The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the cruise industry. The global outbreak has caused major problems for hospitality and travel in general, but the nature of the cruise industry, in particular, presents unique issues, including forcing potentially infected passengers to spend weeks in close proximity to one another, with limited medical care.

Under these new circumstances, cruise lines are often unable to guarantee the safety of their customers. The result has been a cessation of operations and employees stranded on ships, waiting to be repatriated to their home countries. Some companies have been sued for their alleged inadequate response to the crisis.

Problems Faced by Cruise Lines

The primary issue that cruise companies must deal with during the pandemic is providing a clean and sanitized environment. Thousands of people must live together in close quarters for weeks, eating, drinking, and socializing in close proximity, and touching surfaces that may be contaminated. While evidence suggests that COVID-19 is not spread through food, its ability to spread through HVAC systems is unclear. Also at issue is the ability of a cruise ship to spread contagion to other cities worldwide, as the ship makes stops for tours and excursions.

Frequent cruise ship passengers tend to be older, above 65 years of age. This age group is at a higher risk than the general population of suffering severe effects or death from the COVID-19 virus, and their medical needs are more extensive.

Health care on cruise ships is very limited. Even a large ship may only have a couple of doctors and a few nurses on board. A small medical staff such as this can be incredibly inadequate to deal with a major disease outbreak among the passengers. Ships must have medical staff on-call 24 hours a day, but this could mean that the limited staff becomes overworked during a viral outbreak.

How Can Cruise Lines Protect Their Passengers and Crew?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control provides federal guidelines for cruise ships in the form of the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). While these rules primarily address gastrointestinal and not respiratory illnesses, some of the recommendations overlap with CDC advice for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. A Carnival spokesperson has noted that the company has implemented protocols including monitoring guests for fever as well as additional procedures for cleaning and sanitation.

In response to the pandemic, the CDC announced an industry-wide No-Sail Order on March 14. The order remains in effect until July 24, or until the CDC director decides to rescind or modify the order, or the Secretary of Health and Human Services declares that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency. The order applies to all commercial passenger ships that carry more than 250 guests and where an overnight stay is anticipated.

Current Cruise-Related Lawsuits

It can be difficult to sue cruise companies, as they enjoy a number of protections, and are often not U.S. companies and not subject to many safety regulations that would normally protect customers and employees. Still, many cruise lines are facing lawsuits related to their response to the crisis:

• Carnival Cruise Lines has been sued by more than 60 passengers for failing to protect them from COVID-19. The lawsuit alleges that Carnival failed to sanitize the Grand Princess ship between voyages and didn’t screen new passengers for the disease.
• Costa Cruises has been sued in federal court by passengers of the Costa Luminosa vessel, alleging the company acted negligently in response to an outbreak on the ship. Three passengers on that voyage have died from COVID-19 so far.
• Royal Caribbean is facing a wrongful death suit after two crew members were airlifted off the Oasis of the Seas vessel, and a 27-year-old member of the Celebrity Infinity crew died from the virus.
• Holland America has been hit with a lawsuit after an outbreak of COVID-19 on their MS Zaandam vessel in March. The ship set sail from Buenos Aires on March 7 and stopped in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands before the trip was canceled a week later.

Recent Developments

Each cruise line has made their own decision as to when to resume sailing:

• Carnival plans to deny boarding to all guests age 70 or older unless they have a letter of fitness from their physician. Carnival cruises in North America are suspended through September 30, except for Carnival Legend, suspended through October 30, and Carnival Radiance, canceled through November 2. They will suspend their Australian cruises through August 31.
• Costa Cruises has suspended all cruises through August 15, and their Northern Europe cruises through the remainder of the summer season.
• Holland America is suspending global operations of its fleet through Fall 2020.
• Norwegian Cruise Line has suspended operations through September 30, and intends to resume sailing on October 1.
• Royal Caribbean has canceled its sailings until September 16, except for voyages to China, which they hope to resume in August.

Start dates will depend greatly on the progress of the outbreak at the time and whether there is a second wave of the virus in the fall.

