Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights
When you cruise you realize that you may
not go to all the schedule ports you wish, destinations may be changed, your
cruise possibly cut short, or even cancel due to bad weather. This is something
that is just understood by reasonable people when booking a cruise but it would
be a shame to miss your desired ports and/or your cruise cut short because the
Cruise Line did not maintain their vessel.
There has been lots of talk about
the need for a Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights due to mechanical failure
on the multiple mega-size cruise ships. One cruise line had 7 mechanical
failures on 4 of their ships in just the first 3 months of this year! That and
other disastrous situations on cruise ships that cost the lives of many people caught
the attention of governments and cruise customers over the past year or so.
The United States Congress had made
threats to write a Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights to force change in the Cruise
Line Industry. Many people were swearing off cruising fearing for their safety
and not wishing to be left stranded as thousands had been during different
cruise fiascoes. So rather than face the wrath of the U.S. Congress and their
paying customers the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) chose to come
up with their own, self-imposed Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights. The 25
cruise lines (this includes the Disney Cruise Line) that make up CLIA did not
state any penalties for not abiding by the Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights.
I believe this is a step in the
right direction in making customers feel safe on the cruise ships. I believe
that it states fair penalties for the Cruise Lines are that sending out sailing
ships with mechanical issues and then not taking care of their guests.
Here is the text of the Cruise Line
Passenger Bill of Rights:
international cruise line passenger bill
of rights
The Members of the
Cruise Lines International Association dedicated to comfort and care of all
passengers on oceangoing cruises throughout the world. To fill this commitment,
our Members have agreed to adopt the following set of passenger rights. The right to disembark a docked ship if essential provisions such
as food, water, restroom facilities and access to medical care cannot
adequately be provided onboard, subject only to the Master's concern for
passenger safety and security and customs and immigration requirements of the
port.
1.
The right to a full
refund for a trip that is canceled due to mechanical failures, or a partial
refund for voyages that are terminated early due to those failures.
2.
The right to have
available on board ships operating beyond rivers or coastal waters full-time,
professional emergency medical attention, as needed until shore side medical
care becomes available.
3.
The right to timely
information updates as to any adjustments in the itinerary of the ship in the
event of a mechanical failure or emergency, as well as timely updates of efforts
to address mechanical failures.
4.
Right to a ship crew
that is properly trained in emergency and evacuation procedures.
5.
The right to an
emergency power source in the case of a main generator failure.
6.
The right to
transportation to the ship’s scheduled port of disembarkation or the passenger’s
home city in the event a cruise is terminated early due to mechanical failures.
7.
The right to lodging
if disembarkation and an overnight stay in an unscheduled port are required
when a crew is terminated early due to mechanical failures.
8.
Right to have
included on each cruise lines website a toll-free phone line that can be used
for questions or information concerning any aspect of shipboard operations.
9.
The right to have
this Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights published on each lines website.
That is it, just 9 simply stated rights.
There’s nothing complicated but every Cruise Passenger needs to know the right
Disney Cruise Line did sign this Cruise
Line Passenger Bill of Rights and has posted them on their website. The actual
number of events related to mechanical failure on cruise ships is
proportionally fairly small when you consider how many ships are sailing the
oceans of this small world of ours. It’s just when something does happen
thousands of people are affected and their lives put at risk.
I know that the Disney Cruise Line will
have no problem standing by the standards as I know they’re one of the better
maintained fleet of ships.
