Cruise-ship vacations are one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry. More than 10 million individuals embarked on ocean voyages last year, with US residents accounting for 3 of every 4 passengers.

The vast majority of cruise ships operate from US port cities like Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. Yet virtually all these cruise ships are registered in foreign countries such as Liberia, Panama, and the Bahamas.

Foreign-ship registrations allow cruise lines to avoid paying US taxes and sidestep compliance with expensive American labor regulations. While these foreign-registered ships must comply with American environmental laws when in US waters, it has been unclear whether they are subject to American civil rights statutes like the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

Monday, the US Supreme Court takes up a case examining whether foreign-flag cruise ships doing business in US waters can be sued under the ADA for discrimination against disabled passengers.

"The Americans With Disabilities Act is the nation's promise to millions of persons with disabilities that they will be treated as full citizens," says Washington lawyer Thomas Goldstein in his brief to the high court. "Norwegian Cruise Line, however, claims that it has the right to flout that promise."

Lawyers for Norwegian Cruise Line counter that application of US civil rights laws to its foreign-flag ships runs counter to a long tradition of maritime treaties respecting the sovereign control of registry nations. "This case is not about Norwegian Cruise Line's treatment of people with special needs," says NCL's general counsel Mark Warren. "This case is about whether Congress intended that the ADA should apply to foreign-flag ships."

The issue has been examined by two appeals courts, one in Atlanta and the other in New Orleans. The Atlanta court ruled that the ADA applies; the New Orleans court ruled it does not.

It is now up to the Supreme Court to break the deadlock with a ruling that will apply nationwide.

Under the ADA, public places like hotels, restaurants, theaters, and recreational areas are required to make reasonable modifications to permit equal access for those with disabilities. Cruise ships offer all those public activities under a single roof and thus are also covered by the law, says Mr. Goldstein. In addition, the ADA requires equal access to public transportation, a category that he says also embraces cruise ships.

Mr. Warren of NCL disagrees. "There is nothing in the statute that speaks to vessels, boats, ships, ferries, or any kind of navigable craft, let alone those with foreign flags," he says. "If Congress chooses to regulate foreign-flag ships, it is certainly entitled to do so, but it must specify that is what is intended."

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