Cruise ship accident claims: injury and illness at sea

An accident or illness on a cruise raises a question most holiday claims do not: which international rules apply? For passengers the answer is usually the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea. It decides who is liable, when you have to prove fault, the most the carrier has to pay and how long you have to claim. This guide explains those rules as they apply in the UK, what changes if you booked a package, and what to do on board. We are an independent information service, not a law firm. For accidents on smaller vessels, see our boat accident guide.

Which rules apply to a cruise

Section 183 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 gives the Athens Convention the force of law in the United Kingdom. Government guidance explains that retained Regulation (EC) No 392/2009 now implements the Convention as amended by its 2002 Protocol. The Protocol came into force on 23 April 2014; it raised the carrier's liability limit for death or personal injury and requires the carrier to hold insurance for each passenger.

The Department for Transport and Maritime and Coastguard Agency guidance says the Regulations apply to international journeys by sea where:

• the ship is registered in the UK;
• the contract of carriage was made in the UK; or
• the place of departure or destination, or both, under the contract of carriage, is in the UK.

They also apply to Class A and B vessels on domestic sea journeys within the UK. They do not apply to the Crown Dependencies (the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) or to journeys between mainland UK and the Crown Dependencies, where separate national limits apply. If none of the UK links above fits your cruise, other law may govern the claim, so take advice early.

The rules cover the time of carriage: while you are on board or embarking or disembarking, and while you are taken by water between ship and shore if the cost is included in the fare or the boat was provided by the carrier. The Convention says carriage does not include time you spend in a marine terminal or station, on a quay or in any other port installation.

Shipping incidents and other incidents

The Convention treats two kinds of event differently. A shipping incident means a shipwreck, capsizing, collision or stranding of the ship, an explosion or fire in the ship, or a defect in the ship. A defect in the ship means a malfunction, failure or breach of safety rules in any part of the ship or its equipment used for things such as escape, evacuation, embarkation and disembarkation, propulsion, steering and safe navigation. Other events, such as a slip on a wet deck, a fall on stairs or an injury in a cabin, are non-shipping incidents.

SDR means Special Drawing Rights, a unit of the International Monetary Fund whose value in pounds changes; the government guidance points to the IMF for conversion rates. These figures are upper limits on the carrier's liability, not amounts you will receive. The limits do not apply if it is proved that the damage resulted from something the carrier or its employee did with intent to cause damage, or knowing that such damage would probably result.

The carrier's fault or neglect includes that of its employees acting within the scope of their employment. You have to prove that the incident happened in the course of the carriage, and the extent of your loss, and the carrier's liability can be reduced if it proves that you caused or contributed to your injury.

After a shipping incident that causes death or personal injury, the carrier must make an advance payment within 15 days to cover immediate needs. Government guidance says it must not be less than £18,500 in the event of death. An advance payment is not an admission of liability.

If your cruise was part of a package

Many cruises are sold together with flights, hotel nights or excursions. Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, a package is a combination of at least two different types of travel service for the same trip or holiday, sold in one of the ways the Regulations list. Travel services include the carriage of passengers and accommodation that is not intrinsically part of the carriage of passengers. So whether your cruise was a package depends on what else was sold with it, for example a hotel stay before or after the voyage.

Where there is a package:

• the organiser is liable to you for the performance of the travel services in the package contract, whether it performs them itself or another provider does;
• where an international convention limits the compensation a provider has to pay, the same limits apply to the organiser, and the Athens Convention is one of those conventions; and
• you must tell the organiser without undue delay about any problem you notice with a service during the trip.

In other cases a package contract can limit the organiser's compensation, but not for personal injury or damage caused intentionally or with negligence. A package matters most when the injury happens off the ship, for example on an excursion that was part of the package, because the Athens rules only cover the carriage by sea. See our holiday accident guide.

Illness on board

NHS guidance describes norovirus, also called the winter vomiting bug, as a stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. It says norovirus can spread to others very easily, including by eating food that has been prepared or handled by someone with norovirus. Illness is not on the list of shipping incidents, so a claim for illness caught on board needs evidence that it was caused by the carrier's fault or neglect, for example unsafe food handling or poor hygiene. Falling ill during a cruise does not by itself prove fault.

Useful evidence includes the ship's medical centre record, any test results such as a stool sample, the date your symptoms started, what and where you ate, the names of other passengers who fell ill and any notices the ship issued about illness on board. Our guides to food poisoning claims and holiday illness claims explain how a link between the illness and the food or hygiene is usually shown.

What to do on board and afterwards

• Report it on board. Tell the crew or guest services straight away and ask for the incident report reference.
• Get medical help and keep the records. Ask the ship's medical centre for copies of your notes, and see your GP when you get home.
• Photograph the scene. Wet or uneven floors, missing warning signs, poor lighting and broken fittings.
• Collect witness details from passengers and crew who saw what happened.
• Keep your paperwork. The booking confirmation, ticket and terms show who the carrier and any organiser are, and where the contract was made.
• Tell the organiser too. On a package, report problems to the organiser or its representative without undue delay.
• Record your losses. Keep receipts for medical costs and a note of time off work and other expenses.

If your luggage was damaged, give the carrier written notice: for visible damage to cabin luggage, before or at disembarkation; for damage you could not see, or loss, within 15 days of disembarkation or re-delivery. Government guidance says failing to give notice means losing the right to compensation.

Time limits for cruise claims

Government guidance says that, in general, any claim for damages before a court must be made within 2 years, and that the starting point can differ depending on the kind of loss. The Convention sets these starting points:

The law of the court hearing the claim decides whether the period can be suspended or interrupted, but the Convention sets an outer limit: no claim can be brought after five years from disembarkation or, if earlier, three years from when the claimant knew or ought reasonably to have known of the injury, loss or damage. The period can be extended by a written declaration from the carrier, or by written agreement, after the cause of action has arisen.

Where the Convention does not apply, for example an accident in a port terminal or on an excursion, the ordinary limitation rules may apply instead. In England and Wales that is usually three years under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980, which covers personal injury claims whether the duty arises under a contract or not. Scotland and Northern Ireland also have three-year periods. Our time limit checker does not cover the Athens Convention, so it is not used on this page: under the Convention, work from two years and take advice well before then.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides: holiday accident claims, holiday illness claims, food poisoning claims, boat accident claims, injuries on a flight and fatal accident claims.

Official sources used for this guide: GOV.UK: rights of passengers travelling by sea in the event of an accident; Regulation (EC) No 392/2009, Annex I (Athens Convention); Merchant Shipping Act 1995, s.183; Package Travel Regulations 2018, reg. 16; NHS: norovirus; Limitation Act 1980, s.11. This guide is general information about the law in the UK, not legal advice; the law can change, so check your own position with a regulated solicitor.