Something interesting related to NCL's responsibility in cruise cancellation.

[Petoonya]

Found this is my cruise contract. As far as I can tell it releases NCL of all responsibility for financial remuneration in not delivering a cruise, FCC or refund.

A pandemic could be considered an "act of God" or "any other reason beyond it's control" I would think.

To hell with FCC or refund if so. I think we may be screwed.

Please someone, tell me there is something that might supercede this.

 

3. Cancellations:

In the event of strikes, lockouts, civil disturbances, weather or any other reason beyond its control, or in the interests of the safety and/or comfort of Purchaser or others, Norwegian Cruise Line may, at its sole discretion, cancel any services provided hereunder and may, but is not obligated to, offer substitute hotels or services and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Purchaser by reason of such cancellation or substitution.

[njhorseman]

25 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Found this is my cruise contract. As far as I can tell it releases NCL of all responsibility for financial remuneration in not delivering a cruise, FCC or refund.

A pandemic could be considered an "act of God" or "any other reason beyond it's control" I would think.

To hell with FCC or refund if so. I think we may be screwed.

Please someone, tell me there is something that might supercede this.

 

3. Cancellations:

In the event of strikes, lockouts, civil disturbances, weather or any other reason beyond its control, or in the interests of the safety and/or comfort of Purchaser or others, Norwegian Cruise Line may, at its sole discretion, cancel any services provided hereunder and may, but is not obligated to, offer substitute hotels or services and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Purchaser by reason of such cancellation or substitution.

The section you're quoting is under the heading "Land Packages" and is not applicable to the cruise itself.

[Petoonya]

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

The section you're quoting is under the heading "Land Packages" and is not applicable to the cruise itself.

OMG- THANK YOU very much!!!!!!!!!!

[njhorseman]

22 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

OMG- THANK YOU very much!!!!!!!!!!

Just keep in mind that contracts such as this are called adhesion contracts and it would not be unusual for a court to void certain provisions of adhesion contracts because of unequal bargaining power, unfairness and unconscionability .

 

Here's a pretty easy to understand explanation: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/adhesion_contract_(contract_of_adhesion) 

 

I'm not a lawyer but I think I have at least a bare bones understanding of contract law from my professional career and know that contracts require an exchange of consideration between the parties to the contract. in this case the cruise line is one party and you, the passenger, are the other party to the contract. The exchange of consideration is you pay money to the cruise line and in turn they agree to take you on a cruise. If the cruise line cancels the cruise they've breached the contract and it should therefore be void, requiring the refund of the consideration you provided...your money. Here's an easy to understand explanation: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/consideration-every-contract-needs-33361.html

 

Actual lawyers who read this...please feel free to correct any significant errors in my explanation.

Edited March 27, 2020 by njhorseman

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Petoonya said:

Found this is my cruise contract. As far as I can tell it releases NCL of all responsibility for financial remuneration in not delivering a cruise, FCC or refund.

A pandemic could be considered an "act of God" or "any other reason beyond it's control" I would think.

To hell with FCC or refund if so. I think we may be screwed.

Please someone, tell me there is something that might supercede this.

 

3. Cancellations:

In the event of strikes, lockouts, civil disturbances, weather or any other reason beyond its control, or in the interests of the safety and/or comfort of Purchaser or others, Norwegian Cruise Line may, at its sole discretion, cancel any services provided hereunder and may, but is not obligated to, offer substitute hotels or services and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Purchaser by reason of such cancellation or substitution.

Did you consider looking at the current cancellation policy?

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence

 

[Petoonya]

14 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Did you consider looking at the current cancellation policy?

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence

 

As NJ Horseman has already pointed out what I was looking at was cancellation policy for land bookings. I would look at the cruise contract before I would consider the "current" cancellation policy in any case..

Regardless, my initial alarm might have been misplaced. Let's see if any attorneys have comments about NJ Horseman's last 2 posts. His posts have my ear at the moment.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Petoonya

[njhorseman]

12 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

As NJ Horseman has already pointed out what I was looking at was cancellation policy for land bookings. I would look at the cruise contract before I would consider the "current" cancellation policy in any case..

Regardless, my initial alarm might have been misplaced. Let's see if any attorneys have comments about NJ Horseman's last 2 posts. His posts have my ear at the moment.

The current cancellation policy is a liberalization of the contract and would therefore supersede the original contract. The worst that can happen is that NCL decides to go back to the original contract provisions. They can't unilaterally impose anything more restrictive than the original contract, because the original is what both you and NCL agreed to .

 

Beyond the contractual issue, they would be out of their minds from a business perspective if they were to attempt to sidestep their obligations. No one in their right mind would ever book a cruise with them again. It would be corporate suicide.

Edited March 27, 2020 by njhorseman

[Petoonya]

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

The current cancellation policy is a liberalization of the contract and would therefore supersede the original contract. The worst that can happen is that NCL decides to go back to the original contract provisions. They can't unilaterally impose anything more restrictive than the original contract, because the original is what both you and NCL agreed to .

 

Beyond the contractual issue, they would be out of their minds from a business perspective if they were to attempt to sidestep their obligations. No one in their right mind would ever book a cruise with them again. It would be corporate suicide.

Thanks again NJH