T. 11-20-92
Control No. X92101515120



                                          DEC 7 1992



AAG
JRD
DATE
The             Honorable Phil Gramm
                United States Senator
DAAG            2323 Bryan Street, #1500
BSD             Dallas, Texas 75201

DATE            Attn: Clarissa Clark

                Dear Senator Gramm:
CHIEF
WODATCH               This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of
                (b) (6)           , who is concerned about the application of 
the
DATE            Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to cruise ships,
                particularly those registered under foreign flags, that
operate 
                United States ports.

                      The ADA authorizes the Department to provide technical
                assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or
DATE            responsibilities under the Act. This letter provides informal
                guidance to assist you in responding to XX          . However,
                this technical assistance does not constitute a determination
by
ORIGINATOR      the Department of Justice of xx        rights or
BLIZARD         responsibilities under the ADA, and it is not binding on the
                Department.
DATE
                     Cruise ships may be subject to the requirements of both   
the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation regulations
implementing title III of the ADA. This Department's regulation implementing
title III applies to private entities that own, operate, lease, or lease to a
private entity whose operations fall within one or more of twelve specified
categories. Among those categories are places of lodging, places that serve
food or drink, places of public gathering, and places of recreation or
entertainment. Because cruise ship operations fall within several of the
listed categories, cruise ships are places of public accommodation, and would
be subject to the Department of Justice title III regulation to the extent
that the operators are subject to the laws of the United States.

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Breen, Blizard, FOIA, Library
udd:mercado:congressional.letters:blizard.gramm.(b)(6)
01-01788

                                -2-

        As places of public accommodation, cruise ships must comply
with the full range of title III requirements, which include
nondiscriminatory eligibility criteria; reasonable modifications
in policies, practices, and procedures; provision of auxiliary
aids; and removal of barriers in existing facilities. However, a
ship is not required to comply with a specific accessibility
standard for new construction or alterations because no Federal
standard for the construction of accessible ships has been
developed.

        Coverage of cruise ships is discussed in the preamble to
section 36.104 of this Department's title III regulation (at page
35550) and in section III-5.3000 of the Title III Technical
Assistance Manual. Copies of the regulation and the Technical
Assistance Manual are enclosed for your information.
Under the regulation issued by the Department of
Transportation, which was published in the Federal Register on
September 4, 1991 (56 Fed. Reg. 45584), cruise ships are
classified as "specified public transportation, "because they are
operated by a private entity that is primarily engaged in the
business of providing transportation. Entities operating forms of
specified public transportation may not discriminate on the basis
of disability in providing transportation services.

        The Department of Transportation has not yet established
specific requirements applicable to cruise ships; however, that
Department has stated that ships registered under foreign flags
that operate in United States ports may be subject to United
States regulations (which would include the title III regulation
discussed above) unless there are specific treaty prohibitions
that preclude enforcement. Additional information about the
regulation issued by the Department of Transportation may be
obtained from the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department
of Transportation, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

        The ADA establishes two avenues for enforcement of the
requirements of title III, private suits by individuals and suits
by the Department of Justice in cases that involve a pattern or
practice of discrimination or that raise an issue of general
public importance. If (b)(6) believes that his rights
under the ADA have been violated, he may file a lawsuit in a
United States District Court, or he may request an investigation
by the Department of Justice by writing to the Public Access
Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O.
Box 66738, Washington, D.C. 20035-6738.



01-01789






                                -3-

        I hope that this information is helpful to you in responding
to (b)(6) xx.



                                        Sincerely,



                                      John R. Dunne
                                Assistant Attorney General
                                  Civil Rights Division


Enclosures (2)



01-01790
                                                   XX
                                                San Antonio, Texas, 78233
                                                   xx (b)(6)
Condi-Nast Travel
c/o Ombudsman
360 Madison Ave.
N.Y., N.Y. 10017

Dear Sirs:

My first enclosure is the text of a letter sent to my travel agent to be
forwarded to the powers to be at the Carnival Cruise line headquarters.
My second enclosure is a copy of the response to me from Carnival.
I believe that the largest percentage of carnival business is drawn from
United States of America and therefore they should be in compliance with
the American Disabilities Act and not allowed to hide behind Liberian
Registry.

We were told by a crew member during the cruise that nothing had been done
bring that ship in compliance and they simply told the people whatever the
thought we wanted to hear. Further that the Carnival ship "Celebration"
had no intentions of ever bringing that ship into line with the
Disabilities act.

I would appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

(b)(6)
(b)(6)
(b)(6)
CC(5 )

Office of the Governor                  Cruise Center
State Office Building                   5410 Fredericksburg Rd.
Austin, Texas                           San Antonio, Texas 78229
c/o Consumers Advocate Division         c/o Ms. Marie Baxter

Attorney General Office
State of Texas
Austin, Texas

Honorable Phil Gramm
U. S. Senate Building
Washington, D. C. 20510

Congressman Lamar Smith
U. S. Rep. Dist 21
10010 San Pedro Suite 530
ILLEGIBLE


01-01791



TEXT ENCLOSURE# 1
(b)(6)
(b)(6)
                                        San Antonio, Texas 78233
Cruise Center
54k9 Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio, Texas 78229
c/o Ms. Marie Baxter

Dear Marie:

This letter is a follow up of our phone conversation about Carnival Cruise
Lines cruise on the M.S. Celebration from June 20, 1992 to June 27, 1992.
The list of complaints follows:

1. 6 1/2 " step into bathroom from the bed area.
 
2. Bath area not large enough to get a wheel chair, scooter or even
a walker in.

3. No T. V. remote control --- T. V. on wall --- disabled could not
reach controls.

4. The gangplank ( not in Miami) in San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maartin
was about 22 inches wide. The wheelbase on adult disabled equipment
is wider than that. St. Maartin was completely unavailable because
of a long flight of steps.

5. Steps on each end of gangplank meant carrying person and chair and
any other equipment.

6. Food in "Wheelhouse Bar and Grill " was horrible.

7. Room service was limited in variety.

8. Promenade unavailable without lifting patient and chair or scooter.
a ramp would have made it more accessable.
(HANDWRITTEN) 202-76-0
9. The final "Midnight Buffet" was unaccessable to the disabled and not
allowed to take food to the disabled out of the dining room..

All in all we found disabled facilities to be limited or non-existant
and certainly not adequate for one disabled as was the indication when ticket
were purchased. After lengthy conversations with other disabled passengers
we feel that this is a fair and accurate portrayel of the situation. In
fact some of them experienced even worse problems than we did. Had XX
been provided with more disabled facilities XX        trip would have
been a much more enjoyable experience. The total objective of this trip
was a week of stress free relaxation since we had not been able to take a
vacation in 3 years due to XX        surgeries. Due to heavy lifting
XX        is also experiencing some strain in never before troubled
joints.


The N.S. Celebration is not in compliance with United States law for the
disabled and should be XX        until they are in
compliance. We realize the ship is a Liberian Registry but they are doing
business in the United States and should XX.
          .
We believe this to be a completely accurate appraisal and could go further
disabled facilities needed. However, we are not the ones doing business
and therefore will close on this note.

Sincerely,




(b)(6)






01-01793