A federal judge ruled in favor of Norwegian after the cruise operator sued Florida for its vaccine passport ban. Norwegian is now allowed to check passengers’ vaccination status.
According to Norwegian CEO Frank Del Rio, “We want to do everything we can to keep COVID off our ships”. He added that “It’s the best thing to do, the safest way to travel”.
$5,000 Fine Per Passenger
With the vaccine passport ban in place, cruises can face fines up to $5,000 per passenger if they break the law. The vaccine passport ban will prevent businesses from asking employees and customers for proof of vaccination.
District Judge Kathleen Williams said that Norwegian would “suffer significant financial and reputational harms” if they followed this law.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded that “A prohibition on vaccine passports does not even implicate, let alone violate anyone’s speech rights”. He added that the vaccine passport ban prevents “discrimination among customers based on private health information”. Florida will appeal the ruling, which Del Rio called “disappointing”.
Checking Passengers’ Vaccination Status to Achieve a Fully Vaccinated Ship
This ruling will now allow Norwegian to achieve a fully vaccinated cruise ship. This will allow them to check passengers’ vaccination status and minimize risks for both passengers and their crew.
Del Rio said that “Here’s a state that depends on tourism apparently it’s not in their best interests to keep not only our residents safe but our visitors safe so it is very disappointing”. Norwegian wants their crew and guests to complete the COVID19 vaccine doses two weeks before the trip. Also, there will be an additional test before boarding.
Delta Cases on the Rise
Given the high number of delta cases in the US, it is now a cause of concern for the travel industry.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires 95% of crew members and passengers to be vaccinated. However, despite this, some ships had passengers testing positive on cruises. Carnival Vista was the latest ship to record COVID cases.
Because of the delta variant, masks are back on ships once again. This applies even to vaccinated passengers and crew from August 7 to October 31.
