The cruise industry generates about $8 Billion in revenue for the State of Florida annually, but Ron DeSantis feels no compunctions about antagonizing one of the leading cruise lines because he needs to play Governor of MAGA world more than the role he was duly elected to as governor of Florida. It’s not surprising that Norwegian Cruise Lines filed suit against the State of Florida Tuesday protesting DeSantis absurd laws on banning vaccine passports and fining common carriers who require them. ABC News:
“The State of Florida has indicated that it is otherwise preventing (Norwegian) from safely and soundly resuming passenger cruise operations from Miami, Florida, … in the way that this cruise line has determined will be best for all concerned — with the benefit of documentation confirming that all of its passengers and crew have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” the complaint said.
Florida’s law threatens to fine companies $5,000 each time they ask a customer to provide proof that they’ve been vaccinated. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary called the lawsuit “disappointing” saying Norwegian is “discriminating against children and other individuals who cannot be vaccinated or who have opted not to be vaccinated for reasons of health, religion, or conscience.”
“This Administration will not tolerate such widespread discrimination. Therefore, Norwegian faces a $5,000 fine from whom they demand a vaccination status,” Christina Pushaw, the governor’s press secretary, said in a statement to ABC News.
Company CEO Frank Del Rio previously threatened to move the company’s ships out of Florida if they were not allowed to mandate vaccines.
“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 a ship that otherwise would have gone to Florida,” Del Rio said during an earnings call in May.
Norwegian’s first cruise from Miami is scheduled to sail on Aug. 15, but the company said the ban on vaccine passports puts it in an “impossible dilemma.”
“NCLH will find itself either on the wrong side of health and safety and the operative federal legal framework, or else on the wrong side of Florida law,” the complaint said.
It is so stupid of DeSantis to jeopardize that many jobs and that level of commerce, but then again, this is the same man who doesn’t care how many of his constituents he kills as long as he’s appeasing the great orange whale and going along with the anti-science, anti-common sense stance of the GOP.
And don’t forget, if Trump isn’t on the 2024 GOP ticket, DeSantis will be. Is this somebody you would want to even serve you a coke on one of these cruises, let alone run your government? I didn’t think so. But heaven forfend, it might be a possibility.
Norwegian is correct, they can operate from other states and from PR or from Mexico. It isn’t like Florida wasn’t told beforehand that the cruise lines could/would do this.
The ridiculous part of this is the taxpayers of Florida end up footing the bill for Ron DeSastre’s and his Florida GOP-Nazi party lawmakers’ defense. And if there are sanctions and penalties won by Norwegian Cruise Lines in a Judgment, again it’s the Florida taxpayers that have to pony up the $ or suffer cuts in State services. So he gets the press he wants to pump up his racist Magats, fundraises off of that and the Floridians he is supposed to serve get screwed again, with zero skin off DeathSantis’ back.
But the majority of Floridians voted for the MAGA guy. If they’re sick of him, the Florida citizenry will have to work to vote him out.
Well, we’ve finally seen the final nail in the coffin of the old *conservative* belief that “Government should refrain from unnecessarily interfering in the actions of a business” with de Santis’s blatant ANTI-BUSINESS attitude.
I’m reasonably certain that Norwegian Cruise Line will make exceptions, at least in the case of children who can’t be vaccinated but an issue that de Santis is obviously overlooking is how these unvaccinated folks he’s supporting (especially the “my religion forbids me from getting a vaccination” idiots) will be treated once they reach a cruise port destination. Do NOT try to tell me that when the ship stops at Sint Maarten or St Lucia or Cancún, the authorities at these ports are going to welcome potential virus transmitters with open arms; the authorities at these ports are going to treat unvaccinated visitors with the same regard they treat people without proper documentation (passports or visas or simple ID like a driver’s license) and while these unvaccinated people might complain, they certainly won’t have a legal leg to stand on.
Just because you are one of the morons that believes all this COVID bullshit does not mean a major portion of the US does. You have a senile jackass occupying our White House and just like ignorant “sheep” you follow that charlatan Fauci’s directive? Britain may be banning ththat non-FDA approved “JAB” for emergency use only” because of all the deaths DUE TO THE VACCINE!!!! IT WAS A GODAMN FLU!!!! idiots!!! How dare any cruise line from demanding this from us! You call the GOP NAZIS!!??
What a fucking idiot!
Maybe we should rescind all passports issued by the U.S. government if the holders of those passports refuse to be vaccinated! And the only exception should be medical.
I see that another MAGAt has poked their stupid nose above the slime to spew their lies and disinformation here. And BTW, I am not calling that person an insect. Maggots and flies perform useful functions. MAGAts do not to my knowledge perform any kind of useful function, but are just a waste of perfectly good food and air!
Marianne Jaclyn Yetto
A majority of the U.S. population DOES believe Covid is what it is: infectious, considerably more lethal than the common flu, the cause of death for 606,000 Americans. Those deaths are not due to the vaccine, you silly bint. They are due to the disease. Most of them died BEFORE the vaccine was available. Currently, 99% of deaths ( now 1/10 of what they were back in January) are of UNVACCINATED people.
Are you stupid,wildly and naively gullible or just get your news from Fox, OAN,and Newscorpse (where the truth died years ago)? Is everybody in the world in on this conspiracy? Are France,Germany,the U.K., Spain,Italy all conspiring with Biden (who wasn’t even president when this went to hell in 2020) to sell injections? How about Sweden? Canada? Brazil? Most of Africa? Stop.listening to Q.
You went to bad schools. You can barely read. I have seen better paragraphs written by people in my remedial English college class when I taught at St. Leo’s College at Eglin AFB. Hell,I wrote better in 4th grade. At least I knew better than to add multiple ! and ?.
I am hardly a moron. Double masters. Turned down a fellowship from UPenn( Fat Donnie’s alma mater)and Cornell,both Ivies,and accepted a third offer. Librarian in schools and public libraries and businesses, a researcher, and published author in prize-winning anthologies and magazines.
I am hardly a moron.But you are suffering from learned ignorance, bias confirmation and an absurd loyalty and belief in the honesty of a man who lied 30,000+times and doesn’t give a shot about you. A malignant narcissist who makes fun of you. A man who tried to kill.Social.Security(hope you didn’t plan to retire ever) andMedicare, use the military as his personal.weapons,tried to use DOJ against journalists,and political rivals, tried to turn DOJ into his personal.lawyers ( They work for the American people, not the president), and insulted every ally we have in favor of our sworn enemy,,Vladimiir Putin.