It's been a tough legal week for Royal Caribbean, as the cruise line was fined by the Environmental Protection Agency and now faces a class-action lawsuit over a crew member who hid a camera in passenger cabins.
Doug Parker analyzed both stories in the December 18 edition of Cruise News Today.
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Royal Caribbean fined by EPA
“Royal Caribbean has been fined more than $470,000 for violating environmental regulations at its Galveston, Texas terminal. Now the EPA has found that the cruise line did not accurately report or describe waste discharged from its ships between 2017 and 2024” Parker said.
Basically, Royal Caribbean (RCL) committed a paperwork violation.
“This is required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The EPA noted that at least one ship discharged more waste than reported. Royal Caribbean claims it was a paperwork error, paid the fine and agreed to improve waste management procedures. waste to avoid future violations,” he added. “To be clear, Royal Caribbean was not caught dumping:
In fact, Royal Caribbean was caught dumping in 1999 and fined $18 million.
Royal Caribbean faces class action lawsuit
While Royal Caribbean certainly didn't know it had a crew member hiding a camera in passenger rooms, the cruise line is still responsible for it, according to a new lawsuit.
A Royal Caribbean passenger has filed a class action lawsuit against the cruise line and a former crew member for allegedly hiding a camera in the bathroom of their cabin. The lawsuit, filed in Florida on behalf of guest Jane Doe, “claims that the former stateroom attendant secretly recorded her and other passengers while they undressed on Symphony of the Seas in February,” Parker shared.
A class action lawsuit allows other parties who were victims of the same crime to join the lawsuit.
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Cabin attendant Arvin Joseph Marisol pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and is now serving a 30-year prison sentence for the act. “The lawsuit accuses Royal Caribbean of failing to prevent such incidents, citing previous cases of hidden cameras and increasing reports of break-ins on its ships,” Parker added.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and a jury trial.
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