According to passengers onboard MS Disney Dream ship, on Thursday (January 5th), during the voyage between Cozumel (Mexico) and Castaway Cay (Disney Cruise Line’s private island), the ship's Captain had announced they would be turning around in order to investigate something - a man floating on a surfboard in the water. Those onboard said the vessel was close to Havana (Cuba) at the time but still quite a ways offshore.
A tender was sent out to pull up and rescue the stranded 29-year-old man, who was reportedly Cuban.
About 30 minutes after the rescue, Cuban authorities sailed to Disney Dream to repatriate the man and discovered an abandoned makeshift barge/boat, which he may/may not have come from.
Cuban CG came and returned the man to Cuba.
At the time of the accident, Disney Dream was on a 5-day Western Caribbean voyage roundtrip from PortMiami Florida USA. The itinerary started on January 2nd, 2023, and ends on January 7th, 2023.
Accidents of failed crossings between Cuba-USA/Florida are not uncommon, with both USCG and Cuban Coast Guard finding would-be illegal immigrants sailing between the nations quite often on makeshift boats. At its shortest, Florida and Cuba are only ~90 miles apart from each other, making the crossing a possibility.
For more Disney Dream incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.