Cruiseline threatens to boycott Florida due to vaccine passport ban

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' CEO says the company will stop coming to Florida ports if they aren't allowed to turn away unvaccinated people.

On an earnings call Thursday, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio told investors that the company will keeps its promise and not allow unvaccinated people onbaord the ships once travel resumes.

"At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellers and rudders, and God forbid we can’t operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from. And we can operate from the Caribbean for ships that otherwise would’ve gone to Florida," Del Rio said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The cruise company which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas has promised crew and customers that every guest and employee who comes aboard one of their ships will be vaccinated against COVID-19. The entire cruise industry has been shutdown since March 2020 when the pandemic began and there was multiple incidents of the virus spreading aboard ships.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation this week that bans all public and private entities from requiring proof of vaccination before entering a premise or receiving a service. Gov. DeSantis has already made his opposition to vaccine passports known by signing an executive order in March banning their implementation.

"It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply participate in normal society," DeSantis said in March, "You want to go to a movie theater, should you have to show that? No. You want to go to a game, a theme park? No. So we’re not supportive of that."

Other Republican governors have followed suit with Gov. Greg Abbott announcing Texas will also be banning any sort of vaccine passport. DeSantis has not directly responded to Norwegian's comments.