Cruise ship rescues 7 rafters in ocean

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship rescued seven people on a raft in the middle of the ocean on its way back to Port Everglades.

The cruise line reports that passengers on the Oasis of the Seas spotted the small blue raft Friday afternoon, and the captain turned around the 220,000-ton ship to rescue the rafters.

Royal Caribbean notified the U.S. Coast Guard, and the six men and one woman were transferred to their custody.

The cruise line described the rafters as Cubans, but the Coast Guard said the nationality of the group could not be immediately confirmed.

Another Royal Caribbean ship, Allure of the Seas, rescued nine Cuban rafters in May.