Carnival Cruise Line’s 24th Ship Enters the Fleet – Expansion Amidst Lawsuits
Expansion Amidst Lawsuits
Ultimate Guide to Understanding Carnival Cruises and Lawsuits
Carnival Cruise Line, also called America’s Cruise Line, purchased its 24th ship from Costa Luminosa, entering it into its Carnival fleet in early September 2022.
The new vessel is set to depart for its first journey under Carnival Cruise Line in November.
Let’s review the news: Carnival cruise line’s 24th ship enters the fleet with Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys.
“Carnival Luminosa Offers Unique Itineraries and Onboard Specialties,” President Carnival Cruise Line Says
Carnival Cruise Line added a new ship, Carnival Luminosa, to their fleet, bringing the total number of vessels in their arsenal to 24.
According to Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line, Carnival Luminosa offers unique itineraries and has fantastic onboard activities that would make guests feel at home in no time.
The latest ship is said to arrive in Brisbane two months from now and will start seasonal cruises from Brisbane, Australia, in November 2022 until April 2023.
After April, the Carnival Cruise Line is looking to reposition the ship from May 2023 onwards for Seattle to Alaska seasonal cruises.
Carnival Luminosa will be the fifth Spirit-class cruise ship (sister ship) at Carnival Cruise Line, accommodating 2,826 guests and over 1,000 crew members.
The company is looking to change the new ship by adding signature experiences their guests love and offering new spaces for them to discover.
Some popular features the Carnival Cruise Line is looking to add to Carnival Luminosa include Punchliner Comedy Club, Playlist Productions, Limelight Lounge, Chef’s Table, and Cloud 9 Spa, among others.
Serenity Adult-only Retreat May Not Be as Safe as You Think It Is
When you’re on a cruise vacation, you don’t think about the types of accidents and hazards you might run into.
However, research firm G.P. Wild states that about 60 people suffer injuries due to “operational mishaps.”
On May 26, 2022, the Carnival Freedom Ship docked at Grand Turk caught fire. The crew members immediately moved all passengers to the shore until they extinguished the fire. Fortunately, no passengers suffered injuries.
Carnival ships have a history of incidences resulting in injuries to the guests aboard. Not only are these incidents accidents but also intentional harm, either carried out by other guests or the crew members themselves.
On July 18, 2022, the jury awarded the plaintiff $10.2 million in the case of Jane Doe v. Carnival Corporation, where a crew member raped a passenger on a carnival ship.
Expansion of Carnival Cruise Line Ships Amidst Accidents and Lawsuits
Carnival cruise ships have had the most accidents compared to Royal Caribbean Cruise and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
According to TravelExperta, Carnival Cruise Line has had 268 overboard accidents since 1995 and 64 rape cases since 2013. These figures don’t include the many unreported cases due to fear or bureaucracy.
Even with all these incidents occurring, Carnival Cruise Lines is not slowing down and currently expanding its range of Carnival fleets catering to the rising demand.
In 2021, the company inducted Mardi Gras (the ultimate playground), the first cruise ship in North America powered by LNG, sailing from Port Canaveral. The vessel is set to join Carnival Celebration, a sister ship, and set sail from Miami in late 2022.
With the new joint venture deal with Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line is set to add two ships each year to its fleet until 2024. As of June 2022, it has already transferred one ship from Costa Cruises.
Besides the highest number of accidents, Carnival Cruise Line also has a bad reputation for environmental pollution after illegally dumping oil into the oceans from its Princess Cruises ships and lying about their activities. The company paid $40 million in fines in 2017 for its reckless actions.
The only reason cruise ships continue to operate in the United States even after such incidences is that the cruise industry remains unregulated.
Although laws protect passengers’ rights, these are opaque, and fighting lawsuits against cruise companies is often challenging.
The Hammer Law bill introduced by Senator Deb Fischer aimed to provide more protection to families injured on cruise ships.
However, lobbyists backed by the powerful cruise industry blocked the bill. According to Cruise Lines International Association, the sector contributed about $55.5 Billion to the US GDP in 2019 and generated 436,000 jobs in the country.
Cruise companies have vast financial resources available to lobby laws that may regulate the industry and keep these companies in check.
In 2014, hundreds of thousands of dollars went into lobbying Rockefeller’s bill, a small amount compared to the billions of dollars in revenue each company netted.
Pursuing a lawsuit against cruise companies is challenging but not impossible. Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys have achieved superior results for lawsuits against large cruise companies.
Some of our successful recoveries include:
- Doe v. Doe – $4.88 million (Cruise ship assault)
- Doe v. Doe – $1.4 million (Sexual assault)
- Passenger v. Cruise Ship – $150,000 (Slip and fall accident.).
If you’ve suffered injuries on a cruise ship or during shore excursions, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation with our legal experts.
