Specials Needs Vacationers Enjoy the Freedom of a Cruise
Modern
cruise ships are truly engineering marvels, but what
responsibility do foreign passenger ships have to comply
with the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities
Act (ADA) when in US waters? Cruise ships, although
seen by many people as being "floating hotels",
are obviously quite different than land-based buildings
and, according to a recent Supreme Court ruling, may
require a completely different set of engineering principles.
Statistics
show that one in five Americans has a special need affecting
their lifestyles. The International Council of Cruise
Lines (ICCL), representing 16 of the largest cruise
lines in the world, believes that passengers with special
needs, and their families and friends, are a vital segment
of the cruise industry's growth. Moreover, a growing
number of people the ADA is designed to protect see
cruising as a viable vacation choice, perhaps their
only practical choice to see the world. The cruise line
industry has recently shown a strong desire to cater
to those with disabilities, but says it must balance
that desire against the cost of making radical engineering
changes to existing cruise ships.
Most
cruise lines now offer public areas and staterooms large
enough for those dependent on wheelchairs including
accessible bathroom with railings and emergency call
buttons. Braille coded elevator buttons, room numbers,
and restaurant menus are also in place on most ships
for those with vision disabilities and guide dogs are
also now widely welcomed. Many cruise lines provide
a TTY, a text messaging device, that allows easier communication
for folks with hearing disabilities. There are even
some cruise lines that include a variety of tours in
the ports they visit that can accommodate guests with
special needs.
One
thing to be aware of: Nearly every cruise line requests
that special needs guests provide advance notification
of their requirements at the time of booking to ensure
that the necessary accommodations are available.
A
trip aboard a modern cruise ship may in fact be the
best choice for a person with special needs as well
as their friends and family who wish to travel as a
group. More and more in today's competitive cruise markets,
people with special needs can truly experience the world
and the delights and comforts of a modern floating resort.
In
the case of Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd, the
US Supreme Court reached three important conclusions
about how ADA will be interpreted and applied when it
comes to foreign cruise ships in US waters.
First, the court held that foreign cruise ships in US
waters can be held liable to disabled passengers for
discriminatory policies and practices. Second, as a
general rule, US laws are presumed not to apply to the
internal affairs of foreign ships in US waters, and
the court held that ADA probably cannot require permanent,
substantial structural changes to passenger ships if
it would interfere with the "internal affairs"
of the vessel. The court broadly expanded the meaning
of "internal affairs" in its ruling to include
a ship's basic design and construction. Third, structural
changes that could conflict with international treaties
or threaten shipboard safety are likely not considered
"readily achievable" and might not be required
anyway.
Unfortunately,
other than setting forth these broad rules and recognizing
that there are limits to the structural changes that
can reasonably be required on foreign ships under ADA,
the Court did not provide much in the way of details.
The resulting vagueness of the ruling leaves open much
for interpretation. Fortunately, the cruise industry
appears to already be doing a great deal to open its
doors to people with physical disabilities by retrofitting
older ships and designing and building new ships to
meet the special-needs passenger market.
(Source: Travel
Wire News) |