A US federal judge has granted Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCL) a preliminary injunction that overturns a Florida state law forbidding cruise lines from requiring passengers and crew to show written proof of vaccination before boarding cruiseships.
The injunction paves the way for other cruise operators sailing from Florida to implement vaccination policies that the industry has argued are the safest way forward for the resumption of cruising.
The Frank Del Rio-led cruise major asked Judge Kathleen Williams last Friday to block the bill signed into law during May by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that banned cruise companies from requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccines to board ships in the state.
NCL, in the lawsuit that named Florida's surgeon general Scott Rivkees as the sole defendant, argued that the law jeopardised the health and safety of crew members on ships operating out of Florida.
NCL has 28 cruiseships that are operated by its Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands.
Williams ruled in favour of the cruise line on Sunday, granting NCL a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the state's vaccine passport ban that will allow the company to require written proof of vaccination when cruises out of Miami resume on 15 August on the 2,394-berth Norwegian Gem (built 2007).
In a statement released shortly afterwards, NCL said the ruling would allow it to operate in the “safest way possible with 100% vaccination of all guests and crew when sailing from Florida ports”.
Frank Del Rio, the president and chief executive of NCL, said: “The health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is our number one priority, today, tomorrow and forever.
"It’s not a slogan or a tagline, we fiercely mean it and our commitment to these principles is demonstrated by the lengths our company has gone through to provide the safest possible cruise experience from Florida.
“We want nothing more than to sail from Miami, the cruise capital of the world, and from the other fabulous Florida ports, and we welcome today’s ruling that allows us to sail with 100% fully vaccinated guests and crew, which we believe is the safest and most prudent way to resume cruise operations amid this global pandemic.”
Facts and science
Daniel Farkas, executive vice president and general counsel at NCL, said the company was pleased that Williams “saw the facts, the law and the science as we did, and granted the company’s motion for preliminary injunction allowing us to operate cruises from Florida with 100% vaccinated guests and crew”.
“While litigation is a strategic tool of last resort, our company has fought to do what we believe is right and in the best interest of the welfare of our guests, crew and communities we visit in an effort to do our part as responsible corporate citizens to minimise, to the greatest extent possible, further spread of Covid-19 as we gradually relaunch our vessels,” Farkas said.
Del Rio said that as the public health environment continued to evolve around the world, NCL’s “robust science-backed health and safety protocols, with vaccines at its cornerstone, allow us to provide what we believe is the safest vacation experience for people who long to get back to their everyday lives and explore the world once again”.
NCL said it had invested heavily in a comprehensive, multi-layered health and safety programme with “science-backed protocols developed in conjunction with the nation’s top scientific and public health experts”.
The company, like many other cruise majors, has adopted a 100% vaccination policy for passengers and crew, which while in place without issue in almost every embarkation port worldwide, could not be enforced in Florida due to the law prohibiting any business operating in the state from requiring proof of vaccination.
Williams' ruling has been described by US political commentators as one of many legal blows to DeSantis as pushback against the relaxation of pandemic policies in Florida intensifies as the state battles record-breaking figures due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
DeSantis, a Republican, has come under severe criticism in recent months for his policies, and has been frequently accused of politicising the virus and vaccinations.
