A Simple Solution To The Florida Vs. CDC Cruise Impasse

Watching the ongoing battle between the state of Florida and the CDC (and the cruise industry) is like watching a game of Russian roulette. But in this case, the rule is, only one player must pick up the gun. That player is Governor Ron DeSantis.

I support the governor in his quest to preserve citizens’ personal liberties by prohibiting businesses from asking for vaccination cards to prove one has received the Coronavirus vaccine.

Conversely, I also believe an individual business has the right to make requirements on its customers if they want to shop in its store, eat in its restaurant, or set foot on its ship. Think “No shoes. No shirt. No service.”

Some vaccine-proofers have argued that government has no right to tell a business it cannot ask for your vaccine card. But the government has laws that tell businesses what they can and cannot do all the time. For example, Florida has a law that prohibits smoking in restaurants and other public areas.

There are good legal and ideological arguments on both sides, and I have struggled with where I come down on this issue.  

I am not an anti-vaxxer; I annually get the flu shot. But I am reluctant to get a vaccine that was rushed through the testing pipeline in eight months when the normal process the Food and Drug Administration puts such vaccines through takes five years. So, I have not gotten vaccinated, and I don’t plan to do so until we pass the Guinea Pig stage of safe vaccines for a few years.

While I believe cruise lines should be able to require vaccination (and masks) if that is what they want on their ships, I don’t think the government should be telling the cruise lines what to do. Where does it end? Is it really a cruise lines responsibility to keep people from catching or transmitting Covid? What if data shows outbreaks of STDs are caused by cruise ship passengers? Should the CDC require the cruise line to ask passengers to prove they do not have herpes or gonorrhea by giving them proof of a test showing they are STD-free?

Personally, I like cruising, but will never go on a cruise if I am forced to wear a mask or prove I have been vaccinated. Apparently, a lot of people don’t mind being told what to do and handing over their medical information to a private business. And that is where the simple solution comes in which I will get to momentarily.

But first, it is important to understand that the Biden administration and the CDC are just as determined to win this fight as Gov. DeSantis.  The former has at least three advantages: first, they have more unlimited resources than the state of Florida to fight this battle; second, the cruise industry is on their side; and, third, unlike DeSantis, they have nothing to lose and have a lot more time to wait this out.

DeSantis on the other hand has a lot to lose.

First and foremost, in 2019 the cruise industry created 7.69 billion in wages in Florida – that means there are a lot of Floridians who used to get a paycheck from the cruise industry or its supporting business that currently are not working.

Second, the cruise industry has made subtle suggestions it will pull out of the state if this issue is not solved to its satisfaction. While this is unlikely, when the industry turns on its public relations machine and runs slick ads showing job losses and the overall economic impact of Florida’s law, it will hurt the governor.

Lastly, DeSantis is up for reelection next year. An avoidable public relations nightmare does not help him. The governor will not play one-player Russian roulette and will likely cave to the feds.

That is unfortunate, because there is a quick and easy solution.

Here it is: the cruise industry should commit to the feds and ensure the CDC it will ask (but not require) passengers to be vaccinated. They should also tell those passengers who are not vaccinated that their ticket will be $5,000 more than the ticket of vaccinated passengers. The cruise lines will then use that extra $5,000 to pay the $5,000 per person fine the state of Florida’s law says it will levy on any business which asks for proof of vaccination.

The passenger-paid penalty will no doubt mean very few non-vaccinated people will be on the ship. I would guess less than one percent of passengers would pay this fee/fine, which would mean the cruise lines would still be in compliance with the CDC sail order, which says at least 95 percent of passengers must be vaccinated.

This is a free-market and personal-liberties solution to a complicated issue the government ought to not be involved in the first place. People will cruise if and win they feel safe on a ship. They do not need the government to force requirements on the ships. This solution is a win-win for DeSantis, the CDC, the cruise lines, and most importantly, passengers and their personal liberties.

Chris Ingram is a communication, political, and media consultant in Tampa. Follow him on Twitter at @IrreverentView or send him an e-mail to chris@tampafp.com.

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