Rockefeller Sets Another Cruise Hearing

PHOTO: Sen. Jay Rockefeller at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a relentless and vocal critic of the cruise industry, has scheduled another hearing on his bill calling for stricter oversight and more consumer protections.

The hearing is set for 2:45 p.m. July 23 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in 253 Russell Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. The hearing is titled “The Cruise Passenger Protection Act: Improving Consumer Protections for Cruise Passengers.” The hearing will be webcast here. (Editor's Note: This story was updated late July 16 to reflect a new time and date for the hearing.)

Rockefeller introduced the bill on July 23, 2013, and U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui introduced a similar measure in the House the same day.

Rockefeller’s bill would give the Department of Transportation oversight of the cruise industry and act as the lead federal agency for cruise consumer protection, similar to the role it has in aviation. He said last year it also would “close gaps in cruise industry consumer awareness and crime reporting.”

Rockefeller has held hearings on the cruise industry the last two years during a rocky period highlighted by the Costa Concordia capsizing and the Carnival Triumph losing power in the Gulf of Mexico.

“When Americans board cruise ships headed for international waters, they need to know where their rights begin and end,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement last year. “This bill will make sure consumers are given clear notice of the risks associated with cruise ship travel before they buy a ticket; and if their rights are violated, this bill will help ensure that they have a place to seek recourse.”

After last year’s July 24 hearing, cruise lines began voluntarily posting crime data on their websites. Rockefeller also has vowed to force cruise lines to pay more in U.S. taxes, saying a review found Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corp. only paid an effective worldwide tax rate of just 1.3 percent on more than $17 billion in profits over the a seven-year period.

“The cruise industry can’t operate for free here in the U.S.” Rockefeller said last year in a press release. “It costs money to send the Coast Guard to tow their drifting ships and it costs money to maintain the ports they use. Cruise lines need to start paying their fair share of taxes and stop expecting everyone else to foot the bill.”