Navigating A Course To Justice
Last week, we wrote about how crew members from lesser-privileged areas of the world often rely on the cruise industry for their livelihood. The crewmembers aboard the two Bahamas Paradise cruise ships have kept on board without pay since March. They are among several thousand cruise ship workers who were waylaid aboard cruise vessels after the “no sail” order went…
Three referenda on the November ballot will deal specifically with size of cruise ships calling Key West and the number of passengers they allow off those ships. These proposed laws could have a serious impact on local businesses, affecting an estimated 1.1 billion dollars in tourist revenue. Now the Key Wests Harbor Pilots and the pier owner, Pier B have…
Early in the pandemic, the U.S. government had yet to place a “no sail” order over the industry. Cruise lines, however, after news broke that several outbreaks had occurred, canceled cruises that passengers had already paid for. The passengers filed suit against Royal Caribbean but recently withdrew that complaint. The voluntary dismissal came after Royal Caribbean filed a motion to…
We’ve discussed extensively the lawsuits emerging from Princess Cruises, another Carnival Corp. subsidiary, specifically, the Grand Princess and the Princess Diamond. Many commented that they believed these lawsuits were doomed from the start based on provisions under maritime law that restrict injury lawsuits against ship owners. Recently, a federal judge dismissed several lawsuits filed against Princess Cruises in which the…
Lawlor White and Murphey, Michael F. Guilford, P.A. and Parrish Appeals lost their attempt to avoid application of the federal court forum selection provision found in most passenger ticket contracts. The attorneys had drafted their complaints in fashion that avoided the federal court’s admiralty jurisdiction. When a passenger purchases a ticket from a major cruise line, the ticket is actually…
A Virginia couple recently filed a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean after they say they suffered severe burn injuries in a volcano eruption that occurred in New Zealand. The volcano erupted on December 9, 2019 on White Island. Forty-seven people were visiting the island at the time of the eruption, and 21 of those people were killed. Plaintiffs Matthew Urey and…
Holland America, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., has been hit with a COVID-19 lawsuit after an outbreak claimed the lives of passengers and crew. The outbreak occurred in March aboard the MS Zaandam. The plaintiffs hope to make the case for a federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of all the passengers aboard the MS Zaandam while the outbreak occurred. The…
You’ve likely heard of the Grand Princess and the Princess Diamond as two of the earliest locations where COVID-19 cases surged. Well, a third vessel is now under investigation after several passengers fell ill and at least a few died. The Ruby Princess recently embarked in the Philippines to drop off workers who were waylaid aboard the vessel since the…
You’ve likely read at least one article in the past few months discussing the fateful voyages of the Grand Princess and Princess Diamond. These were among the first two cruise ships reporting coronavirus cases in the United States. Passengers aboard both vessels have filed lawsuits against Princess Cruises and their parent company, Carnival Cruise. Of all the major cruise lines…
Nurses are claiming that Royal Caribbean and Nursecon stole their deposit for a convention that they were supposed to attend but were never able to due to the coronavirus. The nurses believe that they should get that money back, but Royal Caribbean seems unwilling to give it back. Jessica Mitchell filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 1,500 nurses each…