Florida Could Sue the CDC Over Its Conditional Sailing Order

Florida, the U.S. state most impacted by the cruise industry’s continued shutdown, could sue the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over its refusal to end restrictions on U.S. cruise lines.

In a press conference with cruise line executives last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the CDC to lift its order, explaining that “one of our major industries…has been idled by the federal government for over a year” and “we need to get these cruise lines operating again.”

DeSantis met with cruise line executives including Carnival’s Christine Duffy, Royal’s Michael Bayley, and MSC Cruises’ Richard Sasso, at a Port Canaveral terminal that has remained empty since March of last year.

“We need to start seeing some activity at this facility, and that’s part of the reason we’re here today,” DeSantis added.

The CDC has refused to budge on its Conditional Sail Order (CSO), which was put in place after it lifted its No Sail Order last year. In a statement to Travel Market Report, the CDC said the CSO will remain in effect—as planned—until Nov. 1, 2021.

“Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. Details for the next phase of the CSO are currently under interagency review,” the CDC said.

Cruise lines on Friday told DeSantis that the industry had been unfairly targeted by the CDC, even as its peers in the travel industry, including theme parks, have been allowed to welcome guests once again.

“We’re here because these are important parts of our state, the jobs are very, very important and it’s not just people that work for the cruise industry,” DeSantis said on Friday.

The executives told DeSantis that the order not only impacts their business, but the businesses of other adjacent companies that benefit from the cruise industry, including their suppliers, many of who are local companies in Florida, and their travel agent partners.

While DeSantis, and Florida Attorney General Ashely Moody, did not commit a lawsuit against the CDC on Friday, Moody said that the state was exploring its legal options should the CDC continue to prevent cruise lines from restarting.

DeSantis and the cruise lines executives said that a summer restart—some were targeting July—would allow them to start to ramp up operations now so that they can have the time they need to recall workers and get their ships properly positioned. But they need the word soon, as a restart isn’t as easy as flipping a switch, they said.