If Costa Cruises had hoped for a swift settlement, then thatship may have sailed.

On Jan. 27, the company offered 11,000 euros, or roughly$14,400, in reimbursement to each of the hundreds (includingchildren) who survived the harrowing experience that left at least 16 dead and othersmissing.

The specified per-passenger amount is the result of an agreementbetween Italian consumer advocacy groups and Costa Cruises.Although the compensation package is reportedly higher than thecurrent indemnification limits provided for in internationalconventions and laws, it appears to be insufficient to at least sixpassengers who may be initiating a multi-million-dollar counteroffer of their own.

That same day, six Costa Concordia survivors lodged a complaintin southern Florida, where parent company Carnival CruiseLines maintains its headquarters. The plaintiffs haverequested a jury trial and are allegedly seeking “economic andcompensatory damages in excess of $10 million (and) punitivedamages of at least $450 million,” SunSentinel.com reports. In thesuit, they charge cruise ship operators with “maritime negligence”and “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” among othercounts.

This legal action may be a precursor of what is to come. The families of thedeceased and those who required medical treatment on-site willbe covered under a separate proposal that will take intoaccount individual circumstances.