Royal Caribbean Reverses Vaccination Mandate for Passengers Departing from Florida
Cruise lines’s vaccine mandates had recently been torpedoed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Royal Caribbean International will no longer require any of its cruise passengers to be vaccinated for COVID-19, revering its previous stance after push-back from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Vaccines are not required for passengers, but all ship crew members will be vaccinated. Guests who are unvaccinated “will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols,” according to a news release from the company.
The company’s first cruise since the coronavirus pandemic began will launch on July 2 in Miami, more than a year after the US Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s (CDC) no-sail order brought cruises to a halt, said the release.
“This is it. Vacationers can finally plan to take their precious time off this summer and truly get away after what has been a challenging time for everyone,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, in the release.
DeSantis’ threats of imposing fines on cruise lines asking for those mandates appeared to be highly persuasive.
The about-face is an apparent submission to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has insisted that there will be no exception made for cruise companies to a newly passed Florida law that fines companies $5,000 each time they ask a patron to provide proof of vaccination.
Royal Caribbean International’s sister brand Celebrity Cruises (both owned by Royal Caribbean Group) is still requiring all passengers 16 years old or older be vaccinated on its seven-night Caribbean cruises that are restarting from Port Everglades on June 26.
Lyan Sierra-Caro, a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean International, said the plans to require passengers be vaccinated that the company submitted to the CDC only applied to its test cruises. According to CDC rules, cruise ships that don’t meet certain vaccination thresholds for passengers and crew must first do a successful test cruise before they can restart revenue cruises.
“Our intention is to comply with all federal, state and local laws,” she said via email.
DeSantis is so good that the Royal Caribbean International CEO personally thanked the governor during the announcement of the reversal.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley thanked Gov. DeSantis and fellow Florida politicians for “their steadfast support of our industry.” Despite removing the proof of vaccination requirement, he pointed to company data that claims 90% of Royal Caribbean consumers are “either vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated in time for their cruise.”
“This is it. Vacationers can finally plan to take their precious time off this summer and truly get away after what has been a challenging time for everyone,” Bayley said in a statement. “I would like to sincerely thank our guests and travel partners for their incredible patience and understanding during this very difficult period.”
Given the extent of government duplicity regarding the coronavirus policies found in the Anthony Fauci emails, more personal freedom going forward would be the optimum choice.
I applaud the decision of the cruise line to allow everyone to assess their level of risk when arranging their travel plans. After all, if you are truly concerned about getting COVID on a cruise from someone unvaccinated, you can get the vaccine yourself.
After all, based on science, that’s how vaccines work.
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Comments
“After all, based on science, that’s how vaccines work.”
Yeah, that’s right. But you didn’t get that from Fauci.
And make sure you have HCQ on hand for early treatment as well as serum vitamin D, Azrithomycin etc. All the therapeutics Fauci made sure the public never got.
“Guests who are unvaccinated…”
How would they know who that might be? Is that not personal medical history?
“…will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols,” They can discriminate based on medical history? The ADA allows that?
Choosing not to get the vaccine is not a disability so the ada wouldnt apply.
You probably mean HIPAA, and no, it’s not a violation for a person to offer his or her own medical information.
It is a violation to require it, however.
A violation of FL law, yes. Of HIPAA, no.
This is all just more theater. All the cruise line needs to do is place in the contracts of carriage that they are not responsible in the event any passenger may contract COVID while traveling on the vessel, and that the passenger agrees they understand and accept the risks of being infected with COVID which may include adverse health events, shipboard quarantine, being put off at port, etc. They could even impose costs upon any passenger that boards with the disease to include all cost associated with containment, medical care, cleaning the vessel, and any harm that may result to both crew and fellow passengers. They could sell COVID liability insurance to passengers and make money.
In other words, they could simply throw the risk onto the passenger.
“will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols”
The devil, they say, is in the details. This is likely to be an in-substance ban.
“will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols”
Nope, Sorry. That’s not a vacation AT ALL.
Riding around in what looks like a horizontal office building isn’t my idea of a vacation, either.
Wife and I got our shots. We’ve never cruised before. Seriously considering it now.