Article by Karen C. Hildebrandt
Despite the current harsh economic climate, the cruise market has continued to expand at a rate of close to ten percent annually. A forecast recently reported in Lloyd's List International predicted that the current size of the world's cruise fleet will double before the end of the century, the number of cruise passengers will increase from over four million to ten million, and industry employment at sea will double. Cruise Industry News forecasts that, in light of market potential, cruise lines will continue to build cruise ships. By the end of the century, the North American cruise fleet could consist of 150 ships, capable of carrying seven million passengers each year with millions more waitlisted.
As many industries have learned, growth brings problems. The cruise industry continues to market itself in America, where the industry sees its greatest potential. The industry has also become familiar with United States law and litigation, having come under the eye of the U.S. Congress and having taken litigation as far as the U.S. Supreme Court-no small feat for a maritime case. This Article will discuss some of the topics that are currently of interest to the cruise industry in litigating passenger claims.
About the Author
Karen C. Hildebrandt. Partner, Kirlin, Campbell, Meadows & Keating, New York, New York; Member, Maritime Law Association of the United States. B.A., Northeastern University, 1976; J.D., Suffolk University, 1979.
Citation
68 Tul. L. Rev. 403 (1994)