DeSantis last month signed a law that would bar “vaccine passports” and impose a $5,000-per-incident fine on businesses that require proof of vaccination. At a rate of $5,000 per passenger, that could result in Florida seeking to levy massive fines on cruise ship operators.
That move came just weeks after he sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over its cruise rules in an effort to allow cruises to resume unconditionally. Currently, the CDC requires 95% of passengers and 95% of crew members to be vaccinated in order to bypass trial sailings required by the agency on ships planning to sail with more unvaccinated passengers.
After a court mediation failed, DeSantis last week said the CDC’s rules have resulted in “mothballing the (cruise) industry for 15 months.” He said the vaccine requirements would effectively prohibit families with young children who have not been eligible for the vaccine, or whose parents decide not to have them vaccinated, from taking cruises.
“We were basically saying, like honestly, just let them sail,” DeSantis said. “If we win the case, it opens up. They will all sail out of Florida. They will all do it consistent with Florida law.”
Several companies remain firm over requirement
Despite the insistence from DeSantis and Abbott, however, several cruise operators said this week that they plan to mandate vaccines on departures from Florida and Texas this summer.
Celebrity Cruises will be the first to attempt to navigate between DeSantis and the CDC, with a departure from Florida set for June 26. The company is requiring all passengers older than 16 to be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings announced Monday that it plans to resume cruises out of Miami in August — and will require all passengers to be vaccinated.
“At the end of…
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