Can We Trust New Cruise Passenger Bill of Rights? Christopher Elliott - The Washington Post
go to original June 14, 2013

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) announced the adoption of a "Cruise Industry Passenger Bill of Rights." These voluntarily adopted policies provide transparency, consistency and accountability for cruise passengers regarding their rights to safety, comfort and care. (CruiseIndustryTV)

... Here’s what we have: a promise by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to add a list of “rights” to its ticket contracts, the legal agreement between passengers and the cruise line.

These include the right to leave a docked ship if it can’t provide essentials such as food, water, bathroom facilities and medical care; the right to a full refund for a trip canceled because of mechanical failures, or a partial refund if a trip is cut short for the same reason; and the right to timely updates about any changes in a ship’s itinerary caused by a mechanical failure or an emergency.

None of these rights are new. Instead, they codify “many longstanding practices of CLIA,” according to Christine Duffy, the organization’s chief executive. “The cruise industry is committed to continuing to deliver against the high standards we set for ourselves in all areas of shipboard operations,” she adds.

But would the bill have affected the outcome of any recent customer-service meltdowns, including the Triumph fiasco, or even the latest disaster, a fire that cut short a sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas last month? Stewart Chiron, a Miami travel agent who’s known for his pro-industry views, says that the answer is “no.”

Read the rest at The Wahington Post

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