Cruise lines hit with over $400 million in damages

 

By John R. Byrne

A tough note to end 2022 on for cruise companies Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. Judge Bloom has ordered them to pay over $439 million in damages for engaging in “prohibited tourism." The case was brought under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act or Libertad Act. In short, the cruise companies took U.S. travelers to Cuba and, in so doing, used the Havana port facilities that Castro had confiscated.

Judge Bloom noted deterrence as one of the reasons for the significant damages award, writing “A lower award as Defendants suggest would not effectively serve a deterrent purpose, since a lesser award could conceivably be considered merely a cost of doing business.” The Herald covers it here.