Florida governor says cruises liners cannot mandate vaccines
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he has the power to trump the actions of cruise lines that are mandating passengers to be vaccinated, in defiance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biden administration.
By Michael McGrady, Maritime Direct Americas & Pacific Correspondent
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says that he has the power to prevent cruise lines from mandating passengers to be vaccinated before embarking on intended trips. The news comes as SilverSea Cruises, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean International, announced that it will require passengers to be vaccinated. SilverSea, like several other major cruise brands, are issuing these regulations to comply with the amended no-sail order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Biden administration’s efforts to further curtail the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
“The Governor’s Executive Order provides that businesses in Florida are prohibited from requiring patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business,” said Cody McCloud, a press secretary for DeSantis, in an email to local news media outlets, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Therefore, the Executive Order prohibits cruise lines from requiring vaccine passports for their Florida operations.”
DeSantis is acting in defiance of the CDC, adding to another chapter to the ongoing cruise industry dispute enveloped by the DeSantis administration suing the Biden administration in federal district court some days ago.
Maritime Direct Americas will keep you updated on the next round of updates from Florida et al v. CDC et al.
