During the coronavirus pandemic, many are realizing that companies are quick to mistreat their employees and customers. Cruise lines promise to keep safety as the top priority, however, in practice this industry showed that money over protecting passengers and employees matters.

Cruise Ship Owner’s Responsibility

A cruise ship has a duty to ensure safe transportation. Every country has its own vessel inspection laws, and inspection laws require a cruise ship to adhere to them. If the cruise ship is picking up passengers in U.S. ports, those cruise ships must adhere to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). This convention has strict requirements for crew competency and training, as well as numerous requirements for vessel seaworthiness.
Additionally, the Shipping Act of 1984 demands a heightened duty of care when it comes to cruise ships. They must ensure that all passengers arrive safely and owe a special duty of care to protect their passengers from criminal attacks.
If a passenger disappears from a cruise ship, the cruise line has a duty to perform a reasonable search and rescue, return to the place the passenger was last seen, and report the disappearance.

Cruises Kept Sailing

Instead of docking the ships and proactively protecting passengers and employees, cruise ships downplayed the dangers to consumers and kept sending out ships. There were outbreaks on board and warnings from public health officials, but ships kept going.