The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) began a strike on 1st October 2024, but despite some concerns from cruise industry commenters, it doesn’t look like it will impact cruise ships.

The strike instead is focussed on cargo ports, with around 85,000 longshoremen now on strike due to unresolved labour negotiations.
Longshoremen are workers at ports who help to load and unload cargo onto ships. This includes the loading and unloading of luggage and essential supplies onto cruise ships.
The strike had been announced in advance and there were some who had speculated that it could cause delays for cruise ships.
This led to many people worrying on social media, including several guests who contacted John Heald, the Brand Ambassador for Carnival.
The president of the ILA, Harold Daggett, also spoke to reassure cruise guests ahead of their vacations:
“We understand that many families plan and pay for cruise vacations on passenger ships more than a year out, and we don’t want them to be disappointed or inconvenienced in any way…
“For almost three years during the worst of the pandemic, the cruise ship industry was shut down, and our ILA rank-and-file members handling passenger cruise vessels lost a lot of manhours.”
Harold Daggett
As part of his statement, he confirmed that all ILA ports would continue to serve cruise passengers during the strike.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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