What Cruise Passengers Should Expect in The Future

Guests should expect additional safety measures, such as pre-boarding health screenings, periodic temperature checks, and the suspension of buffets. Companies are expected to enhance their sterilization procedures and monitor public spaces, closing them early each day for deep cleaning. Ship crews will be trained in new procedures to combat outbreaks, and ships may expand their medical facilities and add new medical staff. Shore excursions will adopt protocols for the requirements of each port.

Global cruise lines represent a $45 billion industry, serving more than 20 million passengers a year. The cruise companies continue to make changes to make their vessels safer for the public, but there is much work to be done. Until there is a vaccine in place, cruise lines will remain in a frustrating state of limbo, and may continue to face litigative hurdles.

Contact a Cruise Ship Injury Attorney Today

Cruise lines are often international companies that are not subject to U.S. safety regulations, making cruise line legal cases particularly complex. However, the cruise line attorneys at Louis A. Vucci P.A. are highly experienced in this area of law. We have the skills and resources needed to uphold your rights and secure the full and fair compensation you need.

If you’ve suffered from COVID-19 or if you have lost a loved one to COVID-19 as a result of traveling on a cruise ship, don’t hesitate to contact our attorneys at (786) 375-0344 to schedule a free consultation. We’ll fight for the justice you deserve.

What was supposed to be a one- to two-week cruise for sun, fun, and a little R&R has turned into an extended nightmare for many people who embarked on a cruise recently. Ships are the perfect environment to foster the spread of infection, and the recent coronavirus outbreak has proven that fact.

It is hard to keep tabs on the number of people who have contracted coronavirus while on a cruise because the numbers just keep going up. What is not hard to track, however, are the ways that cruise line companies are trying to dodge their responsibility when it comes to compensating passengers who contracted the disease while aboard one of these ships.

Louis A. Vucci P.A. breaks down why it can be difficult to hold cruise lines accountable and what you can do about it.

Why Is Suing a Cruise Line So Difficult?

It can be very difficult for passengers of cruise liners to protect their legal rights when something goes amiss aboard a ship. Why is that? Unfortunately, many cruise lines have legal protections because they are not, in fact, U.S. companies. These companies are incorporated in foreign countries, which means they are not bound by U.S. employment standards, Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations, and other food and safety regulations.

The rules that have been put in place to protect Americans at work, on the roads, or at businesses, simply don’t apply to cruise lines. This isn’t just a niche problem that applies to small-time cruise lines either. News reports highlight the fact that Carnival is incorporated in Panama, Royal Caribbean is incorporated in Liberia, and Norwegian Cruise Lines is incorporated in Bermuda.

Major cruise lines have skirted U.S. laws and regulations by incorporating outside of U.S. jurisdiction, and that makes it more difficult for Americans who have suffered at their hands to seek justice.

What Can be Done to Help Cruise Line Passengers?

While being incorporated outside of the U.S. makes things more difficult and complicated for passengers and their attorneys, there are still ways to hold them accountable. It’s possible to recover damages by arguing to a judge that the cruise line in question knew their actions were “unreasonable under the circumstances.”

Cruise lines may have been negligent by ignoring the mounting evidence about the dangers the coronavirus pandemic posed to the public and failing to adequately warn their passengers and take steps to protect them.

There are even some maritime laws that could come into play like the Death on the High Seas Act. While it is an extraordinarily old law, attorneys are using every resource available to them to help passengers impacted by the coronavirus while out at sea. It may seem like an uphill battle, but it is a battle worth fighting.

Contact a Coronavirus Cruise Ship Lawyer Today

Louis A. Vucci P.A. is committed to helping people impacted by the coronavirus protect their legal rights from massive cruise line companies more interested in profits than people. While this virus may have changed the nature of how we work, it hasn’t changed how hard we work. We are here to fight for your rights and give you legal advice about all our options.

Contact Louis A. Vucci P.A. at (786) 375-0344 for a free consultation or fill out this form online. You may be eligible to recover compensation if you contracted coronavirus while aboard a cruise line.

Dzung Tran, a passenger of Miami-based Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor, filed a lawsuit against the company after his arm was ripped open while playing mini-golf on the cruise ship.

According to the lawsuit, Tran was playing mini-golf on the cruise ship last summer when he lost his footing, stumbled, and fell over a loose border on the course. The impact caused him to sustain numerous injuries on his arm, including a major gash that left his arm wide open. Tran said a club tore a major artery in his arm.

