Most times, when people go cruising, everything goes exactly and planned and it is truly a carefree vacation. Unpack once and visit multiple ports, eat lots of different kinds of food at different dining venues, enjoy excursions, onboard entertainment, and swimming. And the best part? Most of it is included in the cruise fare. But, sometimes, things do not go exactly as planned, and the cruise line faces everything from simple complaints to complex legal battles.
Cruise ships are basically their own not-so-little floating city and can face a myriad of lawsuits. There are several major lawsuits in the news today including a US Supreme Court decision allowing Havana Docks to sue four major cruise lines.
That case is a dispute over a Cuban dock. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC Cruises and revived a lawsuit involving port facilities that were seized in 1960 during Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution. These major cruise lines are accused of “trafficking in and profiting from confiscated property” when they used the docks in Havana when the region was opened briefly to passenger cruising between 2016-2019. If they are to lose, the four cruise lines would have to pay a combined $440 million.
There are two recent lawsuits highlighting cruise companies over-serving alcohol. Recently, a major cruise line was ordered to pay $300,000 to a passenger who consumed 14-shots of tequila. The jury decided the cruise line did not provide a “basic duty of care” to protect the passenger from a severe fall. Another cruise line faces a wrongful death suit for allegedly serving its passenger 33 alcoholic drinks in just a few hours.
The most common lawsuits are for slips and falls, or personal injury claims. Currently, a guest claims they suffered a neck injury on an onboard attraction and that injury was then misdiagnosed by onboard medical staff. Another negligent lawsuit claims a cruise line failed to properly indicate an area near a buffet entrance was hazardous thus causing a passenger to fail and sustain severe and permanent leg injuries.
Another negligent lawsuit is due to a dangerous shore excursion. The passenger was severely injured during an excursion on an ATV. The lawsuit states the cruise line did not vet the tour operator and did not warn passengers of the risks of the excursion. The passenger suffered a fractured collarbone and ribs during the excursion. Another passenger is suing a cruise line claiming her mobility scooter flipped as the result of a poorly maintained gangplank.
On a different note, cruise lines are also responsible for the information we divulge to them to book a cruise. A cruise line is currently being sued in a class action suit that states hackers breached the cruise line’s servers and were able to expose the personal data of passengers and employees.
As these multi-million dollar battles unfold, they are pushing cruise lines to train staff better. However, the complexity of suing a cruise line and maritime law are reminders to passengers to understand their rights before boarding.