Norwegian Cruise Lines, headquartered in Miami and one of the major cruise operators sailing from Florida ports has sued the state over its law that imposes a $5000 per passenger fine for asking about vaccination status.
Norwegian’s suit says that Florida’s ban on checking health status violates federal law and puts it in an “impossible dilemma” between state law and safety for its passengers. The cruise line’s plans for ships operating from its new Miami terminal (above) rely on fully-vaccinated crew and passengers.
The situation is further muddled by an ongoing lawsuit between the federal Centers for Disease Control, which has issued rules requiring full vaccination for a fast track to approved sailings and Florida. So far, Florida has prevailed in a District Court ruling, but CDC still has time to amend its order, and the court’s ruling is, in any case, being appealed.
NCL’s interest in the matter is clear: the consequences of virus spread last year on cruise ships was one of the horror stories of the pandemic, and they want to be able to assure passengers and sell tickets. Among NCL’s claims against the law is that, they say, it violates the First Amendment by blocking communications between businesses and their customers.
