cruise ship accident attorneys in Florida Tag Archives

Safety Tips for First-Time Miami Cruise Passengers

December 22, 2022 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

It is beyond exciting after you book your first cruise vacation and the departure date approaches. When you are cruising out of Miami, the Cruise Capital of the World, you will enjoy deluxe accommodations, stunning amenities, and a dizzying array of shore excursions. There are fun activities for guests of all ages, yet plenty of opportunities to relax. First-time cruises traveling with the family, on a romantic trip, or an action-packed vacation with friends will not suffer from a shortage of things to do.

If you have never been on a cruise before, you are probably doing your homework about what to pack, planning for excursions, and other basics. However, you may not focus on another important topic for cruise vacations: Safety. You will be briefed on ship and water safety upon departure, but there are additional factors that could put you at risk. A Miami cruise ship accident lawyer can explain legal remedies if you were hurt, and a few tips will help you protect your group.

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Cruise Lines Neglect Swimming Pool Safety Despite Tragic Drowning Accident

September 12, 2016 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Leading Cruise Lines Neglect Swimming Pool Safety Despite Tragic Drowning Accidents

When families elect to take advantage of the convenience and luxury of a cruise, the children predictably will spend lots of time in the pool. Many parents do not worry about the safety of their kids because cruise ships are filled with large staffs that often create an illusion of safety. What parents might not know is that several major cruise lines elect not to provide lifeguards for the safety of their guests. The failure to implement this basic safety measure is particularly troubling because the cruise industry has had its share of drowning and near-drowning accidents involving children. Given that approximately 1.5 million children travel on cruise ships annually, the investment in lifeguards to reduce the risk of drowning accidents seems to be a justified expense. Nonetheless, our cruise ship lawyers recognize that major cruise lines continue to gamble on the safety of their young guests by ignoring this obvious safety precaution.

Cruise Lines Continue to Place Saving Money Over Passenger Safety

CDC Declares Yet Another Outbreak Of Gastrointestinal Illness On Royal Caribbean Cruise

February 4, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

Wednesday, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas arrived back in a New Jersey port after passengers suffered one of the largest gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on a cruise ship in 20 years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) officially issued a cruise ship illness outbreak alert for the ship, on which 630 of 3,071 passengers (20.5 percent), and 54 of 1,166 crew (4.6 percent), reported falling ill with symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhea. The CDC still has not officially announced the cause of the illness, but our Florida maritime accident attorneys are waiting with anticipation for a discovery.

According to the CDC, one of its Vessel Sanitation Program epidemiologists and environmental health officers, along with another independent epidemiologist, boarded the ship while it was in port at St. Thomas, and travelled with the ship back to port in New Jersey. The CDC team conducted an investigation and environmental health assessment in an attempt to determine the cause and origin of the outbreak. The CDC team is supposed to continue the investigation through the boarding of new passengers for the ship’s next voyage slated to begin tomorrow.

Government Accountability Office Report Calls Into Question Cruise Industry’s Compliance With Cruise Vessel Security And Safety Act

January 21, 2014 | by Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.

In July of 2010, Congress passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (“CVSSA), legislation designed to improve the security and safety of passengers aboard cruise ships carrying more than 250 passengers on a voyage embarking or disembarking from any U.S. ports. Adoption of the CVSSA was spurred by findings by Congress that “passengers on cruise vessels have an inadequate appreciation of their potential vulnerability to crime while on ocean voyages, and…lack the information they need to understand their legal rights or to know whom to contact for help in the immediate aftermath of the crime.” Our Florida cruise ship accident attorneys have been viewing the details of this closely.

In order to achieve its goals, the CVSSA required cruise lines to adopt a number of safety measures, including security peepholes on passenger cabin doors, security cameras, higher guardrails, and the distribution of safety information to passengers.

Despite these requirements, it would appear that, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), the cruise industry is largely ignoring four important requirements of the CVSSA: