Royal Caribbean Wants Harvey Cruise Class Action Lawsuit Tossed

Royal Caribbean argues that a class action lawsuit lodged against it in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey should be dismissed.

Lead plaintiff, Nikki McIntosh, lodged the class action against the cruise company alleging that her safety and the safety of other passengers was put in jeopardy because Royal Caribbean refused to modify a departure date scheduled during a massive hurricane in Texas.

McIntosh says she and others were told that they would lose the entire cost of their cruise ticket if they cancelled because of travel problems that occurred during Hurricane Harvey that devastated parts of Texas.

She says that she and others traveled into the path of the storm because the only other option was to lose a significant amount of money on the trip and, in the end, Royal Caribbean cancelled the cruise anyway.

After arguing the complaint should be dismissed because the cruise tickets contain language waiving the right to file a class action, Royal Caribbean is now arguing the class action lawsuit should be tossed because of other court decisions.

“A mere eight months before this action was commenced, this Court…dismissed a cruise passenger/plaintiff’s class action allegations because such was required by the class action waiver contained in the passenger’s cruise ticket contract,” notes Royal Caribbean’s motion to dismiss. “The Court also noted that at least two other courts in this district have enforced class action waivers contained in cruise ticket contracts.”

Royal Caribbean also argues that although the plaintiff alleged that passengers were put in danger by traveling to the Houston area, she herself does not allege that she traveled to the area.

The cruise line won a partial victory in its prior motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit. The judge ruled that the plaintiff had not sufficiently established claims of negligence or showed that she suffered any damages because of Royal Caribbean’s failure to cancel the ill-fated cruise; however, the plaintiff was given the opportunity to amend the complaint.

According to the Royal Caribbean class action lawsuit, would-be cruise goers were told by Royal Caribbean that the cruise was on despite indications from the harbor where the cruise was set to depart that the area was in imminent danger from Hurricane Harvey.

The Royal Caribbean class action lawsuit alleges that Royal Caribbean cruise passengers were forced to put themselves in danger because the cruise line refused to move or cancel the cruise dates. Other cruise lines, like Carnival, had already postponed cruise dates, pointed out the plaintiff, but not Royal Caribbean who maintained the date despite reports of flooding in Houston.

McIntosh alleges that Class Members ended up stuck in post-Harvey Houston and were forced to contend with the devastation, including “terror, hardship, and inconvenience in a place foreign to them.”

The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Michael A. Winkleman, Jason R. Margulies and Marc E. Weiner of Lipcon Margulies Alsina & Winkleman PA.

The Royal Caribbean Harvey Cruise Class Action Lawsuit is McIntosh v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Case No. 1:17-cv-23575, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: On Jan. 4, 2019, after a year of back and forth, a magistrate judge recommended to a Florida court that a Royal Caribbean class action lawsuit not be dismissed.