Judge to rule ‘soon’ in Florida vs. CDC
State seeks injunction against cruise restrictions
As cruise lines gear up to begin sailing from Florida, the state was back in federal court for a hearing in its case against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over its conditional sail order on Thursday.
Judge Steven Merryday heard arguments about the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the CDC’s order, which has kept cruise ships from sailing from U.S. ports since 2020, although several lines are set to sail their ships beginning this month.
The two sides have not been able to come to any agreement through court-ordered mediation that began in late May, and Judge Merryday said after the hearing that he hoped to make a decision soon on the request for an injunction.
In a filing ahead of the hearing, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody stated, “Cruise companies are trying their best to work with the CDC because they have no choice. But make no mistake — the CDC continues its overreach, and Florida’s irreparable harm increases by the day.”
The CDC, though, stated that Florida has not shown it would
be harmed if it would let its return-to-sailing protocols play out. This week, the CDC stated 28 ships have submitted port agreements for approval, with nine receiving the OK to perform test sailings. An attorney for the CDC said in court that the agency has approved every test cruise application it has received, and that the reopening process is going smoothly.
Those include the Disney Dream this month from Port Canaveral and Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas from PortMiami. Others are slated to do their simulated sailings in July or August with lines announcing plans to restart with paying customers after those test sailings.
Other cruise lines have opted to begin sailing by requiring vaccinations of all of its passengers. The CDC will give conditional sailing certificates to lines that either sail on test cruises to prove out their COVID-19 protocols or prove that they will be sailing with 98% crew and 95% passengers vaccinated.
“This option discriminates against families,” said Moody in court filings. “Cruising is a family activity, but the 95% vaccination requirement counts kids, and therefore, excludes families.”
Several lines such as Disney and Royal Caribbean have opted for the test sailing approach, especially since they have a lot of family customers. No vaccine is available for children under 12, so reaching the CDC’s vaccination targets would prove difficult.
Other lines like Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have opted to begin sailing with vaccination requirements, although in Florida, that runs afoul of an executive order and new law taking effect July 1 signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that would fine companies that require proof of vaccination $5,000 per instance.
Celebrity Cruises plans to sail Celebrity Edge from Port Everglades on June 26, which would make it the first major cruise line to sail from the U.S. since March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic exploded globally. The cruise line this week became the first major line to sail the Caribbean when Celebrity Millennium departed its home port of St. Maarten for a seven-night voyage with 600 passengers, or about 30% capacity. That voyage avoids any U.S. ports, and is the first of several among cruise lines planning to sail the Caribbean from non-U.S. ports like the Bahamas and Jamaica.
Even though that cruise required its passengers to be vaccinated, the cruise line stated that two of its passengers tested positive for COVID-19 after required on-board testing before disembarkation.
“The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team,” reads a statement from its parent company Royal Caribbean Group. “We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts and closely monitoring the situation.”
As part of the sailing, all passengers had to show proof of vaccination and receive a negative COVID19 test within 72 hours of its departure last Saturday.
“This situation demonstrates that our rigorous health and safety protocols work to protect our crew, guests and the communities we visit,” the company stated.
Carnival Cruise Line has said it will begin sailing from Galveston with full vaccinations, but has yet to state which ships would sail from its two planned restart ports in Florida: Canaveral and Miami, or if they would be requiring vaccinations or not.
A U.S. Department of Justice attorney in court maintained the CDC has jurisdiction to provide guidelines and reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Cruise lines were at the epicenter of several outbreaks when the pandemic began.
Judge Merryday told both sides in court that he wanted to make the right decision, and that they helped answer his questions regarding the injunction, but the overall case remains in mediation.