Supreme Court to Hear ADA Case on Cruise Vessels
January, 2005

From Julia Hollenbeck of Wheel Me On website:

NCL DISCRIMINATES AGAINST PWD!

STOP ABUSE NOW!

1. PWD Are Charged Extra For Accessible Room
2. PWD Must Waive Liability For Medical Care Even If Not Disability Related
3. PWD Must Travel With Companion
4. PWD Must Get Permission To Travel Slip From Physician
5. No Safety Evacuation Plan For PWD
6. No Access For Safety Drills For PWD
7. No Access For Evacuation For PWD
8. No Priority Boarding For PWD
9. No Priority Disembarking For PWD
10. No Assistance For PWD
11. No Choice Of Cabins For Accessible Rooms For PWD
12. Only Inferior Rooms For PWD
13. No Access To Ship Parties For PWD Using W/C
14. No Access For Ship Tours For PWD Using W/C
15. No Access To Swimming Pool For PWD
16. No Access To Fine Dinning Restaurant For PWD Using W/C
17. No Accessible Public Bathrooms For PWD Using W/C
18. Elevator Too Small To Allow Independent Access For PWD Using W/C
19. No Private Internet Access Available To PWD Using W/C
20. No Priority Seating For PWD Using W/C For Shows
21. No Integrated Seating For PWD Using W/C & Their Companions
22. Failed Low-Cost Modification Access To Public Bathroom for PWD Using W/C
23. Failed Offering Fine Dinning Or Classes On Accessible Floors To PWD
24. Failed To Address Disability Issues Even When Advised By PWD
25. Failed To Address Disability Complaints By PWD Even After Voyage
26. PWD Subject To Public Humiliation Due To Lack Of Access
27. PWD Required Paying Extra For Accommodations
28. No W/C Access Next To Bed In Stateroom

STATISTICS PROVE PWD PREFER VACATIONS ON CRUISE VESSELS

98% of Cruise Vessels Are Foreign Flag Vessels!

Do We Want Foreign Flagged Vessels Using American Ports Not Complying With ADA?

Norwegian Cruise Line Has Their Corporate Office Based In Miami, Florida, USA!

STOP ABUSE NOW TO AMERICAN PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PWD)

SUPPORT THE AMERICAN PLAINTIFFS FEBRUARY 28TH UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT ~ CASE NO. 03-1388

Support Wheel Me On Members & Advocates

---

Sept. 28, 2004, (From the) Associated Press
COURT AGREES TO HEAR CRUISE SHIP ACCESS CASE

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court today agreed to consider whether foreign cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters must comply with a federal disabilities law requiring better access to passengers in wheelchairs.

The case seeks to determine what Congress intended when it passed the landmark American Disabilities Act in 1990 barring discrimination against the disabled in the enjoyment of services in places of "public accommodation."

Disabled groups, who boarded a Norwegian Cruise Line in Houston in 1998, say they weren't given adequate access to ship pools, restaurants and emergency equipment. In other situations, they alleged they were forced to pay additional fees for wheelchair accessible rooms, inhibiting their rights to "participate fully in society."

Norwegian Cruise Line counters that only an express statement of Congress can justify imposing the U.S. law on a ship that sails under a foreign flag, even if it is docked at a U.S. port. The federal law is silent as to whether foreign cruise lines are covered by the ADA.

"This well-established principle of maritime and international law prevents unintended clashes between port states and flag states over the governance of oceangoing ships," Norwegian's filing states.

The case has wide implications for the cruise industry, which could be forced to spend millions of dollars to remodel ships. The International Council of Cruise Lines filed a friend of the court brief in support of Norwegian Cruise Line, while several advocacy groups joined in a brief for the disabled plaintiffs.

"Making cruise ships fully accessible to people with disabilities makes good business sense," the brief from Paralyzed Veterans of America and other groups stated, citing an expected surge in the disabled population due to aging baby boomers.

The case is an appeal from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans, which ruled in January that foreign-flag cruise ships are not covered by the ADA.

Both the cruise lines and disability groups then urged the Supreme Court to take the case, noting a conflict with an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in 2000 saying foreign ships must comply with the law. In that lawsuit, a Florida resident said she had to pay additional fees for a room with disabled access.

After the 11th Circuit decision, several cruise lines settled lawsuits claiming ADA violations, and a federal judge in Miami ordered a Casino Princesa Ship in 2001 to make restrooms more wheelchair-accessible.

The case is Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line, 03-1388.

| Benefits | Info | Join | Other Sites | News | Feedback | Calendar | Home |