• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

7 clauses to beware of in your cruise contract

Rambo

Timed Out
Timed Out
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
24,706
Reaction score
1,347
Saw this earlier and couldn't believe some of the crap they can get away with: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38792765.../?ocid=twitter Story continues below More below Sponsored links Advertisement | ad info Advertisement | ad info If you ever want to feel confused, outraged and powerless all at the same time, just read your cruise line's ticket contract. Carrie Streahle didn't know what was in hers until her cruise arrived late in Houston, and she had to pay an extra $1,900 in airfares and accommodations to get home. She contacted Carnival, asking for reimbursement. "Carnival's first response was that we didn't have travel insurance," she says. She protested. The cruise line responded again, this time blaming Mother Nature. "They said they can't control the weather," she says. No kidding. Carnival's ticket contract specifically says it can change arrival or departure times without notice, for any reason whatsoever, including weather. "Carnival shall have no liability for any compensation or other damages in such circumstances," it adds. "Carnival is not at fault because they were delayed by an act of nature," says Anita Dunham-Potter, who writes the blog ExpertCruiser. "When this happens, they have no control over the port, or the time it takes customs to clear the ship, which is ultimately what decides the time you can get off the ship." Cruise contracts are filled with clauses and supported by laws that the average passenger doesn't know about. If they did, they might think twice before setting sail. The paperwork addresses everything from what the cruise line owes you when something goes wrong (not much) when it's responsible for your well-being (hardly ever) to where and when you can sue them (in a faraway court, and almost never). "No one reads the fine print," says Al Anolik, a travel attorney in San Francisco. But if you do "” and a warning to all you non-attorneys out there, this isn't light reading "” you'll find the law limits the rights of passengers in many key areas, such as a cap on damages you can collect from a cruise line and time limits on any lawsuit. "There are no consumer protections in the ticket," adds maritime attorney James M. Walker, who writes a blog about cruise law. "It was drafted by the cruise lines lawyers to protect the cruise lines at the consumer's expense. It is a one-sided document." So what do you need to know before you set sail? Your laws aren't our laws. That's not hyperbole. It's literally true, according to Robert M. Jarvis, a maritime law professor at Nova Southeastern University Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "The law governing cruises has nothing to do with where a passenger lives or buys a ticket," he says. "Instead, federal maritime law, international law, the law of the country where the cruise ship is registered "” typically the Bahamas, Liberia, or Panama "” and the law selected by the cruise line are going to control, and all of these favor the cruise line." That's why it's so hard to find a good lawyer to sue a cruise line. There aren't many. Maritime law, or admiralty law, is "incredibly complex," says Jarvis. "Only a few lawyers have the necessary training and experience to deal with such matters, and most of them are working for the cruise lines," he adds. Don't hold us to the brochure. The ship may "” or may not "” keep the promised schedule. This is perhaps the most irritating contract provision. Here's Royal Caribbean's: "Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity." What's more, it owes you nothing if it does. "Everything is subject to change and availability," says Kristen Bentz, a travel consultant in Mesa, Ariz. "Basically, prices, rooms, excursions, itineraries, and anything not guaranteed is up to the cruise line's discretion." The quack who treated you isn't our problem. Most medical care on cruise ships is perfectly adequate. But just in case it isn't, cruise lines have a clause that say they aren't responsible for the malpractice of the ship's doctors. Have a look at paragraph 13 of Princess' passage contract: "Doctors, nurses or other medical or service personnel work directly for Passenger and shall not be considered to be acting under the control or supervision of Carrier, since Carrier is not a medical provider. Similarly, and without limitation, all spa personnel, photographers, instructors, guest lecturers and entertainers and other service personnel shall be considered independent contractors who work directly for the Passenger." In other words, when a doctor's negligence leads to the death of a family member, the cruise line is off the hook. "The passenger is left with the problem of having to bring a claim against the doctor who inevitably is not a U.S. citizen, often has no insurance, and is not subject to personal jurisdiction here in the U.S.," says Walker. Kids and retirees are second-class citizens. The survivors of children or retired passengers who die on cruise ships have no right to compensation except for burial and funeral expenses, according to Walker, who recently wrote about this quirky provision on his blog. It turns out that when passengers die on the high seas, the "Death On The High Seas Act" applies. "It limits the recovery of the surviving family members to what is called pecuniary losses," he says. "This means that only lost wages and burial or funeral expenses are permitted." If you're a child or a retiree, and not earning wages, the only compensation is for the costs of the burial. Wanna sue us? Come to Miami. These are called "forum selection" clauses, and they require you to sue the cruise line in a particular court. "Forum selection clauses have been routinely enforced for many years," says Thomas Dickerson, author of the book Travel Law. "However, recently, the courts have consistently enforced a federal forum selection clause, which requires injured passengers to sue in federal court in Miami instead of state court "” the significance being that jury trials may not be available in federal court." That makes suing a cruise line difficult, and often impossible. Time is short. There's a one-year limitation period to file a claim, and a six-month period to write a letter to the cruise line when the passenger has been injured, says Walker, the maritime attorney. "This is a relatively short period of time, compared to the statute of limitations of most states," he says. "Florida, for example, has a four-year limitations period." What if you miss your deadline? Walker says people who have, contact him all the time. "There is nothing we can do for them." If you think that's bad, get this: Experts agree that the contracts are getting worse. "In the last decade, cruise lines have had to tighten the reins," says Bentz. "Contracts have gotten a little longer and a little less customer-friendly." That means we may one day look back on 2010 as a time when cruise lines still cared about their passengers.I have a sinking feeling that might be true.
 

