As a Cruiser, Do You Know Your Rights?
 

If you don’t remember the Carnival Triumph engine fire and power loss in the Gulf of Mexico in February 2013, be glad.

It wasn’t one of the industry’s shining moments.

But it did have one positive outcome: in the wake of the event, the industry was spurred to create the Cruise Industry Passenger Bill of Rights in May of that same year.

With its upcoming five year anniversary, it’s a good time to revisit the proclamation.

So, what is it exactly? It’s a set of standards for the cruise lines to ensure we are safe, comfortable and well cared for during our cruise.

It was created by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the trade association for the cruise industry. To continue to be part of CLIA, its more than 50 cruise line members had to pledge to abide by these standards.

In short, you’ll be pleased to know that Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Disney, Holland America, Princess, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean are part of CLIA and are thus bound to comply.

They have agreed that you, as a cruiser, have the right:

• To get off a docked ship if basic essentials such as food, water, restroom facilities and medical care can’t be provided onboard*
• To access full-time, professional emergency medical attention while you’re on the ocean, until you can get it on land
• For a ship that’s well trained in emergency and evacuation procedure

These relate to mechanical failure on board:

• For a full refund for a trip cancelled, or partial refund for one ending early because of such a failure
• For lodging if you have to get off the ship and stay overnight in an unscheduled port if a cruise ends early because of a mechanical failure
• To get transportation to the port of disembarkation or your home city if the trip ends early for the same reason
• Timely updates on itinerary changes due to mechanical failure

Needless to say, we all hope we don’t need to test out these rights on our cruise, but it’s comforting to know the lines have committed to adhering to them in case something does, indeed, go wrong.- Musing About Cruising

*Subject to the ship’s concern for safety and port immigration requirements
Source: cruising.org

Thank you for the link and the reminders.

Thanks for these reminders! I'm about to take my first cruise this summer and I'm definitely a fretter so having this resource is great.

Blsparrow, hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we enjoy cruises. What ship will you be on?

Don't take NCL
 

I made the mistake of taking NCL Pearl on a TA recently and the ship came down with a massive outbreak of Nora Virus. Quarantined for 4 days and when asked what was going on each day I received the standard reply of "we are not allowed to talk about that". Not acceptable as my wife was scheduled for surgery on returning home. When I finally gave up trying to reach a Sr Officer on board I emailed Top Management in Miami. The next morning at 7 AM there was a knock on my cabin door and we , still sick) were told we had 2 hours to get off the ship in Belgium. I asked to remain quarantined for an additional day as that would have put us at out destination in Amsterdam. After I got home I was called by the FBI/Joint Terrorism task force and also my local police. Nothing came of it as I never threatened anyone or thing. We have since learned we are both banned from all ships under the NCL logo for life. I am a retires professional contracts negotiator who help Top Secret and way beyond clearances for many of my working years. We finally got home and both ended up in the hospital. Did get a full refund. Just AVOID NCL until they change leadership. We have been avid cruises for over 40 years on most lines and NEVER ran into such an encounter. Goof luck if you chose NCL. In my opinion this particular Captain, Security and Officers ran the ship like Nazis enabled by Top Management. Remember you do lose your 1st Amendment rights when you get on a cruise ship flying a non American flag.

Richardkelly, what a scary incident! We have done one NCL cruise, which was great, and going on another next week. hoping for the best. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hope you have a great trip and educate yourselves about how to NOT get Nora virus. Like don't touch elevator buttons, don't touch stair railings and remember who might have touched that buffet serving spoon before you (most scary).Try not to use public restrooms. Wash your hands with soap as disinfectant does not kill Nora virus. Hate to say it but don't shake hands. The Captain no longer does it. Learned these lessons after encountering many encounters with the bug. It's like a flu on steroids and not pleasant.

Just take these few precautions and you should be fine.

Thanks, we do that stuff already, and more. Looking forward to a fun time, but will certainly be even more cautious.