Royal Caribbean singles out Florida as only state where vaccines are not required to sail
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. - Instead of setting sail, Florida ships are sitting still.
With Governor DeSantis' new law saying private businesses cannot require people to show proof of vaccinations, navigating the waters has been tricky.
"This has really been a load of nonsense, but we will go through it. The Governor has been very supportive of the cruise industry, but we need to move this forward. We have ships that are ready to sail right now," said cruise industry expert Stewart Chiron.
Industry experts say there are a few kinks that need to be ironed out. While Governors in Florida and Texas are refusing to let companies require passengers to prove they have been vaccinated, Royal Caribbean has set up guidelines for passengers departing from other states.
Florida is the only state where vaccination is "strongly recommended" and not required.
On Monday, the company singled out Florida, announcing, "For cruises departing from all U.S. Ports, except Florida ports, Royal Caribbean requires all guests 16 years of age or older to be fully vaccinated, and from August first, all guests 12 years of age or older must be fully vaccinated."
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Cruise and travel expert Stewart Chiron said that Florida is an outlier because of the unresolved lawsuit between the CDC and the state.
"In this case with Florida, Royal Caribbean said, okay well we are going to request to see it at certain ports and if they don't show us, we are going to consider them as non-vaccinated and therefore they will adhere to secondary protocols," Chiron said.
For a state whose economy heavily relies on tourism dollars, Florida is at the center of this battle over vaccination rules between the federal government, the CDC, the state, and individual companies.
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"I am certain that this will be resolved once the lawsuit between Florida and the CDC comes to a conclusion," Chiron added.
Watch FOX 35 Orlando for the latest updates on the cruise industry.