DeSantis demands end to cruise ‘lockdown’
Governor threatens legal action if sailing doesn’t resume
Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the federal government Friday to end a “national lockdown” that has kept
Florida’s cruise lines from sailing, blasting President Joe Biden’s administration for not moving more quickly.
DeSantis urged the federal government to provide a path forward that would allow cruise lines to resume operations by June.
“I want to see these ships sailing,” DeSantis said during a meeting at Port
Canaveral. “It would be a great comeback for a lot of people who work in this industry.”
DeSantis listened to testimony from industry leaders who say inaction by the federal government is keeping thousands of workers unemployed and putting a dent in Florida’s economy. He also used the event as an opportunity to take shots at Biden’s administration, calling it a bureaucracy that “can’t get its ducks in a row and just doesn’t even care that people are hurting or that people aren’t able to work.”
“It is really an example of poor leadership and poor governance,” DeSantis said. “They should not have the authority to shut this down to begin with, let’s just be honest. But to not have any regard or sense of urgency after a year?”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted a “no-sail” order in October, but cruise lines are still awaiting technical guidance under a conditional order that would allow them to start test voyages needed to resume operations.
Meanwhile, cruise lines are restarting cruises in Europe, Israel and Singapore.
A White House spokesman and the CDC did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody suggested legal action may be taken if the federal government doesn't move to let cruise lines resume operations.
"You cannot have an agency shutting down an entire industry based on outdated, arbitrary, capricious decisions," she said. "We will take all legal actions as necessary."
Executives from Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises and Disney Cruise Line joined DeSantis at the event. They expressed frustrations that planes are flying and hotels are accepting visitors, yet their businesses are still shut down a year into the pandemic.
Royal Caribbean Cruises President and CEO Michael Bayley said industry leaders have developed safeguards to protect passengers, but cruise lines haven't received an indication when they can start sailing again.
"We can't get any reliable information from the entity that has closed us down," he said. "It is in intergovernmental agency review — month after month after month. It's devastating."
Nationwide, the industry supported nearly 450,000 U.S. jobs and generated more than $55.5 billion in economic activity before the pandemic, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. More than 300,000 jobs have been lost because of the shutdown, the association said, citing statistics from a market study underwritten by the industry.
Cruise ships were ground zero for deadly outbreaks of COVID-19. One of the worst outbreaks on the Diamond Princess resulted in 14 deaths and more than 700 infections.
Florida is planning to allocate $260 million in relief money to help seaports that have suffered losses during the pandemic, but that won't be enough if ships can't sail, DeSantis said.
Port Everglades is operating at a 54% loss, which forced the temporary or permanent loss of 14,000 jobs, according to the Broward County port's statistics.
"We're the most crippled by what they are doing with this national cruise lockdown," DeSantis said. "If we get liberated from that, you are going to be able to see maybe tens of thousands — maybe even 100,000 more people — end up going back to work."