Cruise Lines

In a reversal, the cruise giant now says passengers are “strongly recommended” to receive the coronavirus vaccine on trips out of Florida ports.

That stalemate comes after President Biden signed a “temporary fix” for ships carrying passengers between Washington state and Alaska. Federal attorneys say that act ratifies the CDC's sailing order.

According to a report denied by the governor's office, a cruise exec says a compromise was being discussed that would allow ships to be recognized as in international waters.

Celebrity Cruises would be subject to a fine of $5,000 for each customer asked to show vaccination status under the state's "vaccine passport" ban. “We are going to enforce Florida law,” the governor says.

The approval is a welcome milestone for the cruise industry, which has been paralyzed in the U.S. since March 2020 after COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths on several ships.

The test cruises are a requirement before revenue cruises can begin for ships that are not guaranteeing most passengers and crew on board are vaccinated against COVID-19.

It’s a multibillion dollar question for Florida's economy: When will cruise ships set sail again with passengers?

Mediators are typically summoned in the hopes of coaxing both sides into settling their differences outside the court.

The governor said Norwegian is not "one of the bigger" cruise lines and that other people are "itching to do business" in the state.

Lawyers squared off before U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in Tampa in the state's challenge of the CDC's conditional sailing order.