Florida’s ban on vaccination proof requirements complicates U.S. cruise line comeback

When cruise ships depart from Florida ports in the coming months, some passengers will not demand that passengers receive the most effective pandemic life support – a Covid-19 vaccination.

That’s because of new legislation signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that is preventing companies from requiring customers to provide proof of vaccination. The bill goes into effect Thursday, and opponents say it could threaten the recovery of an industry vital to the state’s economy and make it even more difficult for cruise lines to internalize vaccination recommendations from federal centers for disease control and prevention.

At least 10 major cruise lines are headquartered in Florida, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Line.

Celebrity Cruises has abandoned the requirement for Florida passengers to provide evidence of their shots. Royal Caribbean requires proof of proof in certain ports but not in Florida, and this week introduced a requirement that makes travel difficult for unvaccinated people: these passengers must provide proof of travel insurance.

Despite the law, two of the largest cruise lines, Carnival and Norwegian, have decided to require proof of vaccination according to the information posted on their websites. Florida law violations carry a maximum fine of $ 5,000 per violation.

“No company is above the law,” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw said in an email. “Some of the largest cruise lines have revised their policies and we expect others to follow suit.”

When asked how Carnival is going to deal with the new Florida law, a spokesman did not comment on the decision to break the law and instead referred NBC News to its Frequently Asked Questions page, which said “prompts guests to confirm their status “. as fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and submit proof of vaccination before embarkation ”, unless a vaccination exemption is granted in advance.

Norwegian, which requires guests to provide proof of vaccination, responded to inquiries with a link to their latest press release from early June about their upcoming US trips.

Democrats have denounced the new law and accused DeSantis of undermining both public health and the cruise industry.

“The governor is dictatorially imposing his will on Florida companies that are trying to protect their customers, including the cruise lines that our agriculture depends on for millions of food sales,” Florida Commissioner for Agriculture Nikki Fried said in a statement to NBC News.

Fried, a Democrat, is running to remove DeSantis in next year’s election.

Pushaw said the governor’s order is unlikely to deter sea travelers.

“It is almost unknown that a vaccinated person becomes seriously ill with Covid-19,” she said in an email. “So vaccinated people shouldn’t worry about getting infected from those who aren’t vaccinated.”

When DeSantis signed a law in May banning what he called “vaccine passports,” he said, “Florida protects your choice of vaccinations and no company or government agency can deny you service based on your choice.”

Bari Golin-Blaugrund, spokeswoman for the Cruise Lines International Association, the trade group in the industry, called Florida “the heart and soul of the cruise world”.

“Before the pandemic, the industry directly and indirectly supported nearly 160,000 jobs in Florida.”

In 2019, 8.3 million of the 13.8 million people who boarded a cruise ship in the United States did so in Florida, Golin-Blueground added.

But Florida isn’t the only port of call for the cruise industry, and an NBC News poll of 17 lines serving the U.S. found that four fail to follow the CDC’s recommendations that all eligible crew members and passengers be vaccinated: those in the U.S. American Cruise Lines based in Italy, Costa Cruises based in Italy, and MSC Cruises and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line based in Switzerland.

American operates smaller vessels for fewer than 250 passengers and is not subject to the same cruise regulations as the major shipping companies.

“The rapid progress in vaccination in the US is very positive as we look to the resumption of cruises,” said MSC President Rubén Rodríguez.

MSC has been operating in Europe with tens of thousands of guests, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, since last summer, he said.

“MSC Cruises is a very inclusive family brand and we want to welcome all guests, including children and adults, who have not been vaccinated for medical or other reasons,” said Rodríguez.

Another company, Holland America Line, required passengers to get vaccinated before boarding but also stated that the requirement was “subject to change”. Royal Caribbean International requires passengers to be vaccinated, but only if they are departing from these four ports: Seattle; Galveston, Texas; Nassau, Bahamas; and Limassol, Cyprus.

While Golin-Blaugrund said her industry is “overwhelmingly” supportive of the vaccine, she added that given that children under the age of 12 don’t have access to Covid-19 vaccines, “100 percent vaccination is just not an option for families”.

The CDC offers two options for re-certifying cruise ships to sail in the face of these restrictions: reaching the threshold of 95 percent vaccination for passengers and 95 percent for crew members, or cruise ships have their protocols tested before travel.

“This route requires simulated drives or test drives with volunteer passengers before these ships can obtain the conditional sailing certificate required to resume commercial operations in US ports,” said Golin-Blaugrund.

But even when these test cruises resumed in American waters last month, there were already reports of Covid-19 outbreaks on ships that are not regulated by the CDC.

Two passengers on board the Celebrity Millennium, which sailed from St. Maarten in the Caribbean on June 5 and was supposed to be a “fully vaccinated” ship, tested positive for Covid-19. It is operated by Celebrity, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean also delayed the opening voyage of its Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship after eight crew members tested positive for Covid-19 last month.

Disney postponed a test drive this week after inconsistent Covid-19 test results. Also this week, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line postponed its restart after a crew member on board tested positive for Covid-19.