New regulations for cruise travel contracts are expected to go into effect in the middle of next month, the Cabinet’s Consumer Protection Committee said yesterday.
The regulations, proposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, are a response to rapid development of the cruise travel market in the past few years, the committee said.
The Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Overseas Cruise Travel (郵輪國外旅遊定型化契約範本暨其應記載及不得記載事項) say that “cruise travel” refers to ocean and river cruises arranged for travel beyond Taiwan’s territory, committee official Chen Hsing-hung (陳星宏) said.
Due to the unpredictable nature of ocean cruises, the proposed regulations give cruise ship captains absolute command, with passengers being required to respect them, Chen said.
If a captain believes there are navigation risks, they can change the route, he said.
The rules say that businesses should advise passengers to purchase insurance against cancelations, delays or other situations to share the risk posed by the uncertainty of cruise itineraries, he said.
They also state that businesses offering group tours should assign a guide to accompany them for the entire trip, Chen said.
Cruise contracts should have a review period of no fewer than three days, he said.
The regulations set out rules for compensation, as well as policies and fees for infants and toddlers, the committee said.
Advertising and promotional materials, itineraries and information from presentations would be considered part of a contract, it said.
If contracts offered by travel businesses do not meet the requirements, they can be ordered to make changes within a limited period, it said, adding that if the changes are not made before the deadline, fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 would be levied.
Businesses that continue to not implement changes would face fines of NT$50,000 to NT$500,000, with the possibility of consecutive fines, it said.
People should ask for complete information and review it before deciding whether to join a cruise, the committee said.
When signing contracts, they should keep a copy of promotional material, itineraries and other documentation in case of disputes, it said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to