In January 2010, Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was struck by a massive Earthquake that killed tens of thousands-maybe even hundreds of thousands-of people. Rescue workers rushed to remove survivors from the rubble, but in the days following the earthquake thousands of people wandered the streets without food or shelter. Some instances of looting and violence occurred as survivors grew desperate for sustenance. In the meantime, Royal Caribbean operated a cruise line that made a regular stop at Haiti, at a private beach where it had previously spent millions of dollars in improvements to ensure that the vacationers on its cruise ships would enjoy themselves during their overnight stops. Within a week of the disaster, Royal Caribbean was seeking to assure its customers that the stop in Haiti was not unethical. It pointed out that bringing tourist dollars to Haiti was actually an ethical thing to do, despite the thousands of dying and injured just a short distance away.

If you were scheduled to begin a vacation on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked at its private beach during the week following the earthquake, would you go? If you decided to go, how would your friends and family react to your choice? If Royal Caribbean was not legally required to issue refunds for nonrefundable tickets, should it be willing to issue refunds anyhow?