09/04/2021
Florida Sues to Force CDC, Biden Administration to Restart Ocean Cruising Out of U.S. Ports
Insider Travel Report
04/09/21
Last week Florida’s governor threated to sue the government, namely the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Biden administration, to force it to restart cruising out of U.S. ports. Yesterday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (pictured above) went ahead and did just that, announcing that his state had sued the government and the CDC demanding they allow cruise ships to sail from U.S. ports immediately.
“Today, Florida’s fighting back,” Gov. DeSantis said as he stood with his State Attorney General Ashley Moody in PortMiami, the largest cruise port in the U.S.. “We don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based on very little evidence and very little data. I think we have a good chance for success,” DeSantis said.
Filed in the United States District Court in Tampa, the state’s lawsuit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against CDC guidelines on cruise ships. It claims the industry “has been singled out, and unlike the rest of America, prevented from reopening… As a result, the industry is on the brink of financial ruin.”
“If we do not do this, you will see companies continue to move these cruises to other countries,” Moody said. “Florida will not allow that to happen. Lives are on the line.” Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Crystal Cruises have already announced plans to base ships in Bermuda, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean starting as early as this June.
Florida’s lawsuit comes just days after Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) sent a strongly worded letter to the CDC maintaining that its cruise brands had fulfilled all the requirements mandated by the CDC, including its most recent statement that people who have been vaccinated can safely travel. NCLH said it would only permit vaccinated guests and crew to sail on its ships, which it urged the CDC to allow to cruise starting July 4.
Florida has three of the world’s largest cruise ports—PortMiami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades. The industry employs thousands of workers and generates billions for the state’s economy each year. The cruise industry has been shuttered since March 2020 due to coronavirus outbreaks on several cruise ship and the CDC’s concern that the virus could spread in the close quarters on a ship. The CDC “no sail” order was updated in October to require cruise lines to pass a series of health and safety protocols before sailing.
Several cruise lines, such as MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean, have returned to sailing in other parts of the world, but none have met the CDC’s requirements so far to be able to cruise from U.S. ports.
Florida’s lawsuit claims that because other segments of the travel industry such as airlines, hotels, restaurants, theme parks, casinos and bars “have continued to reopen successfully with reasonable COVID-19 protocols,” the CDC’s restrictions on the cruise industry are now “obsolete.” The suit claims that Florida “has the authority and responsibility to protect the wellbeing of its public [treasury]]and the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.”
Calling the CDC’s decision to delay cruising “irrational,” Gov. DeSantis said he believed the state’s lawsuit has “good chance for success.” But some legal experts reportedly said the state will have a hard time making the case that it has legal standing to sue the CDC and the federal government.
Meanwhile, the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) said It supported Florida’s lawsuit against the CDC: “Last October, CDC replaced its March 2020 ‘No Sail Order’ with a ‘Framework for Conditional Sailing Order,’” said Zane Kerby, ASTA president and CEO. “At the time, many in the travel industry saw it as a sign of real progress toward the resumption of cruise travel. Six months later, despite more than 170 million vaccines administered, falling infection and mortality rates in most states, political inquiry and pressure, including [now] a lawsuit from Florida’s Governor, the CDC has taken little substantive action and, by all appearances, maintains that cruising cannot be resumed safely.”
"We find the CDC’s position singling out cruising perplexing given that nearly every other group activity one can envision—from attending sporting events to dining indoors in restaurants, to visiting movie theaters and gyms, not to mention traveling by air and staying in hotels—has already resumed safely with masking requirements and social distancing protocols in place,” Kerby said. "With state-of-the-art medical facilities and medical staff on board, cruise lines are uniquely positioned to deal with a variety of challenges, including COVID-19. Their thorough protocols have been effective, as we have seen in both Asia and Europe, where cruising has already resumed. Out of 400,000 passengers, there have been only 50 cases of on-board infection, an exceedingly low rate, and with zero fatalities. What’s more, no government assistance was needed to manage those rare instances because they were managed properly by the cruise lines and never escalated to the point of needing outside intervention.”
Kerby noted that the CDC last week said that those who have been vaccinated are at low risk to spread infection and can resume domestic travel as long as they adhere to social distancing and masking protocols. “Why this pronouncement applies to the 1.5 million airline passengers flying every day, but does not apply to those who would choose to cruise, is arbitrary and capricious,” he said. “It is long past time for the CDC to issue the guidance needed to permit sailing to resume or rescind the order in its entirety, as we stated yesterday in our letter to the White House COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator, Jeffrey Zients.”
"150,000 American travel advisors are the worldwide sales channel for the cruise industry,” Kerby said. “Accordingly, we stand with U.S. Senators Rubio, Scott, Murkowski and Sullivan and our partners at the Cruise Lines Industry Association (CLIA) urging immediate action and express our support for the legal action to being taken by Governor DeSantis to immediately rescind the CDC’s Conditional Sailing Order."
As Kerby noted, ASTA on April 7 sent a letter to the White House COVID-19 Recovery Team Coordinator Jeff Zients demanding clarification on the CDC Conditional Sail Order. Financial support for travel advisors has been tragically inadequate. U.S.-based travel agencies are the sales force for cruise ships worldwide and their livelihoods depend on the resumption of cruising. “Cruising is the only voluntary experience that has been singled out for scrutiny and additional, yet to be determined, regulations,” Kerby said.
