Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
Royal Caribbean has been given the greenlight to buy a 40-acre property that has sat dormant since 2011, according to Cruise News Today.
The Bahamian government authorized the cruise lines to purchase the Xanadu Beach Resort south of Freeport as part of a $348 million project. The companies plan to update the site and turn it into an “entertainment center” for passengers. The property – once the epicenter of grandeur and a playground for some of Hollywood’s elite –has been empty and on the market since at least 2011.
The project contributes to the growing cruising presence in the area, joining Carnival Celebration Key – another resort scheduled to open in summer 2025. These expansions are emblematic of a boom in the cruise sector, which has made an impressive recovery following the industry-wide shut down during the pandemic.
Booming Industry May Lead to a Surge in Passenger Injuries
Experts predicted that in 2024, over 8 million passengers would pass through PortMiami, located just a 30-minute drive from Leesfield & Partners’ Miami office. This number surpassed pre-COVID-19 numbers.
In fact, 2024 saw 8,233,056 cruise passengers, according to the latest available data from Miami-Dade County – an increase of over 12% from 2023. Projections for 2025 estimate between 8.4 and 8.5 million cruise passengers traveling through the port. While this continued growth is fiscally rewarding for companies and investors, it also signals a concerning trend.
As cruise lines expand and compete with one another, the “floating cities” that define modern cruising can increase the risk of injury. In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, Leesfield & Partners has encountered nearly every type of cruise-related injury. From onboard thrill attractions that are poorly maintained to excursions gone wrong, the firm has recovered over $40 million for injured cruise passengers.
In an article published by the Daily Business Review addressing the apparent rise in sexual assaults aboard cruise ships, Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, suggested that the uptick may be partially linked to growing passenger numbers. However, he emphasized that the core problem lies in the cruise lines’ inadequate security measures and their failure to uphold a nondelegable duty to protect passengers.
“That’s just kind of a one in a long series of why there’s more sexual abuse and sexual activity on the ships, and I think your question is why? And I think the answer that I see is very lax policing, and very lax training, because a lot of the people … are crew members. This guy was a crew member,” Leesfield said.
As common carriers, cruise lines owe a heightened duty of care to ensure the safety and well-being of their passengers. This duty encompasses maintaining hazard-free decks, promptly repairing loose railings and ensuring that excursion transportation – such as buses – are safe and properly maintained.
Additionally, cruise lines are obligated to provide adequate medical care while at sea and to recognize when a passenger’s condition requires emergency evacuation. Similarly, they must take reasonable measures to protect passengers from criminal acts, whether committed by fellow passengers or crew members.
These nondelegable duties rest squarely on the cruise line. Failures in these responsibilities can lead to serious, even tragic, consequences as seen firsthand by our skilled trial attorneys.
Previous Leesfield & Partners Cruise Ship Cases
Despite these clear responsibilities, however, Leesfield & Partners has seen time and time again how cruise lines will fail to protect passengers and then attempt to escape liability.
Previously, Leesfield & Partners represented a family after a mother and daughter bought a parasailing excursion while aboard a cruise ship. What should have been a thrilling adventure shared between the two turned into a nightmare while the two were up in the air. A malfunction with the excursion equipment caused them to fall rapidly toward the water. Tragically, the mother did not survive, and her daughter was left with a traumatic brain injury. The case was resolved with a combined settlement of $7.25 million for the families.
In a medical malpractice case involving a 9-month-old baby whose meningitis was misdiagnosed by cruise ship doctors, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained a multi-million-dollar recovery. The child in that case underwent multiple amputations due to the doctor’s failure.
In another case in which our client required evacuation but was denied, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained a $4 million recovery for the injured client.
A horrific example of a cruise ship doctor’s negligent medical care involved a crew member who went to the infirmary with symptoms of nausea. While giving him medication that could have eased his symptoms, the cruise’s medical staff ignored a black box warning label on the box that instructed them to give the drug slowly and inject it deep into the muscle. Instead, this staff injected the medication into the man’s IV all at once. He was in immediate agony, the start of an hours-long, excruciating experience.
Doctors aboard the cruise ship searched online for what to do. When the man was eventually able to seek medica treatment on land, his right arm had undergone severe tissue damage. In the end, it could not be saved and doctors had to amputate.
The man was awarded over $3.3 million at arbitration.
In another cruise ship excursion case, Leesfield Partners recovered $3 million for the tragic death of our client’s son. In that case, the young man was traveling with his family and ventured out on a cruise-sanctioned bus excursion. When the bus was involved in a crash, our client’s son was ejected and suffered fatal injuries, a devastating loss for the family.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro is representing a client injured in a jet ski excursion incident where a cruise ship tour guide negligently collided with her from behind, resulting in severe and painful spinal fractures.
That case is ongoing.
If you or a loved one were injured while traveling on a cruise ship, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 800-836-6400 for a free consultation.
