cruises

The company said that beginning Aug. 1 that testing will still be needed on ships departing from places where rules still requires testing.

While the agency has lifted its travel health notice two years after putting it in place, officials say it's up to travelers to determine their own health risks before going aboard a ship.

It's the second outbreak for the cruise line in as many weeks. Odyssey of the Sea — the newest in Royal Caribbean's fleet — will stay at sea until it returns to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.

The seven-night cruise ended in Miami on Saturday after making three stops in the Caribbean. More than 6,000 people were on the ship, which required testing and those 12 and over to be vaccinated.

"I didn't want to sue the governor, but I had no choice," says Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio, one of the first business leaders to begin a comprehensive vaccine mandate for workers and customers.

The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which sailed out of Texas last Saturday.

A U.S. district judge granted the preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the state’s “vaccine passport” ban, which was signed into law in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to go as high as the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appellate panel order issued late Saturday that sided with the CDC.

The request comes after U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday refused to put on hold his June 18 ruling that the CDC had overstepped its legal authority in placing restrictions on the cruise industry.

Celebrity Edge departed from Fort Lauderdale at 40% capacity, and with virtually all passengers vaccinated against COVID-19.