Miami-based Royal Caribbean, one of America’s largest cruise lines, will resume operations in July and will not fight a state of Florida law that bans vaccine passports.
Instead, the cruise vacation company recommends that its passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Guests are strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated, if they are eligible,” the company said in a press release. “Those who are unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols, which will be announced at a later date.”
Crew members will be required to be vaccinated, and so will passengers departing from Seattle on cruises to Alaska, along with those departing from international ports like The Bahamas.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) recently signed a bill into law banning companies from forcing would-be patrons from proving they are vaccinated. Those companies are still allowed to take other measures, like temperature checks.
Facing a potential fight with the cruise ship industry, DeSantis refused to back down.
“We are going to enforce Florida law,” DeSantis he said. “I mean, we have Florida law. We have laws that protect the people and the privacy of our citizens, and we are going to enforce it.”
Norwegian Cruise Lines has considered pulling its fleet from Florida, but there is no official word from the company on its decision.
“We hope that this doesn’t become a legal football or a political football, but at the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers and rudders, and God forbid we can’t operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from,” that company’s CEO Frank Del Rio said in mid-May. “And we can operate from the Caribbean for ships that otherwise would have gone to Florida.”
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is overseeing the resumption of cruise vacations. That is a sticking point for DeSantis and the state of Florida, too. The state has filed a lawsuit against the federal government which seeks to strip the CDC of its authority to dictate the terms on which cruise lines can operate.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to dabroscareports@gmail.com.
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@Hope @Sunshine
Hi Hope. I thought Sunshine’s comment was well thought out and reasonable. Are passive-aggressive tactics a means by which you attempt to intimidate people with whom you disagree into silence often? Have you ever been called out about it?
Cruise ships are so cramped that things “run through” them rapidly – like norovirus outbreaks. Vaccines are not 100% so why risk going on Royal Caribbean. Just cruise with a company that follows good practices.
@Sunshine
Did you make a wrong right turn? This is not the CNN comment board. Make a few more left turns and you’ll find it.
I didn’t think the US had any Cruise Lines, I was under the impression that they all have their Headquarters in another Country………
Two shots of sugar water and fertilizer runoff will not protect anyone from the Fraudulent Fauci Flu.
Don’t Like It; Don’t Cruise
… problem solved
A win for DeSantis and patriots! If you are worried about getting sick, get vaccinated. There is no need to insist other people get vaccinated other than a desire to control people. If you don’t want to live under a dictatorship, vote for DeSantis.
BTW, the vaccine protects you from the variants as well. The threats of variants is a scare tactic to keep you submissive.
Think about what people do on a cruise ship… eat, drink, sleep, travel, and some recreational activities. Do hotels, restaurants, bars, airplanes and theme parks require vaccines, no they do not. So why are cruise ships so much different than other travel options?
Ridiculous. DeSantis should not dictate what the cruise ships do. they are following the CDC and we want to resume cruising too but with all passengers vaccinated that are of age!!! We may be vaccinated but there are strains that we still don’t know much about. But even more important, the ships have to turn around if people get the virus and that means we all go back because those unvaccinated passengers who test positive ruined it for the rest. Why? Get the friggin vaccine people. I bet DeSantis doesn’t cruise so what does he care? So political. Won’t get our vote that’s for sure.