A federal appeals court panel has reversed course and rejected a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bid to ensure the cruise industry abides by its COVID-19 conditional sailing orders – a legal win for the state of Florida.
In a terse ruling issued on July 23, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit of Appeals reversed its earlier opinion overturning a district court ruling that essentially made the CDC’s orders governing the cruise industry voluntary.
“The appellants’ ‘Time-Sensitive Motion for Stay Pending Appeal and Administrative Stay’ is denied because appellants failed to demonstrate an entitlement to stay pending appeal,” the judicial panel said in a unanimous decision.
A news release from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office noted that the reversal at the 11th District came in the wake of Florida filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The cruise industry can now resume operations without needing to follow CDC rules, which the state argues exceed the agency’s authority, according to the Governor’s Office.
“The importance of this case extends beyond the cruise industry,” DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “From here on out, a federal bureau will be on thin legal and constitutional ice if and when it attempts to exercise such sweeping authority that is not explicitly delineated by law.”
The legal turn of events has helped to put cruise lines on a more stable path to getting back to normal since the pandemic led to an industry-wide shutdown, observers said.
“It’s been a long year-and-a-half process,” Michael Rubin, president of the Florida Ports Council, told the Florida Record. “It’s been brutal dealing with the CDC.”
The agency has been continually changing the rules governing how cruise lines restart their businesses while protecting passengers and crew members from the spread of COVID-19, according to Rubin. It’s been unclear why the cruise lines were singled out among all the tourism-based industries, he said, but many issues are now being ironed out.
“From our perspective, cruise lines are going to start a number of voyages here in August and September," Rubin said, adding that more vessels should be sailing out of Florida ports during the winter months. “... I think we’ve established, regardless of what the results of those lawsuits are, at least a pattern of cruise vessels leaving Florida ports, and that’s a good thing.”
Florida has three of the largest cruise ports in the world, he said, noting that the industry supports about 160,000 jobs in the state and adds billions of dollars in economic activity. At Port Canaveral near Orlando, cruise operations represent 70% to 80% of port revenues, according to Rubin.