Carnival Cruise has yet to make a statement regarding the lawsuit as of the time of reporting.

At Louis A. Vucci P.A., our team of experienced legal professionals is fully engaged when it comes to handling cruise ship accident cases of any kind. Speak with a qualified member of our legal team by calling our offices today at (786) 375-0344 so that we can attend to your case right away.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship, Norwegian Escape, will feature a “Snow Room,” a revolutionary facility for the ship’s spa-goers who frequent such locales for relaxation and comfort while aboard.

According to the cruise line, the Snow Room, will be kept at around 21-32 degrees and manufacture fresh snow throughout the day. According to representatives from Norwegian, the facility will provide “a multitude of health benefits, including stimulating blood circulation in the body and strengthening the immune system.” The Snow Room will be part of the Norwegian Escape’s spa system that will also include a whirlpool, steam room, dry sauna, salt room and much more. It will also allow passengers to take a break from the heat on their sunny Caribbean vacations.

While cruises can be a fun way to vacation, it is important to be aware of the resources available to you if you get injured on your cruise. The attorneys at the Vucci Law Group, P.A. can make sure your rights will been upheld in the event of negligence, theft, assault, or injury. Call our offices at (786) 375-0344 to learn more.

A cruise ship passenger, who was not named by the authorities, was taken via helicopter to a hospital in Miami, Florida after the person incurred a head injury while aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Majesty of the Seas on May 21, NBC South Florida reported.

The cause of the head wound is still unclear, although authorities placed the time of the accident at 11:30 p.m. in waters not far from Miami. Miami Fire Rescue Captain Robert Hevia said the victim was brought to Mercy Hospital and was promptly admitted to the emergency room. The cruise ship continued to the Bahamas as planned without any delay of its travel schedule.

Despite being famous for their convenience as an inclusive vacation, cruises can be a dangerous place to sustain an injury. It may result in an injured or ill passenger waiting for adequate medical treatment not readily available on the ship. Call (786) 375-0344 to speak with a member of our Florida-based legal team at The Vucci Law Group, P.A. if you experience this situation.

This November, Miami, Florida-based Royal Caribbean International will be launching the North Star, a glass capsule designed to lift as many as 13 guests at a time 300 feet above the ocean, on their new Quantum of the Seas ship.

Other features of the 1,141-foot long, 16-decked ship Quantum of the Seas include a sports and entertainment complex complete with bumper cars, skydiving simulations, and a surfing simulator known as FlowRider. Quantum of the Seas is expected to launch on November 23, and will have the capacity to hold around 4,180 guests. It will travel a route between the Caribbean and New York City.

Cruise ships can provide guests with incredible opportunities for excitement and adventure, but unfortunately, cruise ship passengers may also be exposed to dangerous injuries or illnesses. If you or someone you love has suffered a cruise ship injury or illness, seek the legal help of our attorneys at the Vucci Law Group, P.A., by calling (786) 375-0344.

After experiencing repeated mechanical issue with its propulsion system, the Celebrity Millenium cruise ship has returned to port in Ketchikan, Alaska, canceling its current voyage and postponing several future trips. This week’s seven-day cruise, which began in Vancouver on August 16 and would have ended in Seward, Alaska, is not the first time the Millenium’s motors have malfunctioned—the ship’s three most recent voyages have been plagued with mechanical problems.

According to Coast Guard reports, one of the ship’s propulsion motors failed soon after leaving Ketchikan. Although the ship could sail at a slower speed with only one motor, the cruise line chose to cancel the voyage to ensure that the crew and passengers would remain safe. A spokesman for Miami-based Celebrity Cruises said the company “will do whatever is necessary to get our guests back home, at no additional cost to them.”

Passengers on the cruise have been offered full refunds, credits for future cruises, and air travel home. Celebrity said in a release that the Millenium, a 91,000 ton vessel, had more than 2,000 guests on board and 1,000 crew members. In addition to the August 16 cruise, Celebrity has also canceled the ship’s next four trips. The next scheduled cruise for the Millenium now leaves Sept. 22 from San Diego.

At Louis A. Vucci P.A., our legal team has extensive experience helping cruise passengers who have suffered financial damages or injuries recover compensation for their losses.