H.R. 4857: Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2025

HR4857 would create a much more detailed federal safety and consumer-protection system for large cruise ships serving the United States. The core coverage is broad but specific: it applies to passenger vessels authorized to carry 250 or more passengers, with overnight accommodations for 250 or more passengers, that embark or disembark people in the U.S. It does not apply to Federal Government vessels or State-owned or State-operated vessels. The bill also uses precise definitions, including “exterior deck,” which covers any exterior weather deck where a passenger may be present, including stateroom balconies, promenades, muster stations, and similar areas.

A major focus is crime response. Cruise ship owners would have to contact the FBI within 4 hours of being notified of an incident. If the incident happens within U.S. special maritime or territorial jurisdiction while the ship is heading to or at a U.S. port, the report must be made before departure or within that same 4-hour window, whichever comes first. If a U.S. national is involved, the owner must contact the U.S. consulate at the next port of call within 4 hours of arrival. The bill also requires incident records to go to the State fusion center nearest the port of embarkation or disembarkation. To make investigations more workable, video footage must be retained for 1 year after the voyage ends, while other records must be kept for 5 years, and electronic systems must log the date, time, and identity of crew entering passenger staterooms.

The bill also builds a passenger-rights and victim-support structure inside the Department of Transportation. Within 180 days of enactment, the Secretary of Transportation must determine whether the 2013 International Cruise Line Passenger Bill of Rights is enforceable and must also create an advisory committee. That committee would include one representative each from vessel owners, international industry associations, State or local consumer-protection governments, nonprofit consumer-protection groups, nonprofit victim-assistance groups, and relevant Federal agencies. Members would serve without pay but could receive travel expenses and per diem under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 57, Subchapter I. The committee would send recommendations every year for 5 years, and the Secretary would have to report to Congress within 30 days of receiving them. Separately, an interim Director of Victim Support Services must be designated within 30 days, with a final appointment and public outreach plan required within 180 days. The Secretary must also create a 24-hour toll-free victim hotline and maintain a public website updated at least monthly with incident data broken down by cruise line, whether the accused was a passenger or crew member, whether the victim was a minor, and the number of people who went overboard.

Medical and family protections are another key piece. The bill says a “physician” must be a doctor of medicine or osteopathy with either 3 years of post-graduate experience or board certification in emergency medicine, family medicine, or internal medicine, and a “qualified medical staff member” must be certified in advanced cardiovascular and trauma life support. Those medical standards take effect 180 days after enactment. If a U.S. citizen dies on board and the next of kin asks for the remains to be returned, the owner must honor that request and pay all transportation costs unless foreign law blocks it. If the ship is not scheduled to return to a U.S. port for 21 days or more, the owner must arrange transport on a different vessel. Enforcement teeth are significant: the Secretary of Homeland Security may withhold or revoke vessel clearance for violations or unpaid penalties, and the Coast Guard may deny entry to U.S. ports if an owner committed a violation or failed to pay a penalty.