Why does your cruise ticket say you have to sue in Miami?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

Because your cruise ticket is a contract, and many cruise lines put a forum-selection clause in it that names a court in Miami, often the federal court for the Southern District of Florida. The Supreme Court upheld a cruise ticket clause requiring suit in Florida in Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute (1991). For most passengers, that clause decides where the case is heard, wherever they live and wherever the ship sailed.

If you live outside Florida, it is natural to wonder why a vacation that started in another port, or another country, ends up in a Miami courtroom. Below is how the clause works, why courts usually enforce it, what can change the answer and what it means for you. For the types of cases we handle, see our overview of cruise passenger injury claims.

How does the forum clause work, step by step?

1. You accept the ticket contract when you book. The forum clause sits in the passage contract, usually in the section on claims and lawsuits, next to the deadlines for notice and suit.
2. An injury happens on board or on the trip. The clause does not change what happened or who is responsible. It only fixes where a lawsuit has to be filed.
3. You give written notice within the ticket's deadline. Federal law lets a ticket require notice no sooner than 6 months after the injury (46 U.S.C. 30526(b)). See how to give a cruise line written notice of your claim.
4. The lawsuit is filed in the court the clause names. Often that is the federal court in Miami, and the ticket may allow as little as 1 year from the injury to file.
5. The case follows that court's rules. In the Southern District of Florida, an admiralty complaint carries the words "IN ADMIRALTY" after the court's name, and the case moves through the court's scheduling, discovery and mediation rules.

Each step has its own page if you want the detail. The rest of this page explains the clause itself.

What is a forum-selection clause?

A forum-selection clause is a term in the ticket contract that says which court will hear any dispute. It does not decide who is at fault or what a claim is worth. It decides where a lawsuit has to be filed, and courts usually enforce it, as the Supreme Court did in Shute.

The wording differs from one cruise line to another and can change between sailings, so the version that counts is the one attached to your booking. Save a copy of it as soon as you can.

What did the Supreme Court decide in Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute?

In Shute, a couple from Washington State boarded a ship in Los Angeles for a cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and back. While the ship was in international waters off the Mexican coast, the wife slipped on a deck mat and was injured, and the couple sued in a federal court in Washington. Their ticket designated courts in Florida for disputes. The Supreme Court held that the clause should be enforced and reversed the appeals court that had refused to enforce it.

The Court gave three reasons why a reasonable forum clause can be enforced in a cruise ticket, even though passengers do not negotiate it:

• A cruise ship carries passengers from many places, so one accident could otherwise lead to lawsuits in many different courts.
• Naming the court in advance removes confusion about where to file, which saves the parties and the courts time and expense.
• Passengers may benefit through lower fares that reflect what the cruise line saves by limiting where it can be sued.

The Court also set a limit. Forum clauses in form passage contracts are subject to judicial scrutiny for fundamental fairness. In Shute, the Court found no sign that the cruise line picked Florida to discourage legitimate claims, because the company had its principal place of business in Florida and many of its cruises sailed from Florida ports. It found no fraud or overreaching, and the passengers conceded they had notice of the clause. The couple said they could not physically or financially pursue the case in Florida, but that did not meet the "heavy burden of proof" needed to set the clause aside.

Doesn't federal law protect your right to go to court?

It does, in a way that leaves forum clauses in place. A federal statute, now 46 U.S.C. 30527, voids any ticket provision on a voyage between U.S. ports, or between a U.S. port and a foreign port, that limits the cruise line's liability for injury or death caused by its negligence, or that limits the passenger's right to a trial by a court of competent jurisdiction. The same rule was numbered 30509 until 2022, and when Shute was decided it was 46 U.S.C. App. 183c.

The passengers in Shute argued that a distant court weakened that right. The Court disagreed: a court in Florida is a court of competent jurisdiction, and the statute was aimed at ticket terms that limited liability for negligence or kept the question of liability away from the courts, not at clauses choosing a courthouse. A ticket term that tried to cap the cruise line's negligence liability is still void. We explain those limits in can a cruise ticket limit what the cruise line pays.

Why is it usually federal court?

An injury on a cruise ship at sea is generally a maritime case. Under 28 U.S.C. 1333(1), federal district courts have original jurisdiction of any civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction, "saving to suitors in all cases all other remedies to which they are otherwise entitled." That is why many tickets point to the federal court rather than a state court.

The federal court in Miami has its own rules for these cases. In the Southern District of Florida, every complaint filed as an admiralty claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h) must boldly state "IN ADMIRALTY" after the name of the court (Local Admiralty Rule A(4)). How the claim is filed can matter later: Rule 38(e) says the federal rules do not create a right to a jury trial on a claim designated as admiralty under Rule 9(h).

Being in a Florida courthouse does not mean Florida's ordinary injury rules apply. The deadlines and the rules on shared fault usually come from maritime law and the ticket. See how a cruise injury case differs from an ordinary Florida injury case.

Where are the federal courthouses in Miami?

The Southern District of Florida lists three courthouses in Miami:

According to the court, the Clerk's Office is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on regular business days, and a picture ID is required to enter its courthouses. Our office is at The Wells Fargo Center, 333 SE 2nd Ave., Suite 2000, in downtown Miami. Our page for a cruise injury lawyer in Miami covers the court's local rules and the port. For the steps after filing, see what happens after you file a cruise injury lawsuit in Miami federal court.

