In most jurisdictions ordinary principles of the law of contract apply to a contract for the carriage of passengers by sea. Of particular importance in the United Kingdom are the common law principles dealing with the efficacy of contractual exclusion and limitation clauses. This is because tickets issued for passenger carriage invariably contain terms which attempt to exclude or limit the liability of the carrier. A passenger ticket is an unsigned contract document and the general common law principle is that any term which appears on the ticket will only form part of the contract if reasonable steps were taken to bring it to the attention of the passenger before or at the time the contract was entered into. This involves a consideration of a number of factors including the nature of the term and the steps taken to bring it to the attention of the other party at the time the contract was entered into.