Titanic clash pits DeSantis against potent cruise industry as it prepares to restart

With just two weeks until the first U.S. cruise since March 2020 leaves from a U.S. port — Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades — companies say they are still determining what to do about vaccines for cruises from Florida. Although Florida law prohibits businesses from asking patrons if they have been vaccinated, there is nothing stopping the cruise lines from having passengers volunteer the information. Celebrity Cruises is telling passengers 16 years old and older that if they choose not to volunteer proof of vaccination, they will be treated as if they are unvaccinated and be required to follow CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing as well as be subjected to COVID-19 testing — at additional cost... “It’s behavioral socialism,” Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Miami Democrat. “The definition of socialism is the means and manufacturing, production and control of things that are under the government. These cruise companies are making decisions based on a reasonable contemplation of liability, safety, and reputation.” The conflict could result in precedent-setting implications for the industry at ports across the nation. Florida and Texas ban the notion of compulsory vaccines, arguing individual liberty, while other states with significant cruise traffic such as Alaska and California allow it.