Republican Governors Of Texas And Florida Battle With Cruise Lines Over Vaccine Requirements

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

June 9, 2021

The Republican governors of Texas and Florida are headed toward showdowns with some of the world’s largest cruise lines, including Norwegian and Carnival, over whether passengers boarding ships leaving their states can be required to show proof of vaccination.

The entrenched positions Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have taken against so-called vaccine passports is at odds with the policies cruise lines are implementing as they seek to resume operation this summer — potentially putting the jobs of cruise line workers based in their states at risk while causing confusion for travelers planning to board those ships.

The cruise lines are attempting to navigate rules implemented by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that make restarting cruises far easier when passengers are vaccinated, and laws in Republican-controlled states banning businesses from requiring proof that customers have been vaccinated. DeSantis has sued the CDC over its rules.

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