The ship was sailing off the Algarve coast, when the alarm was raised that the man was suffering health problems.
The Portimão Maritime Police were contacted at around 11am on Saturday morning to alert them to the medical incident aboard the ‘Saga Pearl II’.
The Ferragudo lifeboat immediately set off from its station for the ship.
According to the Maritime Police, “the 75-year-old British passenger, while conscious and stable, was suffering from a chronic illness requiring specialised medical care”.
The passenger and two companions were recover-ed from the cruise ship and brought back to land, to the station in Ferragudo, Lagoa, where they arrived at around 2pm. There, an ambulance belonging to the Lagoa fire-fighters was waiting, and took the British tourist to Portimão Hospital for treatment.