Urban Thier & Federer, P.A., accepts cases against Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited and has represented many clients who were injured or killed while on a Royal Caribbean cruise lines cruise. Royal Caribbean operates under various names including Royal Caribbean International, Royal Caribbean Group, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Royal Caribbean’s cruises depart from many different ports, with the primary ports being the Port of Miami (Miami, Florida), Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida), Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), and Port Tampa Bay (Tampa, Florida). Other ports include Galveston, Texas; Cape Liberty (New Jersey); Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; Los Angeles, California; and San Diego, California.
Regardless of where your cruise departed from, your legal rights are governed by your cruise, carriage or passenger ticket contract. As with most of the major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean embeds in the pages of print, that many passengers simply scroll past, important time and locations limitations to when and where you can take legal action if you are injured or a passenger is killed while on a cruise or participating in a cruise related activity. Under most circumstances, you must formally notify Royal Caribbean of your claim within six (6) months of the incident that caused the injury or death and you must file a lawsuit within one (1) year of the incident that caused the injury or death. Additionally, under most circumstances you must file your lawsuit against Royal Caribbean in the federal United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami, Florida.
Key points to know if injured on a Royal Caribbean cruise or cruise related activity
- Venue / Forum / Location: Federal United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in Miami, Florida (regardless of where you live or where the accident happened).
- Notice of Claim: You must send a written notice of injury to Royal Caribbean’s corporate office within 6 months of the incident date.
- Statute of Limitations / Deadline to Take Formal Legal Action: You must officially file your lawsuit with the court within 1 year of the date the incident involving your injury or the death occurred.
- Governing Law: United States federal maritime law applies to injuries that happen on board the ship, in international waters, on a private cruise line owned or controlled island, and on many cruise related activities.
With the short deadlines and technical requirements to enforce your legal rights, it is critical that you take immediate action. An untimely or improperly sent Notice of Claim can result in the loss of your right to take legal action. Filing an untimely lawsuit can result in the loss of your right to pursue legal action. Royal Caribbean has teams of lawyers, both within Royal Caribbean and defense law firms, protecting and representing its interests. Likewise, you should ensure you have a legal team protecting and representing your interests.
Urban Thier & Federer, P.A., attorneys are admitted to all Florida State and Federal Courts, including the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Attorney John L. Urban has been the lead attorney on 100s of Florida federal lawsuits and has represented cruise passengers from different states and countries. Urban Thier & Federer, P.A., does not represent, and never has represented, the cruise lines. For cruise line cases, we only represent those injured or killed while on a cruise and while participating in a cruise related activity.
Urban Thier & Federer, P.A., can represent you if you are injured, or a loved one is killed, while on a cruise, including, but not limited to sexual and other assaults, trip or slip and fall cases, cruise related activity injuries, etc.
For more information regarding the types of cases we handle, and have handled, please view our Cruise Ship Accidents page.