Infrasonic

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
1,601
Reaction score
40
Interesting...
plain.gif
 

MetroStyles

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
14,586
Reaction score
30
Lol, cruises suck in the first place.
 

IUtoSLU

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
2,270
Reaction score
7
Brings back law school memories.
 

SField

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
6,139
Reaction score
24
I went on a cruise once. I will never, ever, do it again. If ever there was a travel idea made for fat, stupid, uncultured Americans, that would be it. And this is on one of those premiere lines.
 

Thomas

Stylish Dinosaur
Spamminator Moderator
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
28,098
Reaction score
1,279
Originally Posted by SField
I went on a cruise once. I will never, ever, do it again. If ever there was a travel idea made for fat, stupid, uncultured Americans, that would be it. And this is on one of those premiere lines.

Same here. God it was awful: one the trip back the stabilizers broke and the ship swayed non-stop. I wound up swaying as I stood still for the next week.

Our friend took her daughter's girl scout troop not long after, the ship was stranded in the gulf, never made it to the destination port, and eventually limped back home. That was a disaster, and the best they got from it was 25% off a future ticket.
 

MetroStyles

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
14,586
Reaction score
30
When people ask what kind of people I discriminate against - it's cruise people. Except for this one chick who is really cool whose parent's take her on free family cruises annually. That doesn't count because it isn't of her own volition.
 

SField

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
6,139
Reaction score
24
Originally Posted by MetroStyles
When people ask what kind of people I discriminate against - it's cruise people.
That distills every feeling I have too. I think cruise people might actually be my least favorite people to be around. The "formal" nights were hilarious. These people LIVE for these nights. Notch lapels, shiny maroon vests..... it was classic. They think they're at the Oscars.
 

Harold falcon

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
32,028
Reaction score
11,364
Cruises are evil.
 

Mark from Plano

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
11,059
Reaction score
1,477
I've liked most of the cruises I've been on. Not the one Carnival booze cruise. That sucked. But most of the others were relaxing and fun.

You guys are vacation snobs.
 

SField

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
6,139
Reaction score
24
Originally Posted by Mark from Plano
I've liked most of the cruises I've been on. Not the one Carnival booze cruise. That sucked. But most of the others were relaxing and fun.

You guys are vacation snobs.


No, it just depends what you want. For me, turning off my brain and eating mediocre food, being on a floating shopping mall in a cramped ****** cabin surrounded by fat people wearing tommy bahama isn't a vacation.
 

Mark from Plano

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
11,059
Reaction score
1,477
Originally Posted by SField
No, it just depends what you want. For me, turning off my brain and eating mediocre food, being on a floating shopping mall in a cramped ****** cabin surrounded by fat people wearing tommy bahama isn't a vacation.

I'd hate that too, but it doesn't describe any of cruises I've ever been on...well, maybe one or two. Writing that description and saying it's a description of all cruises is like saying all hotels are cockroach infested, drive-up blights, with degenerate desk clerks and a Denny's next door. That certainly describes a few (maybe a lot of them) but doesn't given any particular insight into what staying at the Pierre might be like.
 

SField

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2008
Messages
6,139
Reaction score
24
Originally Posted by Mark from Plano
I'd hate that too, but it doesn't describe any of cruises I've ever been on...well, maybe one or two. Writing that description and saying it's a description of all cruises is like saying all hotels are cockroach infested, drive-up blights, with degenerate desk clerks and a Denny's next door. That certainly describes a few (maybe a lot of them) but doesn't given any particular insight into what staying at the Pierre might be like.

I was on a Crystal cruise. It's supposed to be "high end".

Again, most of the food was bullshit, the service was nauseating, the ship is hideous, the cabins are awful, the people are worse... there is absolutely no culture. The "art" they had on the ship was just horrifying. It was like these hologram fantasy paintings.

I also was onboard the Celebrity Equinox which is supposed to be like this incredible ship. It sucked balls. You wouldn't get me anywhere near a cruise, ever.
 

Mark from Plano

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Apr 11, 2007
Messages
11,059
Reaction score
1,477
Originally Posted by SField
I was on a Crystal cruise. It's supposed to be "high end".

Again, most of the food was bullshit, the service was nauseating, the ship is hideous, the cabins are awful, the people are worse... there is absolutely no culture. The "art" they had on the ship was just horrifying. It was like these hologram fantasy paintings.

I also was onboard the Celebrity Equinox which is supposed to be like this incredible ship. It sucked balls. You wouldn't get me anywhere near a cruise, ever.


Great. You sound like one of those folks who makes traveling a delight for everyone around them. Tell me, what kind of vacations do you like?
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.3%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 61 39.1%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 10.9%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 17.9%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,220
Messages
10,579,519
Members
223,896
Latest member
MarkSturgell
Top