The article focuses on cruise ship tourism in the polar regions and liability aspects with regard to the special risks connected to shipping in these areas. It observes that while the passengers and crew are onboard the same boat and subject to the same risks, the liability regimes that apply to these to two groups are fundamentally different. In addition, the opportunity of the shipowner to use FoCs as a private governance tool, which is popular in the polar cruise shipping industry, often has a stronger impact on the legal position of crew members than of passengers. Consequently, in a legal perspective, passengers and crew are not “in the same boat.”