Cruise Lines May Avoid Florida Ports Due to State’s Proof-of-Vaccination Ban

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to require COVID-19 vaccination documentation from guests and crew members, even as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned the documentation in new state legislation.

According to People, NCL (which is headquartered in the state) plans to launch ships to the Caribbean and Europe at limited capacity and will require their guests and crew members to be completely vaccinated against COVID-19, even though Governor DeSantis recently enacted legislation that bans businesses in Florida from requiring proof of vaccination.

Frank Del Rio, the chief executive of the Norwegian Cruise Line, recently said on their quarterly earnings call that because of DeSantis’s new rule, the cruise line might be forced to skip over Florida ports altogether.

“We certainly hope it doesn’t come to that,” Del Rio said. “Everyone wants to operate out of Florida. It’s a very lucrative market,” he added.

“At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers, and rudders, and God forbid we can’t operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from,” Del Rio explained. “And we can operate from the Caribbean for ships that otherwise would’ve gone to Florida.”

Several other major cruise lines have already moved their ships in preparation to operate out of international ports since last year, after sailings were halted in the U.S. Norwegian has plans to sail out of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic starting in July, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Royal Caribbean has already announced that their ships will depart out of the Bahamas and Bermuda, while Celebrity Cruise Lines has said they will sail from St. Maarten.