Norwegian Cruise Lines

The decision came three days after Norwegian announced it would no longer require passengers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before boarding ships.

Now that Norwegian has lifted requirements that passengers show proof of vaccination against COVID, it says the state’s appeal in the case is moot and a preliminary injunction should be scrapped.

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

On Wednesday, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Miami.

A motion for dismissal filed at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not explain the decision, but the CDC let expire what is known as a “conditional sailing order” that placed COVID restrictions.

The cancellations involve nearly half of the cruise line's fleet after one ship returned early to Miami this week due to a COVID-19 outbreak among crew members.

At least 17 people on board the Norwegian Breakaway tested positive for COVID-19, including one probable case of the omicron variant. The cruise line said that all confirmed cases are asymptomatic.

"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.

Attorneys for the DeSantis administration wrote in a brief that the law is an “economic regulation that does not implicate” the First Amendment.

The administration disagrees with the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams and will take the case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.