Cruise Service Issues

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The Commission does not adjudicate disputes between passengers and cruise lines.

The Commission can, however, assist passengers with making claims against a cruise line for:

1. Voyage cancellations or voyage delays more than three days; and
2. Death or injury on a voyage which embarks or disembarks at a U.S. port.

The Commission only regulates cruise lines’ evidence of financial responsibility for nonperformance of transportation and for death or injury on a voyage which embarks at a U.S. port. If you qualify for either of these occurrences, please note the following: 

In the event of nonperformance of transportation (i.e., the cruise line cancelling or delaying a voyage by three (3) or more calendar days), passengers must first submit a written claim with the cruise line per the cruise line’s claims procedure. If the claim is not timely resolved (within 180 days after nonperformance of transportation or such shorter claim resolution period under the cruise line’s claims procedure), or if the claim has been denied by the cruise line, passengers may submit a claim against the cruise line’s financial instrument. In the event of death or injury on a voyage for which the cruise line is liable, and the passenger, other individual, or personal representative has not received compensation from the cruise line, they may submit a claim against the cruise line’s financial instrument.

In either of the instances mentioned above, you are welcome to contact the Commission’s Bureau of Certification and Licensing by emailing pvo@fmc.gov for claim processing information against the financial instrument. If your cruise was cancelled, and you haven’t received a refund from the cruise line (after more than 90 days), you may also fill out a dispute resolution request form and send it to the Commission’s Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services at complaints@fmc.gov for assistance with the voluntary dispute resolution process.

Please note that the Commission does not regulate cruise customer service issues (e.g., itinerary changes, passenger cancellations, denied boarding, cabin concerns, etc.), nor does it regulate sellers-of-travel (i.e., travel agents) that sell cruise packages. For disputes involving cruise customer service issues or sellers-of-travel, you may contact the state consumer protection agency where the company is operating or headquartered for further potential assistance.

The Commission has no jurisdiction over cruises which do not embark from a U.S. port (foreign cruises).

• Dispute Resolution Service Request – Cruise (FMC-32) [PDF, 436 KB]

For those seeking assistance for passengers embarking a cruise at an international location, please see the “International Travel” section of the Department of State’s website:

Information published by the federal government in response to Coronavirus-19 can be found at:

Additional Resources

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There are multiple government agencies that have jurisdiction over cruise safety and security concerns:

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regulates health and sanitary conditions onboard cruise vessels:

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) maintains information on safety regulations.

Notices

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