Buying guide

Booking a luxury or expedition cruise: the refund guarantee, the ticket contract, and how to check the ship

Updated October 26, 2026 · Written by the Only for the Wealthy editors · General information, not legal or financial advice

A suite with a private veranda, a small ship that slips into harbors the great liners can’t reach, a fortnight among the ice: a luxury or expedition voyage is booked months ahead and paid for long before you board. Federal law puts a guarantee behind that money on many voyages, and leaves it out entirely on others. Here is how the discerning traveler knows which kind of cruise is being booked, what the ticket contract really says, and how to look up the ship itself, from the primary sources.

We don’t sell, book, broker, or arrange cruises. Only for the Wealthy is a publisher, and this is general information, not legal or travel advice. It covers U.S. federal rules for voyages that touch U.S. ports; other countries, and your own ticket contract, add rules of their own. We are not affiliated with any cruise line named here.

Why the question matters now

Small-ship luxury is no longer a niche. The Cruise Lines International Association says the luxury cruise fleet has tripled in 15 years, from 28 ships in 2010 to 98 in 2025, that 1.7 million travelers are forecast to choose a luxury cruise by 2029, and that travel professionals named luxury their highest growth area in 2025 [1]. CLIA also notes that most luxury ships sail with fewer than 1,000 passengers, some far fewer [1]. That intimacy is the appeal, and, as you will see below, it can also place a ship outside some of the federal rules written with large ships in mind.

First question: where does the voyage begin?

Nearly every federal protection below turns on two facts: whether the voyage starts (or ends) at a U.S. port, and how many passengers the ship carries.

Protection	When it applies	What it gives you
FMC refund guarantee (46 U.S.C. 44102; 46 CFR Part 540)	Ships with berths for 50 or more passengers that embark passengers at a U.S. port [2][4]	A bond or other security on file with the Federal Maritime Commission to refund you if the line cancels or long-delays the voyage [3][4]
FMC death-or-injury coverage (46 U.S.C. 44103)	The same ships, on voyages to or from a U.S. port [8]	Proof the owner can meet liability for passenger death or injury [8]
Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (46 U.S.C. 3507)	Ships authorized for, and with overnight berths for, 250 or more passengers, on voyages that embark or disembark in the U.S. [13]	Security design rules, a published security guide, a crime log, and federal crime reporting [13][14]
CDC Vessel Sanitation Program	Ships under the program’s jurisdiction, inspected while in a U.S. port [15]	Unannounced sanitation inspections, with scores and reports posted publicly [15][16]

The consequence for the connoisseur’s itinerary is plain. The FMC says it has no jurisdiction over cruises that don’t embark from a U.S. port [5]. An Antarctic voyage that sails from South America, or a Mediterranean yacht-style cruise that begins in Europe, is outside its refund guarantee, however American the booking office. And a ship with berths for fewer than 250 guests sits below the security act’s threshold [13]. Neither fact makes such a voyage unsafe; it means the protection has to come from the line’s own contract, the way you pay, and any insurance you choose.

The refund guarantee, and exactly when it pays

No certificate, no sale. No person in the United States may arrange, offer, advertise, or provide passage on a covered ship unless it has filed evidence of financial responsibility with the FMC to indemnify passengers for nonperformance [3]. The rule puts it simply: no passage without a Certificate (Performance) issued to or covering that person [4].
What counts as “nonperformance.” The line cancels the voyage, or delays it by three or more calendar days, and you choose not to sail on the delayed voyage or on a substitute voyage the line offers [4][5].
What money is protected. The rule’s measure of what the line owes back, “unearned passenger revenue,” covers money received for transportation and other accommodations, services, and facilities not yet performed, and expressly includes port fees, taxes, and all ancillary fees paid to the line [4]. Flights, hotels, or tours you bought from someone else are a separate matter with that seller.
Step one is the line, in writing. You must first make a written refund request under the line’s own claims procedure [4][5]. Each covered line must publish clear refund instructions on its website and give the FMC that web address, and the FMC lists them on one page [4][6]; the list includes luxury and expedition names such as Lindblad Expeditions, Ponant, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, and Windstar [6].
Step two is the bond. If the claim isn’t resolved within 180 days after the nonperformance (or the shorter period the line’s own procedure promises), or the line denies it, you may claim against the line’s financial instrument through the FMC’s instructions [4][5]. The rule lists what to send: the boarding pass, proof and amount of payment, the cancellation or delay notice, and dated proof of your claim to the line, all clearly showing the ship, the voyage, and the scheduled and actual sailing dates [4]. The FMC’s passenger-vessel office answers questions at [email protected] [5].
A credit is your choice. Nothing in the rule stops you and the line from settling on another form of compensation, such as a future cruise credit, in full satisfaction of the refund [4]. Accept one only if you truly want it.
Waiting more than 90 days? If your cruise was cancelled and the line hasn’t refunded you after more than 90 days, the FMC’s Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services offers a voluntary dispute-resolution process (form FMC-32, sent to [email protected]) [5]. The Commission assists; it doesn’t adjudicate disputes between passengers and lines [5].

When the cruise line itself fails

This is not theory. In February 2024 the FMC told passengers that American Queen Voyages had shut down, cancelled all future voyages, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; it pointed them to the company’s claims portal and noted that the line had been required to keep a surety bond to refund passengers for nonperformance [7]. The Commission’s notice added two practical points: a passenger who paid by credit card may file a claim with the card issuer, and anyone with third-party travel insurance should claim immediately, because insurers and card issuers “are often able to provide quicker and fuller reimbursement” [7]. That is the strongest argument for paying deposits and final balances by credit card; our guide to credit card dispute rights explains the 60-day billing-error letter and its limits.

