According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the state of Florida is suing the federal government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), demanding that they allow the cruise industry to begin sailing immediately. Before this morning’s PortMiami press conference, the state filed the lawsuit against the CDC, Biden Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
As we know, the cruise industry has been shut down in U.S. waters since March of 2020, while other travel sectors such as airlines and theme parks have been allowed to continue to operate or reopen with health and safety modifications in place.
Some cruise lines have already begun to sail from other parts of the world, but cruise ships cannot sail out of U.S. ports without express approval from the CDC who has yet to make any statement regarding a timeline. They have also given no inclination as to whether or not passengers will be required to have had a COVID vaccine to sail.
During the press conference DeSantis also reiterated, “People are still going to go on cruises. You know what they’re going to do? Instead of flying to Miami, spending money to stay in our hotels, spending money to eat in our restaurants before they get on the ship, they’re going to fly to the Bahamas, and they’re going to get on the ship from the Bahamas, and they’re going to spend the money in the Bahamas.”
At the press conference, State Attorney General Ashley Moody showed her support of the lawsuit by stating, “If we do not do this, you will see cruises continue to move these cruises to other countries. Florida will not allow that to happen. We’re not going to sit back while an administrative agency decides to shut down an entire industry. Sixty percent of the nation’s cruises come out of Florida.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel and TravelPulse
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