Disabled Traveler Sues Cruise Line

ByABC News
February 28, 2005, 4:09 PM

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2005 — -- For many disabled travelers, a cruise can seem like the perfect vacation. With everything on board from lodging and restaurants to entertainment, a cruise ship can be "one-stop shopping" for people with physical disabilities.

But for Doug Spector, a dream vacation he planned with his wife, Ana, on board a Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. ship in 1999 turned into what he calls "one long boat ride." He says the ship, the Norwegian Sea, was not accessible to disabled travelers like himself, contrary to what he says he had been told.

"I was very disappointed, thought that I was deceived and felt like instead of taking a nice cruise I was being taken for a ride," said Spector, who was left unable to walk by a spinal cyst. He uses a mechanized scooter to get around.

Today, a spirited debate in Spector's lawsuit against the company took place before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue in Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line is whether cruise ships registered overseas must comply with U.S. anti-discrimination laws. Norwegian Cruise Line, whose ships operate out of the Bahamas, claims the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to foreign-flagged vessels. The majority of the cruise line industry registers their ships overseas.

In oral arguments, Norwegian Cruise Line said the ADA does not specifically contain any language pertaining to cruise ships in its discussion of "public accommodations" where the law applies. Lawyer David Frederick said the court "should not open up a Pandora's box" by applying the law where Congress did not intend it.

"Our position is that Congress has not spoken on this issue," Frederick said.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed concern that if the cruise industry is exempt from U.S. disability law, it could also flout other laws, such as those prohibiting racial discrimination. "A ship pulling into a U.S. port would be free to discriminate on the basis of race?" she asked.

Justice John Paul Stevens worried that once the law is applied to luxury cruise ships, it would be necessary to apply it to all vessels coming into U.S. waters.