A Canadian on a cruise through the Caribbean got a sobering, first-hand look at what it's like for migrants who risk their lives in a desperate attempt to escape hardship.

Darlene Robertson was on her first cruise earlier this month, a 10-day trip with her sister through the Caribbean. They had set sail from Tampa, Fla. and were headed for Honduras, their first port of call.

"It was going great. I got up Monday morning and my sister was sound asleep and I noticed the boat wasn't moving," she recalled to CTV Edmonton.

Realizing something unusual was happening, Robertson went to her cabin window. At first she thought she could see nothing out of the ordinary.

"And then I see this speck off in the distance and I said, 'That's a raft'," she said.

She immediately grabbed her camera and captured images of a rescue boat from the ship going out to help the people on the raft.

Nine people were on the raft, which was floating in the middle of the ocean in 30-degree Celsius heat, with no land in sight.

The rescue took over an hour as the ship's crew inspected the six men and three women and then brought them aboard. All nine migrants were escaping from Cuba. They had been on the open water for three days with few supplies.

"These people had no lights on their raft at all. They had a makeshift sail that was made out of a sheet. They had nothing, nothing at all," Robertson said.

Cruise line officials confirm the migrants were given medical care, food and clothing before being left with authorities in Honduras.

At a time when hundreds of migrants are risking their lives or perishing while trying to cross the waters between Italy and Libya, Robertson said it was eye-opening to see what people will do to try to find a better life.

"I think it's important that people see what's going on out there," she said, adding she was glad to be able to record the rescue with her camera.

"…It's quite an accomplishment to save those people and be a part of it."

Now, two weeks later, Robertson said she still wonders what has happened to the rescued nine and if they achieved what they set out for.

With a report from CTV Edmonton's Ashley Molnar