How to File a Claim Against Princess Cruise Lines

What is it?

Any contract you have with cruise lines contains a lot of fine print and that fine print informs you as to what legal options you have which isn’t many. But one option you have is to file a claim against Princess Cruise Line in small claims court. Small claims court, as the name suggests, is a small Court, a local Court where you can go before a judge and explain your situation and potentially receive monetary compensation. But not every case qualifies. Every court is different and different states have rules on what type of compensation they will provide and they have court limits on how much you can ask for so not every claim qualifies.

When to try it

This is a time-consuming process and you have to be very meticulous because a single mistake can cause your case to be thrown out so make sure you start it when you have a lot of time and energy on your hands.

What you need to do

Every court has its own procedure but no matter where you are the process will be significantly simpler than a large lawsuit. Find your state court website and from there locate what steps you have to follow, what forms you have to fill out, what has to be sent where or brought in person where, and what requirements your county has on top of that.

What to expect

If you follow everything that you need to for your local and state courts and you have evidence, it’s very likely that you will get compensation. It’s also possible that the cruise line will give you a settlement in exchange for dropping the case.

What is it?

The Better Business Bureau and all of its local chapters are private organizations which collect and publish information online about different businesses. They namely collect complaints and then give companies a rating based on the complaints they receive. Companies are given the opportunity to publicly respond to those complaints.

When to try it

If you notice that the Princess Cruise Line is actively responding to other complaints, that’s the time to submit yours because there’s a higher chance that they will respond as well. Even if they aren’t responding you can still get your voice out there by publishing your complaint.

What you need to do

Visit the Princess Cruise Line page on the Better Business Bureau site and follow their instructions for submitting complaints.

What to expect

Your expectation should be directly related to whether the company is responding. If they are responding actively and monitoring their page you can expect that they will likely respond to your complaint and try to reach out for resolution. But if they aren’t responding, you might not get anything other than the peace of mind that your complaint is out there for the world to see.

What is it?

This is a legal path you have instead of court. The National Arbitration and Mediation company, or NAM is the company cruise lines use arbitration or mediation to settle disputes. 

When to try it

If you want a solution quickly, your case doesn’t qualify for small claims, or you just want a third party to handle the decision making for you, pursue this.

In fact, sometimes the company might offer a settlement as soon as you start the arbitration process in order to avoid the increased cost that they will incur. Remember, cruise lines have to pay every time you start arbitration so the sooner they can settle, the more money they save.

What you need to do

First, you need to submit forms to NAM. This includes:

• Names, addresses, and telephone numbers for each party to the case
• Internal filing numbers for corporate parties,
• Whether mediation or arbitration is selection
• The nature of the claims
• And an agreement that the settlement can’t be publicly adjudicated, the mediator (in mediations) can’t be called as a witness, and the arbitrator’s decision (in arbitration) is legally binding.

Second, you need to tell the cruise line what you did and send them copies.

After that, either mediation or arbitration, there are hearings scheduled by NAM. For mediation, the neutral mediator is assigned to your case and they help you negotiate with the other party, present your evidence, and come to an agreement with the cruise line. For arbitration, the independent arbitrator is assigned to your case and they will inform you when you’re hearing is, what information you have to present for the discovery phase and by when, and then you can have the live testimony hearing after which a decision is made.

What to expect

Whether you chose arbitration or mediation you can expect a binding decision. If you have good evidence to support your side and you follow all the rules that are outlined by NAM you will likely get a favorable decision. How long it takes to reach that decision is based on which option you choose and your circumstances. Mediation typically takes longer if the cruise company doesn’t show up and NAM tries to reach out to them and make them by rescheduling, or if the company is a bit stubborn about coming to a decision. By comparison, arbitration gives you one hearing where you can present testimony if you need to as well as your evidence and then the arbitrator makes a binding decision.