SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – The CDC gives the green light for cruise ships to sail this summer, but Governor Ron Desantis has a vaccine passport law that may keep cruise ships anchored.
The Suncoast sounds off.
“I think we all should be responsible and show our vaccine cards,” North Port resident Linda Hensman said.
“I would not go on a cruise if people don’t show their card,” Sarasota resident George Stilo said.
“I would feel comfortable going on a cruise ship whether they require the vaccine or not,” a Sarasota resident who wanted to remain anonymous said.
“Vaccinated or not, it should not be a matter of discrimination,” Sarasota resident Javier Lopez said.
The governor’s law bans businesses from asking customers whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19. And cruises are not exempt from this, even though the CDC gave cruise ships the go-ahead to start sailing.
“Who controls what happens on a cruise ship, the CDC or the state of Florida,” Cruise Planners Owner of Lakewood Ranch, Mark Bokoff said.
Marc Bokoff is a travel expert who makes 70-percent of his living booking cruises for clients. After COVID’s effect on the nearly 9 billion dollar cruise industry, Bokoff says vaccines should be required to get the business going again.
“It’s the only way to really make sure that things get started again safely,” Bokoff said. “And that’s the big key here, is the safety of the passengers, the safety of the crew.”
CDC states as long as 98-percent of crew members and 95-percent of passengers are fully vaccinated, ships can sail in the summer. Bokoff says vaccines are a normal part of traveling.
“If you’re not willing to get a yellow fever vaccine, you’re not going to go to Africa,” Bokoff said. “If you’re not willing to take a COVID vaccine, you’re not going to go on a cruise ship.”
DeSantis’s vaccine passport law is set to go into effect on July 1.
Now, DeSantis and the CDC are locked in a legal standoff. He is suing the CDC, declaring that restarting the cruise industry with a vaccine-proof requirement is unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday gave the attorneys from both sides until today to settle Florida’s lawsuit.