A vortex of outbreaks, accidents, and scandals have engulfed the cruise industry. Should you skip the ship?
If you needed a sign that the universe wants you to skip a cruise this summer, here it is.
There’s the MV Hondius, the Dutch expedition ship that limped into Tenerife last week after a hantavirus outbreak killed three people and infected at least eight more. The Andes virus strain is the only hantavirus known to spread person-to-person.
There’s the Caribbean Princess, which arrived in Port Canaveral, Fla., carrying a different souvenir: norovirus. The CDC reports that 102 passengers and 13 crew members fell ill on the 13-day Caribbean voyage out of Fort Lauderdale. It’s the fourth gastrointestinal outbreak on a cruise ship this year.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed last week that federal agents had boarded eight cruise ships at the Port of San Diego and detained 28 crew members. CBP said 27 of them were involved in the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of child sexual abuse material.
Even if you survive the viruses and scandals, you might still run out of luck. This week, an 88-year-old passenger reportedly died after losing control of her mobility scooter on the pier at Carnival’s private island, Celebration Key in the Bahamas, and plunging into the water.
Zoom out, and the picture gets even worse.
The problems plaguing the cruise industry, from viral outbreaks and accidents to scandals, are compounded by ships sailing under flags of convenience. This allows minimal regulation and maximizes profit through a finely tuned system designed to siphon more money from your wallet.
A regulated industry, mostly in theory
These ships do not, in any meaningful sense, sail under U.S. law. The Caribbean Princess flies the flag of Bermuda. Most of the Carnival fleet flies Panama or the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean prefers the Bahamas and Liberia. They’re called flags of convenience, and the convenience belongs to the operator, not to you. It means a company headquartered in Miami can pay crew wages set by Honduran labor norms, follow safety standards written in Nassau, and route disputes through courts outside the United States.
The one U.S. agency with real authority over sanitation on ships that call at American ports is the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. A year ago, the administration laid off the program’s full-time civilian staff, including the epidemiologist who led the outbreak response on cruise ships (12 U.S. Public Health Service officers remained). The program chief announced his retirement last week, in the middle of the hantavirus outbreak.
What it looks like when something goes wrong
The headlines describe outbreaks and arrests, but most cruises fall short in smaller ways.
Shari Lunsford, a receptionist from Livingston, Tenn., paid $1,500 for a Carnival cruise last month from New Orleans to Cozumel. Nothing in her cabin worked. She says the sinks and showers would not drain. She stood in two inches of water every time she bathed. Her toilet stopped working twice, sending her in search of a public restroom several decks up. The stateroom thermostat would not go below 73 degrees, which the ship’s cabin crew told her is within company policy. Her room steward eventually brought a fan. She slept on an ice pack.
Lunsford complained at guest services on board, which sent her a cheap bottle of champagne and a cheese plate. Off the ship, she escalated her complaint. A representative from the cruise line’s office of the president called her, listened to her story, and offered the final compensation: a future cruise credit of $99 per person, plus a $150 onboard credit, both redeemable within a year.
That’s right, the remedy for a $1,500 trip Lunsford describes as a nightmare is a small discount on a second trip with the same company.
What are you getting when you cruise?
Suppose you decide none of that bothers you, and you just like being on a ship.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can’t. He’s the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can’t solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.
