According to a recent Reuters article, consumers sign away a handful of
rights when they buy a ticket for a cruise -- which is essentially a contract -- to embark
on a cruise.
According to the story, Carnival makes up about half of the cruise
market, but its contracts are quite typical. Here's what consumers are handing
over -- along with their cash:
A guarantee that
the cruise will actually happen.
Carnival can cancel any
cruise at any time, or change the itinerary according to the contract. It will
owe you a refund if the cruise is completely canceled, or a partial refund if
the company changes its mind and leaves you at some port along the way. There's
no additional refund in the contract for airfare home. If you cancel within two
weeks of booking you'll most likely owe full fare anyway, under the contract.
The right to sue
when and where you want.
Like most consumer legal
contracts these days, the Carnival ticket contract includes an arbitration
clause that requires you to submit claims for lost luggage and the like to
binding arbitration in Miami-Dade County, Florida. If you do want to file suit
for a personal injury, you would be required to do that in the U.S. Federal
District Court in Miami.
Furthermore, there are
lawsuit deadlines in cruise contracts that many attorneys and passengers aren't
even aware of. The contract requires injured parties to notify Carnival within
six months and file suit within a year.
The right to ask
for sizeable punitive damages.
There are two different kinds
of ticket contracts: Domestic ones, which do not cap liability, and
international contracts, such as the ones the passengers of the Costa Concordia
likely agreed to when they boarded their ship. That contract is subject to an
international agreement called the "Athens Convention," which limits
liability to about $80,000.
The right to
emotional distress.
What if you're traumatized
by your cruise – say, if a loved one is injured or killed on the ship? Unless
you personally were at risk for the same injury (as would likely be the case in
a disaster like the Costa Concordia's accident), you probably waived your right
to claim emotional distress in the contract.
The right to
privacy.
When you sign the contract,
you give the company the right "at all times with or without notice"
to search your bags and personal effects. That's so they can make sure you're
not smuggling any firearms, explosives, or alcohol onto the ship.
The contracts give the
cruise line the right to use pictures and videos of you for commercial
purposes--without any further permission from – or compensation to –
you. The right to use your own pictures. Carnival reserves the rights to
your pictures – you don't. Passengers agree that they "will not utilize
any photographs ... for non-private use without express written consent of
Carnival."
Protection from
theft.
In the event that personal
items go missing on the ship or luggage is lost, The ticket contract
limits the company's liability for lost or damaged bags and their contents to
$50 per guest or $100 per stateroom. If your items are worth much more than
that, you can buy added coverage by declaring the value of what you are
bringing onto the ship and paying 5 percent of its value.
Reuters recommends if
you're bringing expensive jewelry or other items on board, make a written list
of the value, pay the 5 percent and make sure the crew gets a copy of that
list.
Still planning that winter
cruise to the Caribbean? Remember the golden rule of the educated consumer: do
your research, know what the risks are, and don't sign anything you don't
understand.
