that the ship was taking off water. The Larwin was located off the coast of Belize, 24 nautical miles away from Norwegian Getaway, the closest vessel in the area. Norwegian Getaway’s Captain immediately diverted course and proceeded at full speed to rescue the two men aboard, Norwegian said.
Within approximately one hour, Norwegian Getaway arrived at the Larwin’s location, and the Captain dispatched a tender boat with seven crew members, Norwegian said. Norwegian’s team navigated to the sailboat and, despite challenging weather conditions, evacuated both people safely to Norwegian Getaway.
The Norwegian Getaway is in Roatan, Honduras today, February 1. The ship will make its final call in Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Miami as scheduled on Sunday, February 4, 2018.
Norwegian Getaway is currently homeported in PortMiami, offering a schedule of seven-day cruises to the western Caribbean. The ship will continue sailing the western Caribbean route at least through September as part of a recent change in plans by Norwegian Cruise Line that pulls the ship away from a number of destinations that were impacted by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. The new, seven-day western Caribbean itinerary will call at Roatan in Honduras; Harvest Caye in Belize; and Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico. The previous, seven-day eastern Caribbean route would have called at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola in the British Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas.
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