What the FMC does not handle

Everyday service disputes. The FMC says it doesn’t regulate itinerary changes, passenger cancellations, denied boarding, or cabin concerns; for those, it directs passengers to the consumer protection agency of the state where the company operates or is headquartered [5]. If you cancel, the penalty schedule in your ticket contract governs, so read it before the final payment date.
Travel agents. The FMC also doesn’t regulate sellers of travel who package cruises [5]. Some states do. California, for one, requires sellers of travel to register with its Attorney General and display the registration number in their advertising, offers an online seller search, and says registration is not state approval [18].
Cruises that start abroad. For a voyage that embarks outside the U.S., the FMC refers passengers to the State Department’s international travel pages [5].

The ticket contract: three clauses to read before you pay in full

Where you would have to sue. A cruise ticket may name the one court where any claim must be filed. In Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute, the Supreme Court enforced a forum-selection clause in a non-negotiated passage contract, while stressing that such clauses remain subject to judicial scrutiny for fundamental fairness; the passengers there conceded they had notice of it [10]. Treat that clause as binding unless a lawyer tells you otherwise.
How fast you must act after an injury. For seagoing passenger ships serving U.S. ports, the contract can’t cut the time to give notice of a personal-injury or death claim below 6 months, or the time to sue below one year, after the injury or death [9]. Those are floors; check what your contract actually sets. A missed notice deadline doesn’t bar recovery in some situations, such as when the owner knew of the injury and wasn’t prejudiced [9].
Leaving the ship early. Federal coastwise law bars a ship from carrying passengers between U.S. ports unless it is wholly owned by U.S. citizens for the coastwise trade and holds (or would qualify for) a coastwise endorsement, with a penalty of $300 for each passenger transported and landed [11]. Under Customs rules, a passenger who boards at a U.S. port on a round trip that calls only at nearby foreign ports, such as those in Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or most of the Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao count as distant), may not disembark for good at a different U.S. port; a voyage that reaches a distant foreign port changes the answer [12]. Ask how the contract handles an early departure before you plan to leave a voyage midway.

Check the ship as carefully as the suite

Sanitation scores. CDC inspectors check ships in U.S. ports, periodically and unannounced, and ships under the program are subject to two inspections a year; a ship that sails outside the U.S. for long stretches may not be inspected twice, and is inspected again on its return [15]. CDC posts every score and report, including the violations and how the ship addressed them [15]. On CDC’s search, 86 or higher is satisfactory and 85 or lower is not, and records for ships no longer sailing in the U.S. are archived, so they won’t appear [16]. Look up the ship by name and read the latest report, not just the number.
Security, on the larger ships. Ships covered by the security act must have rails at least 42 inches above the cabin deck, peepholes or another means of visual identification on stateroom doors, and, on ships whose keels were laid after the act, security latches and time-sensitive key technology [13]. The owner must publish a security guide on its website, explaining onboard medical and security staff and the law-enforcement process for serious crimes, and must post U.S. embassy and consulate locations for each country visited in every stateroom [13]. DOT publishes the cruise line incident reports the act requires, which are reported to the FBI [14].
On the smallest ships, ask. Below the 250-passenger line, those statutory duties don’t apply [13]. Ask the line in writing what medical staff and facilities are aboard and how it handles a crime or a medical evacuation; the State Department suggests asking every line about emergency procedures and the medical services the ship can provide [17].

Fine watches and jewelry at sea

Covered ships must log every complaint of theft of property worth more than $1,000, in a log available to the FBI and the Coast Guard, and theft of money or property over $10,000 is among the serious crimes the security guide must explain how to report [13]. Report a loss to ship security at once and ask that it be logged. Before you sail abroad with a significant piece, our guide to traveling with a luxury watch or fine jewelry shows how to register it with Customs so it comes home without question. Consider keeping receipts and photographs of each piece in your travel file.

Papers and insurance for a long voyage

Carry a passport book. The State Department strongly recommends a passport book on every cruise, even when the line doesn’t require one, because you may need to fly home after an illness, an injury, or a mechanical problem with the ship; a passport card works for sea re-entry from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, and the Caribbean, but not for a flight home [17].
Validity and pages. It advises a passport valid at least 6 months beyond travel with 2 or more blank pages, more pages for world or long voyages, and any visas required for every stop, even ports where you don’t plan to go ashore [17].
Medical cover. It also advises medical and emergency-evacuation insurance, noting that Medicare and Medicaid don’t cover medical costs abroad, and enrollment in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program [17].

A discerning traveler’s checklist

Note where the voyage embarks and the ship’s passenger capacity, and match them against the table above [2][13].
If it embarks in the U.S., find the line on the FMC refund-instructions list and save its procedure [6].
Book with a registered seller of travel where your state requires one, such as California [18].
Pay deposits and the final balance by credit card, and keep every confirmation and invoice [7].
Read the ticket contract’s cancellation schedule, forum clause, claim deadlines, and early-departure terms before final payment [9][10][12].
Look up the ship’s latest CDC inspection report [16], and, for a large ship, its security guide [13].
On a small ship, get the medical and security answers in writing [17].
If the line cancels or delays three or more days and you decline, claim in writing at once, and keep dated proof [4].
No refund in time? Go to the FMC ([email protected], or [email protected] after 90 days), your card issuer, and your insurer [5][7].

Related reading for the rest of the journey: refund rights in first or business class for the flight to the ship, and the all-in price rule for five-star hotels for the nights before it.