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Supreme Court Rules Cruise Ships Must Improve Access for Disabled Passengers

June 7, 2005

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The Supreme Court has ruled that foreign-flagged cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters must provide better access for passengers with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs. By a slim 5-4 majority, the court held that Congress intended for the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act to apply to cruise ships.

The case before the court grew out of a lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Lines, filed by Douglas Spector, Julia Hellenbeck and several other people with disabilities. After taking an NCL cruise from Houston, they charged that customers with disabilities are charged higher ticket rates and that the vessels are not configured to enable them to use facilities including bathrooms and swimming pools.

The plaintiffs said they experienced isolation, higher prices and obstacles to participating in activities during their Norwegian Cruise Line trip.

"The statute is applicable to foreign ships in the United States waters to the same extent that it is applicable to American ships in those waters," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. He was joined by Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens.

However, Kennedy wrote that cruise lines do not need to comply with all provisions of the ADA, if doing so would create too much "international discord" or disrupt a ship's internal affairs. He cited a provision of the statute that calls only for "readily achievable" modifications.

With that, the court sent the case back to a lower court to work out the details of what changes the $2.5 billion foreign cruise industry will actually have to make.

The International Council of Cruise Lines, based in Arlington, Va., said that, rather than making extensive structural changes to ships, cruise lines would offer more personal assistance to the disabled.

"Despite the unique challenges invariably encountered when sailing on the ocean, ICCL cruise ships routinely accommodate wheelchairs, electric mobility devices and service animals; provide wheelchair-accessible cabins and communication auxiliary aids; and make every reasonable effort without sacrificing safety to accommodate all guests," the organization said in a prepared statement.

The plaintiffs in the case hailed the ruling as an endorsement of their right to "participate fully in society."

"With this decision the Supreme Court has told the cruise lines that we are entitled to what every other passenger receives: access to emergency equipment and the full range of public facilities," said Spector.

The Bush administration and several state attorneys general supported the disabled passengers in arguments before the court.

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