"Under new Passenger Rights regulations adopted this week by the Council of the European Union in Brussels, cruise ship passengers will benefit from enhanced rights to compensation and assistance when their journey is cancelled or delayed.

In addition, passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility will be protected against discrimination when booking a journey and will receive appropriate assistance at embarkation and disembarkation as well as on board.

The regulation applies to ships carrying more than 12 passengers and will start to be applied two years after its publication in the EU's Official Journal, expected in the next weeks. So entry to force is expected in November 2012, advises Tim Marking, secretary of the European Cruise Council.

In the event of cancellation or delays, passengers have to be informed no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled time of departure. They have a right to assistance and to rerouting or reimbursement when departure is delayed for more than 90 minutes. In this case, the carrier has to provide snacks, meals or refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation up to a cost of €80 per night for a maximum of three nights.

Depending on the scheduled duration of the journey, compensation amounting to a quarter or half of the ticket price may also be due in the event of delayed arrival. However, the right to accommodation does not apply if the delay or cancellation is caused by bad weather. Likewise, no compensation for late arrival will be paid if weather conditions or extraordinary circumstances hindered the performance of the service.

Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility will be given assistance providing they inform the carrier at the latest 48 hours in advance about the assistance needed. If the disabled passenger needs to be accompanied, the accompanying person will be carried free of charge. Loss of or damage to mobility equipment caused by the carrier or by a shipping incident will be compensated.

The ECC says policies will need to be developed to enable cruise line brochures to be in correct form, and for the necessary training of staff to avoid possible complaints under the regulation. An ECC subcommittee is meeting in early November to discuss the issue further, says Marking, with the goal of assisting companies to prepare for application in autumn 2012. "

Personally I think this is a bit stupid in regard to disabled persons. ALL cruise lines have always required a disabled person who requires assistance must be accompanied by an able bodied person who is able to provide that help. Obviously cruise ships do not carry extra crew to provide (gratis!) that service and they would not be likely to be qualified to do so. Why should they get free passage ? So a husband who is disabled gets his wife on a cruise for free ?! That's nuts. Does then the FREE person have to pay for food etc or does he/she get fed free as well ? Does a single supplement apply to the disabled person ? The whole thing is silly IMHO. Under current requirements there is no financial disadvantage to disabled persons as they would have to pay up to 200% single supplement or they pay the same to take someone with them.

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Originally posted by mike sa:
Personally I think this is a bit stupid .........

All this will achieve is an increase in fares across the board.

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Welcome to the world of the European Union!!!!

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Originally posted by mike sa:

If the disabled passenger needs to be accompanied, the accompanying person will be carried free of charge.

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From above:

Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility will be given assistance providing they inform the carrier at the latest 48 hours in advance about the assistance needed. If the disabled passenger needs to be accompanied, the accompanying person will be carried free of charge. Loss of or damage to mobility equipment caused by the carrier or by a shipping incident will be compensated. The ECC says policies will need to be developed to enable cruise line brochures to be in correct form, and for the necessary training of staff to avoid possible complaints under the regulation.

Let's not forget that this is not only about cruise ships but also other passenger ships like excursion vessles or ferries.

From what I read in the posting above or in the short press release it's not entirely clear to me that all disabled passengers are entitled to be accompanied for free. It says that free assistance has to be provided. As insinuated above, it might be necessary to e.g. train some crew to comply with these regulations but frankly I doubt that this will be a major issue for cruise ship operators. In the worst case this actually indeed might create some jobs and I guess we all can afford to be supportive of disabled persons. Beside that, do you seriously believe that cruise fares will rise significantly due to that?

[ 10-21-2010: Message edited by: Ernst ]

On ferries and excursion boats all food is paid for piecemeal and there are already concessions regarding carers for those who require them, as per for seniors.

"the accompanying person will be carried free of charge"

So a free bed [which probably won't be 'free'] and nothing else. There will be some arrangement made for food on a cruise and could in fact work out more expensive if a single supplement is involved.

As to the compensation for delay when it comes to a cruise and overnight accommodation be required, this is covered by one's compulsory insurance in the UK.

We can only wait and see what the policy actually is going to be when it's worked through. I don't see anything in it as it stands in the reports yet.