What changes the answer?

The exact wording of your ticket

Clauses differ. The one in Shute designated courts in the State of Florida; many tickets today name a court in Miami, often the federal court. A clause written for one cruise line or one year may not match another. The court you file in has to be the one your own contract names, so read your ticket rather than relying on someone else's.

Where the voyage went

The federal ban on ticket terms that limit negligence liability or the right to a court trial applies to voyages between U.S. ports or between a U.S. port and a foreign port (30527(a)). A cruise that never touches a U.S. port can be governed by different terms and even a different country's law. See claims by passengers who are not U.S. residents.

Notice of the clause and fundamental fairness

Shute left open how much notice of the clause a passenger must have before buying, because the passengers there conceded they had notice. Proof that a cruise line chose a court to discourage claims, or obtained agreement by fraud or overreaching, is the kind of showing the Court said could defeat a clause. Inconvenience alone was not enough.

Who you are suing

The forum clause is part of your contract with the cruise line. A claim against someone else, such as a tour company in another country, raises its own questions about where that company can be sued. See whether you can sue a foreign tour operator in a U.S. court.

What does this look like in a real situation?

For example, imagine a passenger from Ohio who sails from a port in Texas on a seven-night Caribbean cruise. On the third day, she trips on a raised threshold near the pool deck and breaks her wrist. Back home, a friend suggests filing a lawsuit in the local county court.

Her ticket says suits must be filed in the federal court in Miami, gives her 6 months to send written notice of the claim and 1 year from the injury to sue. Because the cruise left from and returned to a U.S. port, the ticket cannot cap the cruise line's liability for its negligence, but the Miami clause will very likely be enforced, as it was in Shute. So she sends written notice in the fourth month, files in Miami before the anniversary of the fall, and handles most of the case from Ohio: interviews with her lawyer by phone and video, documents by mail and email, and her deposition by video if the parties agree. Our page on how long a cruise injury lawsuit takes in Miami federal court shows what the stages after filing look like.

This example is hypothetical. It is not a past case or a result, and every claim turns on its own facts.

What mistakes do passengers make?

• Filing in their home court. Courts usually enforce the ticket's choice of court, so a case started in the wrong place can cost months while the ticket's lawsuit deadline gets closer.
• Reading the wrong ticket. The clause that counts is the one in force for your sailing, not a version found online later.
• Assuming Florida's injury rules apply because the case is in Florida. The deadlines and fault rules are usually maritime ones.
• Waiting while the cruise line "reviews" the claim. Talking with guest services or an insurer does not pause the notice or lawsuit deadline.
• Deciding not to pursue a claim because Miami is far away. Many steps of a federal case can happen without travel. We go through each one in do you have to travel to Miami for your cruise injury case.

Can you challenge the clause?

Sometimes, but it is hard. After Shute, a passenger who wants a different court has to show that enforcing the clause would be fundamentally unfair, for example because of fraud or overreaching, or because the passenger had no notice of it. Inconvenience alone was not enough in Shute. The practical approach is to assume the clause will be enforced and to plan the case around it from the start.

Do you have to live in Florida, or move there, for the case?

No. The clause controls where the case is filed, not where you live. Cruise Injury Advocates, the cruise-injury practice of Suro & Rodriguez, PLLC, represents passengers nationwide and worldwide from Miami, in English and Spanish. Many steps of a federal case can happen by phone or video, although trial is usually in person.

What should you do this week?

1. Find your ticket contract. It is usually linked from the booking confirmation or the cruise line's website. Save the version that applied to your sailing.
2. Note three things: the court the ticket names, the deadline for written notice of your claim and the deadline to file suit.
3. Count from the date of the injury. Federal law lets a ticket set as little as 6 months for notice and 1 year for a lawsuit (46 U.S.C. 30526). Our article on cruise claim deadlines explains both clocks.
4. Write down where the ship sailed from and every port it called at, since the route affects which federal rules apply.
5. Speak with a lawyer who handles cases in the court your ticket names, well before the notice deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Does the clause mean Florida law decides my case?

Usually not. The clause picks the courthouse, but a cruise injury at sea is generally decided under federal maritime law. Florida's own injury deadlines and fault rules differ in important ways, which we compare in our page on cruise cases versus Florida cases.

Can the ticket stop me from suing at all?

Not on a voyage between U.S. ports or between a U.S. and a foreign port. On those voyages, 46 U.S.C. 30527(a) voids ticket terms that limit the passenger's right to a trial by a court of competent jurisdiction. What the ticket can do is name which court.

Will a jury hear my case?

It depends on how the case is filed. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38(e) says the rules do not create a right to a jury trial on a claim designated as admiralty under Rule 9(h). The choice is made when the complaint is written, which is one reason to plan the filing carefully.

What if my cruise left from a foreign port?

The forum clause may still apply, since it is part of your contract. But the federal rules that protect passengers on voyages touching a U.S. port may not, and the ticket may point to an international convention or another country's law.

Can I start the case before I know the full extent of my injuries?

Yes. Notice and a lawsuit can be filed while treatment continues, and waiting for a full recovery is a common way to miss the ticket's deadlines. Damages are proven later in the case.

Do I need a lawyer in Miami?

You need a lawyer who can appear in the court your ticket names. For many passengers that means the federal court in Miami, which is where our office is.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines and rights depend on your ticket and the facts of your case. Contact a lawyer about your specific situation.