Peter Greeberg: Nicole, what do people have to know about what their rights are when they are about to take a cruise?

Nicole Coward: The most important thing is for people to look at a very simple document, their passenger ticket which can also be called the passenger agreement contract. In the case of the Costa Concordia, any lawsuit is going to have to be brought in Genoa, Italy and its also going to be subject to Italian law. So that puts a lot of limitations on what people can actually be compensated for

PG: Reporter Victoria Mather told me that in that contract of carriage, they put a cap on the amount a passenger can request.

Victoria Mather: The real important thing is that you only got 30 days in which to claim. So if you do not register a claim in Genoa in 30 days during which time you are feeling shocked and traumatized, forget it.

NC: There is also a difference in limitations depending on the governing agreement. In this case, there is also the Athens Convention which may give a longer statute of limitations for an actual complaint. So, there is actually two limitations.

PG:What is the likelihood that there will be attorneys successful in moving the jurisdiction to Florida?

NC: I think its very difficult. There are very few exceptions of when you can move the venue.  In fact, Carnival Cruise Lines has had a lot of these claims litigated in the U.S. where the courts have upheld the foreign selection clauses.

The Italian law does not appear to be in too much conflict with U.S. laws in terms of protection.

VM: Nicole, how much confidence do you have in a judicial insurance process which is being handled by the Italians and the Greeks?

NC: I do have faith that the Costa Concordia is a very large company who has to insure that it will still be able to get customers so I do think those considerations will come into play.

Do you feel that the Costa Concordia case should be tried in the U.S.? What do you think is fair for the victims and their families?

For more information on this incident, check out:

• Peter’s CBS This Morning report on New Developments for the Costa Concordia
• Peter Travel Detective Blog, Beyond the Headlines of the Costa Concordia
• Everything You Need to Know About Cruise Travel
• Cruise & Travel category

Article text by Nicole Coward for PeterGreenberg.com. Interview text by Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio.