Supreme Court Rules that ADA Applies to Cruise Ships
Jun 06, 2005
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that international cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters must comply with Americans with Disabilites Act requirements that apply to U.S.-based cruise lines. The 5-4 ruling was unclear abount how much the foreign cruise lines will actually have to reconfigure the pools, restaurants and emergency equipment on their ships. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that cruise lines need not comply with the ADA to the extent it creates too much international discord or disruption of internal affairs, under a provision of the ADA limiting modification to those that are "readily achievable". The decision resulted from a suit by three people with disabilities claimed that they paid for accessible staterooms on board a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship only to find that they were unable to use elevators, restaurants and other facilities on the ship.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/06/scotus.disabled.cruises.ap/index.html
