Federal Judge Sides with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in Vaccine Passport Lawsuit

On Sunday night, a federal judge wrote another chapter in the ongoing dispute between the state of Florida and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.  

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in her ruling sided with NLCH in its fight to sail with a requirement for passengers to show proof of vaccination upon boarding. The ruling also granted an injunction that would block Florida from barring vaccine requirements for cruise guests, though more could unfold down the line.

Williams, in her ruling issued on Sunday night, wrote that there is no “valid evidentiary, factual, or legal predicate” that would prevent cruise lines and other businesses from requiring guests to show proof of vaccination.

The lawsuit, one of two that Florida has undertaken that directly impacts the cruise industry, could now head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

NLCH had originally sued Florida over its vaccine passport ban on July 14, calling the lawsuit a “last resort” at the time that was “otherwise preventing NCLH from safely and soundly resuming passenger cruise operations from Miami, Florida starting on August 15.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law in April. It would fine companies who require proof of vaccination $5,000 per guest, which Norwegian called a “crushing” penalty.

“Now, after months of Herculean efforts, NCLH is at last set to resume sailing August 15, 2021, in a way that will be safe, sound, and consistent with governing law, particularly the Conditional Sailing Order administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” the complaint reads.

“Yet one anomalous, misguided intrusion threatens to spoil NCLH’s careful planning and force it to cancel or hobble upcoming cruises, thereby imperiling and impairing passengers’ experiences and inflicting irreparable harm of vast dimensions.”

Norwegian said that the law gives it the choice of either being on the wrong side of health and safety and the federal law, or else on the wrong side of the Florida law.

“NCLH is duty-bound to protect the health and safety of its personnel and passengers, as NCLH can and will by requiring proof of vaccinations, yet NCLH cannot afford to expose itself to prosecution by Florida and crushing penalties of up to $5,000 per passenger, as it would by requiring vaccine documentation in the present posture,” it said.