Court Rules in Favor of Cruise Guest After Urinating in Glass
The verdict is in! According to a court in the western German City of Düsseldorf, an unidentified man and his two travel companions should not have been kicked off their cruise after some alleged misbehavior.
So, what exactly did the guest in question do to warrant such a severe punishment? According to witnesses, the man urinated into a glass at an onboard bar while visiting with his travel party and left the glass on the table.
When a crew member came to clean the table later, they confirmed that there was indeed a strong smell of urine. The specific cruise line and cruise ship has not yet been identified publicly.
There were no consequences for the guest’s alleged action until three days later – when the man and his two cruise companions were prevented from re-boarding at one of the ports of call and told to “book their own flights home.”
Even though the man’s fellow travelers were not accused of doing anything wrong besides being present, they were also removed from the sailing.
It’s unclear why there was such a long delay from the incident to the consequences – although the cruise line may have been silently conducting an investigation and reviewing any available surveillance footage.
Understandably angry to see his holiday coming to an abrupt end, the man sued the cruise line. Ultimately, the court found that his alleged actions – which the man has continued to deny doing – did not justify removal from the cruise ship without any notice or prior warning.
Per this cruise line’s contract, guests can be removed from the cruise for violent, discriminatory, and abusive behavior – and as disgusting as urinating into a glass in public may be, it didn’t fit the criteria for early termination of their travel contract.
The court ordered the cruise line to refund the man for the days he should have been onboard but missed, and to reimburse him for the new flights home and taxi rides.
He was also entitled to compensation for the two other men – as the accused booked the cruise for the entire group. When all was said and done, he was awarded €9,000 (or about $12,222 USD).
Was the Ruling Correct?
As the daughter of two lawyers, I’ve absorbed a lot of legal insight through the natural osmosis of being around my parents – and it sounds a lot like the man may have won in court because he got lucky due to how the language in the cruise contract was worded.
Every situation is also different – and other factors played a role here, such as the fact that the cruise ship docked in another port and allowed the guests to re-board the ship before giving them the boot at a later destination.
Among cruise fans, there was a large feeling that the man’s bad behavior had just been rewarded – and that forcing crew members to clean his mess was potentially a health hazard and abusive to employees.
“The rules need to be changed. That is not only disgusting behavior, but a health issue.. Take the cruise line employees in consideration.. they had to handle that disgusting glass risking their health in doing so. I definitely would not want to be anywhere near that revolting pig,” one person said.
“I would argue that expecting the crew to clean up your bodily fluids is abusive,” another added.
Read Also: 15 Most Annoying Things People Do on Cruises
Many also brought up indecent exposure – which can be charged as a criminal offense in some cases.
One person asked: “Could they kick him off for indecent exposure?”
Specific laws and punishments vary depending on the country – but it could be enough to get someone banned from the cruise line for life at a minimum, assuming the man really behaved as it was reported.
Court Rules in Favor of Cruise Guest After Urinating in Glass