Cruise line bill of rights – trustworthy?

The cruise line bill of rights in the United States. Maybe it was the threat of government regulation from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a vocal critic of the cruise industry that made it move.

The cruise line bill of rights in the United States. Maybe it was the threat of government regulation from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a vocal critic of the cruise industry that made it move.

Then again, maybe we should just take the cruise industry at its word on its decision, announced just before the Memorial Day holiday, to introduce a passenger โ€œbill of rights.โ€

But hereโ€™s what we have: a promise by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to add a list of โ€œrightsโ€ to its ticket contracts, the legal agreement between passengers and the cruise line.

These include the right to leave a docked ship if it canโ€™t provide essentials such as food, water, bathroom facilities and medical care; the right to a full refund for a trip canceled because of mechanical failures, or a partial refund if a trip is cut short for the same reason; and the right to timely updates about any changes in a shipโ€™s itinerary caused by a mechanical failure or an emergency.

None of these rights is new. Instead, they codify โ€œmany longstanding practices of CLIA,โ€ according to Christine Duffy, the organizationโ€™s chief executive. โ€œThe cruise industry is committed to continuing to deliver against the high standards we set for ourselves in all areas of shipboard operations,โ€ she adds.

But would the bill have affected the outcome of any recent customer-service meltdowns, including the Triumph fiasco, or even the latest disaster, a fire that cut short a sailing on Royal Caribbeanโ€™s Grandeur of the Seas recently? Stewart Chiron, a Miami travel agent whoโ€™s known for his pro-industry views, says that the answer is โ€œno.โ€

Rather, he thinks that the reason for the bill is political. Late last year, CLIA merged with several trade groups, including the European Cruise Council, the Asia Cruise Association and the Passenger Shipping Association, and is just taking the new organization on a โ€œtest driveโ€ with this bill.

โ€œIt made sense to quickly agree on a consistent cruise passenger bill of rights,โ€ he says.

Perhaps too quickly. Although CLIA representatives claim that they collaborated closely with Schumer on the bill, the senator appeared to be caught off guard by the sudden announcement, made at a time when no one was likely to pay attention to it.

In a letter to CLIA, Schumer pressed the association for specifics on its new pledge. Who determines that essential provisions such as food and water canโ€™t be provided? What exactly are the cruise linesโ€™ current reimbursement practices? How will passengers be notified of changes to their itinerary?

Schumer has called the bill โ€œa step in the right directionโ€ but has stopped short of endorsing it. โ€œI still have many remaining questions, both on the content and how the bill of rights will be enforced,โ€ he told the Associated Press. A CLIA representative said that the organization will answer him โ€œsoon.โ€

Passengers are skeptical, too. Some say that theyโ€™d prefer deeds to words when it comes to passenger protections. โ€œIf the cruise lines had any brains, theyโ€™d forgo some of their billions of profits yearly for their good name and get their guys trained in damage control,โ€ says Richard Johnson, a retired naval officer who lives in Cedar Hill, Texas, โ€œAnd firefighting.โ€

To others, the existing passenger contract is something of a joke, and adding passenger rights language is little more than a punch line.

Bruce Helenbart, an engineer from Hazelwood, Mo., says that he recently had to wade through a 20-page cruise ticket contract and sign it before setting sail. It included disclaimers stating that the cruise line wasnโ€™t responsible for the shipโ€™s doctor, provisions limiting Helenbartโ€™s ability to sue the cruise line and a clause that allowed the company to alter the itinerary any way it chose to. Whatโ€™s more, the agreement was whatโ€™s known as an โ€œadhesionโ€ contract โ€” a one-way agreement that bound him. If he didnโ€™t sign it, he couldnโ€™t board.

โ€œItโ€™s all there except about the volunteering to be turned into a manipede,โ€ he says.

James Walker, a maritime attorney based in Miami, says that customers are correct to disbelieve the cruise industryโ€™s new customer-service rhetoric. โ€œItโ€™s actually a step in the wrong direction,โ€ he told me. โ€œWhat this bill of rights does, in fact, is limit the liability of cruise lines.

For example, if this bill had been in effect during the Triumph disaster, then Carnival would have been obligated only to refund part of the passengersโ€™ payment โ€” not to repay the cost of the entire cruise, cover passengersโ€™ transportation expenses, zero out their onboard bills, issue a voucher for a future cruise and pay them $500 each, as Carnival did, he says.

โ€œI would view this as a PR move that effectively limits the rights of passengers,โ€ he adds. โ€œThey are proposing rights that are beneficial to the cruise lines, but not to their customers.โ€

The cruise industry needs the positive publicity that would probably come from an uncritical industry press. But more importantly, says Walker, it hopes to keep likely legislation by Schumer, which would have the force of law, from ever reaching the Senate floor.

Bill or no bill, the fact remains that youโ€™re still giving up a lot of rights when you sign up for a cruise. Maybe too many. The only way to avoid that โ€” at least for the foreseeable future โ€” is to stay on dry land.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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