Cruise ship rescues American students trapped in Israel

Cruise lines and cruise ships have widely been known now for their vacation value and appeal, but they can be much more. Cruise ships as well as all commercial vessels at sea like shipping containers, freighters and transport ships are required by maritime law to aid vessels that are in peril and even passengers stranded at sea when their vessel breaks down. 

Cruise ships have rescued hundreds of stranded people to include migrants who left a drift at sea and in some cases, people floating at sea from a sunken vessel or falling overboard.

Related: Royal Caribbean crew member shares how much money he makes

In recent years, cruise ships have been used for events like the 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville. The city of Jacksonville contracted with several cruise lines to offer hotel space on cruise ships. 

It was reported that when hosting a super bowl there are requirements like having enough security, emergency services, transportation and lodging for attendees from out of town. 

In this case, Jacksonville contracted five cruise ships, Carnival Miracle, Holland America Zaandam, Zuiderdam, Volendam and a ship from Reagent Seven Seas. 

It cost the city $11 million to charter the five cruise ships turned into mere floating hotels. as reported by Mitch Stacy from the Associated Press

Without them, the city would not have had enough lodging to host the spectacular Super Bowl where the New England Patriots squeaked out a win over the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.

Cruise ships have also been known to be used for other big world events like the 2009 Olympics in Barcelona and as humanitarian assistance like in Scotland and the Netherlands to house refugees fleeing from Ukraine during the start of the war in 2022.

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Cruise ship rescues students in Israel

As of mid-June 2025, Israel had hundreds of young adult students from the US and abroad who were visiting on a Birthright Israel heritage trip to learn about their culture and history firsthand. 

With conflicts rising between Israel and Iran, nearly 1,800 American students needed to evacuate immediately. With the airspace above shut down, this would not be an easy venture for so many people traveling at one time. 

That’s when the cruise line Mano Maritime/Mano Cruise, Israeli owned and operated cruise line, sprang into action and lent their cruise ship, the Crown Iris, to the Transport Minister of Israel. 

The crown Iris is a 1,700 plus passenger cruise ship with 750 state rooms, 680’ in length and is just over 40,000 gross tons. The Crown Iris docks up at the port of Haifa Israel and calls it their home. 

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Once the ship was secured, they quickly formulated a plan to shuttle and move hundreds of people out of Israel to a much safer haven. 

On June 17 they loaded the ship to capacity with the students and several others and sailed to the nearby Island country of Cyprus. This was a one-way trip to safety where they could arrange for a safe way to get home.  

According to a government official I spoke with yesterday, the US and Florida charted flights to Cyprus to help retrieve the stranded students and others who were seeking safety. 

The cruise ship Crown Iris, known for its vacation appeal, quickly switched to a luxury transport ferry on an 8-10 hour/250 plus mile journey. The cruise ship now ferry ship, switched gears upon dropping the student passengers, to on June 18, bringing home Israelis who were diverted on their flights home to Israel to Cyprus, due to the air spaces over Israel being shut down. 

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