Florida’s Surgeon General Sued by Norwegian

Norwegian Cruise Line sued Florida’s surgeon general in its attempt to end the state’s vaccine passport ban. If this lawsuit against the surgeon general becomes successful, the company can easily implement its safety protocols.

Florida’s vaccine passport ban complicated the return of cruises. This law prevents businesses from asking for vaccination information from their customers or employees. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for the cruise industry to comply with the conditional sailing order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC’s guideline states that 95% of crew members and passengers of cruise ships should’ve completed their vaccination. If not, cruises will need to do a simulated voyage to test COVID protocols using non-paying passengers.

Lawsuit Against the Surgeon General

What makes the lawsuit against Florida’s surgeon general important for Norwegian? Unfortunately, this is make-or-break for the cruise line. According to Norwegian, the law could force them to cancel upcoming cruises in the state. Also, the company noted that the law could result in a “devastating, unrecoverable loss”.

For Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, cruises are not exempted by this law. Despite Ron DeSantis supporting the return of cruise line operations, the state’s law can alienate cruises. He also warned that companies that will go against the vaccine passport ban will have to pay fines. With every violation, fines can go up to $5,000 per passenger.

Norwegian in a statement said that “We believe Florida’s prohibition is on the wrong side of federal law, public health, science, and is not in the best interest of the welfare of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit”.

The cruise line also added that “Our policy of 100% vaccination of guests and crew is consistent in place without issue in every port we sail from around the world except for Florida”.

According to the lawsuit, the vaccine passport ban blocks communications between businesses and customers. Consequently, this violates the First Amendment. Plus, it also goes against the Fourteenth Amendment by stopping companies from protecting the health of employees and customers.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruises are now back sailing in Florida. Also, both cruise lines found a loophole requiring unvaccinated passengers to pay more for tests and insurance. Consequently, these requirements can frustrate unvaccinated travelers making them choose between paying more or getting vaccinated.