For those of you that think we have "Rights"

[richstowe]

Let me be clear. I believe signed legal agreements can and will be enforced.

My point is I agree to Microsofts user agreement terms because I have no choice. This is NOT the same

thing as an individual contract I negotiate and enter into with another party.

I want to be there when you return your cruise contract with changed terms. Be my guest.

[gtalum]

My point is I agree to Microsofts user agreement terms because I have no choice.

 

Actually you do have a choice. There are several other viable operating system choices, at least one of which has a very liberal EULA. :)

 

This is NOT the same thing as an individual contract I negotiateand enter into with another party.

 

Agreed, but only because the contract is already set. It's a "take it or leave it" kind of thing. There are steps you can take to protect yourself from negative outcomes, however, that you can't effectively take if you haven't read the contract.

 

I want to be there when you return your cruise contract with changed terms. Be my guest.

 

The fact that the contract is non-negotiable is irrelevant. Yous till have the option to purchase or not, and if you purchase there are options to protect yourself. You are free to continue to accept contracts without reading them, but that doesn't make it a wise practice.

[oncruisecontrol]

When I first considered cruising, I carefully read through all the fine print on the web page, on the contract, on the cruise brochure provided to me..everywhere where such stuff occurred. It never occurred to me to do otherwise. So when I read here about people complaining about stuff it astonishes me to realize that I must be among a very small minority who actually DO That -- read the small print..ask questions about it..BEFORE I actually put down the first dollar.

 

Interesting article, but nothing new that i didnt' already know.

 

 

You and I and a handful of others actually read the fine print. I'm not sure that I'm surprised that many others don't. Once, at work, my manager was going around with a memo regarding a new company policy. The memo was about half a type-written page long. We were required to sign at the bottom of the page. As I started reading the page, my manager said that he just needed my signature. I replied, "My dad taught me never to sign anything without reading it first". I really blew his mind when I asked (heaven forbid) for a copy of the document!

[CruisinManiac]

Wow...I'm impressed.

 

My friends father died in Puerto Rico...while waiting for the cab to the airport to fly home. Sudden heart attack..... Her mother had a nightmare getting the body back home.

 

Assuming that your friends father HAD been on a cruise, once off the ship, the cruiseline is not responsible, especially after the cruise is over and the passenger has disembarked the ship. The pier is not owned by the cruiseline.

 

What scares me is the following statement about the ships physicians.

 

The quack who treated you isn’t our problem....The passenger is left with the problem of having to bring a claim against the doctor who inevitably is not a U.S. citizen, often has no insurance, and is not subject to personal jurisdiction here in the U.S

 

If a physician doesn't have insurance, that to me is a red flag that this doctor is not the best. :rolleyes:

[blindrid]

Choose a different arrangement, pick a different company, or insure myself against the negative clauses. There are plenty of options, but you can't act on them if you don't know what you're trying to protect yourself from.

 

I never sign or agree to ANYTHING without reading it in full first. This is the same reason why so many people ended up with mortgages they couldn't afford (and our economy is wrecked as a result of): failure to read the fine print.

 

I rarely read boilerplate material. That has nothing to do with the mortgage BS as the people wanted to but houses they couldn't afford, it had little to do with the "fine print".

 

And Yes, the boilerplate contracts do hold legal water and whatever attorney suggested otherwise must not do litigation.