Puerto Rico is one of the busiest and, without a doubt, most beautiful cruise ship ports in the world. Old San Juan is a charming and historic area–great for walking, shopping, and picture taking that are simply magical–and only a five-minute walk from the port, where cruise ships embark on cruises around the world every day.  


In fact, virtually every major cruise line schedules San Juan, Puerto Rico on its itineraries, including AIDA Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival, Celebrity. Costa Crociere, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean (RCCL), Silversea, Viking Ocean Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, and Windstar. Both RCCL’s and Carnival deploy ships that homeport at San Juan year-round–RCCL Adventure of the Seas and the Carnival Fascination, which cruise weekly through the Southern Caribbean. RCCL’s Harmony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, visits San Juan frequently.   

In addition to the breathtaking beauty of Puerto Rico and the unique Spanish-influenced colonial architecture found in Old San Juan, Luis Munoz Marin International Airport is only seven miles from the cruise ship terminal. This makes the Port of San Juan very convenient for cruise ship passengers flying in from around the world, who are easily able to board cruise ships. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, and cruise ship passengers are provided protection and services by the United States Coast Guard while the ship is in Puerto Rico’s waters.   

However, passengers who are injured aboard cruise ships to and from Puerto Rico–by, for example, slipping on a wet deck, or tripping on an unmarked and unanticipated threshold–are required to file claims against most of the major cruise lines in the United States Federal Court in Miami, Florida. This can be very surprising to people–especially when neither they nor the cruise they were hurt on visited Miami. Additionally, these claims must be filed within one year of the date of the alleged incident, and some cruise lines, including NCL, require written notice before a lawsuit can even be filed.

Hiring a Maritime Injury Lawyer for Cruise Ship Passenger Injuries

Since suing a cruise line for personal injuries is very complex–requiring an intimate knowledge of Federal law, maritime law, international law, and personal injury law–we recommend that if you are hurt on your cruise, you speak with an experienced maritime cruise ship accident attorney immediately about your potential claim.   

We provide a free initial and confidential legal consultation with anyone who has been hurt during a cruise, on a gangway, tender boat, or in port on an excursion. Call us today and speak with a cruise personal injury lawyer, toll-free at 1-866-597-4529, locally at 305-441-0440, or reach us by email at [email protected] or SKYPE.  We are ready to help you hold the cruise line accountable for putting their profits ahead of your safety, and to help you recoup your lost wages, medical expenses, transportation costs, loss of enjoyment of your cruise, and money for your pain and suffering.