Your ticket has a clock.
It started the day you got hurt.
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity sail from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, and more lines sail from Manhattan and Brooklyn. When a passenger is hurt on board, federal maritime law applies, and the ticket contract usually requires written notice within 6 months and a lawsuit within 1 year.
Quick answers
How long do I have to file a cruise ship injury claim?
Usually much less time than for a typical New Jersey injury. Federal law allows cruise lines to set limits in the ticket contract, and most require written notice of a claim within six months and a lawsuit within one year under 46 U.S.C. 30508. Read your ticket contract right away.
Many tickets also require suit in a specific court, often federal court in Miami.
Is a cruise line responsible for injuries on board?
A cruise line owes passengers reasonable care under the circumstances, a federal maritime standard. It is usually responsible for hazards it knew or should have known about, such as wet decks, broken railings or negligent crew, and for negligent medical care in some cases. It is not automatically liable for every injury.
Report the injury on board, get a copy of the report and photograph the hazard before it is cleaned up.
What if a crew member was hurt working on a ship?
Crew members are not limited to passenger rules. Seamen can bring claims under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. 30104, for employer negligence, and under general maritime law for an unseaworthy vessel and for maintenance and cure, which covers living expenses and medical care until maximum recovery.
Crew contracts sometimes include arbitration clauses that change where a claim is heard.
How much does it cost to hire Dennis?
Nothing up front. The consultation is free, and injury cases are handled on a contingency fee, which means the fee is a percentage of the recovery and is only owed if there is one. New Jersey Court Rule 1:21-7 caps contingency fees in personal injury cases.
You will get the fee agreement in writing before any work starts, and you can ask questions about it at any time.
Federal maritime law,
local passengers.
A cruise ship is not a New Jersey premises. Once you board, your rights against the cruise line are governed mainly by federal general maritime law and by the ticket contract you accepted when you booked. The cruise line owes passengers reasonable care under the circumstances (Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625 (1959)).
Most passenger cases turn on proof that the cruise line knew or should have known about the danger: a wet pool deck, a worn stair tread, a rough tender crossing, a ship's doctor who waited hours to see a head injury. That proof lives in ship video, incident reports, cleaning logs and prior-incident records, and much of it disappears quickly.
Many tickets require suit in one court, often federal court in Miami. When a case must be filed outside New Jersey or New York, it may be handled with co-counsel admitted in that court. Not every claim belongs there: claims against a terminal operator or the Port Authority, which owns Cape Liberty, follow their own rules.
The case starts
on day one.
Every cruise ship injuries matter is treated as a litigation file from the first call — because that's what wins it.
No fee unless we win.
You owe us nothing unless we recover for you. Period.
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Same-day funding can be arranged through third-party sources while your case is built.
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Evidence disappears in days. We answer the phone the night it happens.
Hurt in New Jersey?
Tell us what happened.
A New Jersey attorney personally reviews every submission — typically within the hour. No fee. No obligation. Evidence preservation begins the moment we hang up.
- Statewide coverage — every NJ county
- Preservation letters issued same day
- In-house investigation team
- Available 24/7 — nights, weekends, holidays
Request your free
consultation.
Dennis Shlionsky's Team will personally review your matter — typically within one hour. There is no fee unless we win.
Who is responsible
under federal maritime law.
The cruise line is generally responsible for its own negligence and its crew's: unsafe decks and stairs, poor lighting, inadequate security, careless tender and gangway operations, and failures by the ship's medical staff. The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Miami, has held cruise lines can be liable for onboard medical negligence (Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 772 F.3d 1225 (11th Cir. 2014)) and strictly liable for crew members' sexual assaults on passengers (Doe v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc., 394 F.3d 891 (11th Cir. 2004)).
Federal law also limits what a ticket can take away. A cruise line sailing to or from a U.S. port cannot contract out of liability for its own negligence causing injury or death, or take away your right to a trial in court (46 U.S.C. § 30527).
- Notice. Most cases require proof the line knew or should have known about the hazard (Keefe v. Bahama Cruise Line, 867 F.2d 1318 (11th Cir. 1989)).
- Forum. Courts generally enforce ticket clauses requiring suit in a named court (Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991)).
- Deadlines. Tickets may require notice within 6 months and suit within 1 year, but no shorter (46 U.S.C. § 30526).
- Deaths at sea. Beyond 3 nautical miles, the Death on the High Seas Act limits recovery to financial losses (46 U.S.C. §§ 30302-30303).
Preserve the evidence before the ship sails again.
Covered cruise ships must keep video surveillance systems (46 U.S.C. § 3507(b)), but footage can be recorded over. Photograph the exact spot, get witnesses' names and cabin numbers, ask for a copy of the incident report and your shipboard medical records, and keep your ticket contract and booking confirmation.
A written preservation letter to the cruise line should go out as early as possible, along with the written notice of claim the ticket requires.
- Cruise injury claim deadlines: the 6-month and 1-year rule
- Why your cruise ticket says you must sue in Miami
- Cruise ship slip and falls: wet decks, stairs and pools
- Cruise ship doctor malpractice
- Sexual assault on a cruise ship: reporting and your rights
- Shore excursion injuries: when the cruise line pays
- Norovirus and food poisoning on a cruise
- Deaths at sea and the Death on the High Seas Act
- Hurt at Cape Liberty or a NYC cruise terminal
- Cruise crew injuries: Jones Act, maintenance and cure
- Tender boat and gangway accidents
- What to do after a cruise ship injury: evidence checklist
What clients ask first.
How long do I have to bring a cruise ship injury claim?
Usually far less than on land. Most major cruise lines' tickets require written notice within 6 months and a lawsuit within 1 year of the injury, the shortest periods federal law allows (46 U.S.C. § 30526). New Jersey's normal two-year limit does not protect you against the cruise line.
Do I have to sue in Miami?
Often, yes, for claims against the cruise line. Many tickets require suit in federal court in Miami, and courts generally enforce those clauses (Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991)). In that case the lawsuit may be filed with co-counsel admitted there. Claims against a terminal operator or public agency may belong in New Jersey or New York.
I was hurt at the Cape Liberty terminal, not on the ship. Who is responsible?
It depends on who controls the area. Cape Liberty is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Claims against the Port Authority require a notice of claim at least 60 days before suit and a lawsuit within one year (N.J.S.A. 32:1-163). Injuries on the gangway or ship are usually claims against the cruise line under the ticket.
Can I sue the cruise line for the ship doctor's mistakes?
In many cases, yes. In the federal court that covers Miami, a cruise line can be vicariously liable for its onboard doctor and nurse under actual or apparent agency (Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 772 F.3d 1225 (11th Cir. 2014)).
What if I got hurt on a shore excursion?
Tickets usually call tour operators independent contractors, but the cruise line can still be liable for its own negligence, such as failing to warn of known dangers or choosing an unsafe operator (Chaparro v. Carnival Corp., 693 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2012)), or under apparent agency.
I work on a ship. Do these rules apply to me?
Crew members have different remedies: the Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104), maintenance and cure, and unseaworthiness, generally with a three-year limit (46 U.S.C. § 30106). Many cruise crew contracts also require arbitration.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee — you owe us no attorney's fee unless we recover money for you. Costs are advanced by the firm and only reimbursed out of a recovery. The first conversation is free and confidential.
Six months goes fast.
Start the clock on your side.
Tell us what happened on your cruise. We'll read the ticket, flag the deadlines and start preserving evidence. Free and confidential.
Request your free
consultation.
Dennis Shlionsky's Team will personally review your matter — typically within one hour. There is no fee unless we win.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case turns on its own facts. The information on this page is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.