Lower the political rhetoric to get cruise ships sailing | Editorial

A year ago, the prospect of COVID-19-infected passengers disembarking at Port Everglades angered Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“We cannot afford to have people who aren’t even Floridians dumped into South Florida using up those valuable resources,” DeSantis told a Fox News interviewer. He was referring to the Zaandam, which finally was allowed to dock after Holland America and federal and state officials worked out health protocols.

That was then. Last week, during an appearance with cruise ship executives, DeSantis demanded an end to the industry “lockdown.”

The Biden administration “can’t get its ducks in a row and just doesn’t even care that people are hurting or that people aren’t able to work,” DeSantis said. “It is really an example of poor leadership and poor governance.”

We get that DeSantis, who owes his office to former President Donald Trump, must regularly bash Biden. We also get that the industry matters a lot to Florida. PortMiami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades, in that order, are the busiest cruise ports in the world.

But if the governor really wants to help the cruise lines, a staged media event featuring a predictable monologue is a lousy strategy. Nor should Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody take the governor’s hint and sue the administration. Grandstanding litigation rarely helps.

So let’s look past the politics. Let’s examine how to resolve this important, complicated issue.

Last March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a no-sail order for American ports. Last October, the CDC issued its fifth update of that order. The agency called it a “framework for the phased resumption of cruise ship operations.”

The order remains in effect until Nov. 1 unless the secretary of Health and Human Services declares that COVID-19 no longer is a “public health emergency” or the CDC director “rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations.”

Based on news reports, cruise lines have two main issues. They complain that the CDC has provided no details of that “framework” to resume sailing. They also worry that, when the guidance comes, it will be outdated.

The industry would like to resume sailing July 1. Executives cite COVID-19 vaccine availability and Biden’s comment that life in the United States could start to resemble a pre-pandemic normal by Independence Day. They point out that sailing has resumed elsewhere.

As Florida Republicans criticize the Biden administration, we will note that the CDC issued no guidance during the last three-plus months that Trump was in office. Biden has been president for slightly more than two months. The new leadership at the CDC has prioritized the vaccine rollout and monitoring new virus strains.

We also will note, however, a cruise blogger’s good point. She wrote that the Oct. 1 order refers only twice to “vaccines” and only to state that none have been approved.

But we reject comparisons to airlines resuming flights and theme parks reopening. Airline flights last hours, not days. Visitors can leave theme parks whenever they want.

As we saw last year, cruise passengers quickly can become prisoners. In addition, multiple lawsuits allege that companies failed to warn passengers last February and March about the risks of sailing and made it hard to get refunds based on the virus threat.

Cruise lines aren’t helping by encouraging people to write their members of Congress. Rep. Carlos Gimenez responded last week with a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky that called the agency’s delay “reprehensible.”

In fact, caution is advisable. Despite the vaccines, new case levels remain higher than when ships stopped sailing. The Miami Herald reported that crew members on 33 ships in American waters have tested positive for COVID-19.

The CDC must consider not only the close quarters aboard ships, but the chance for spread when passengers disembark at ports of call. “It’s quite clear that this is a formula for accelerated introduction, transmission and then accelerated spread,” said Martin Cetron, the CDC’s director for global migration and quarantine.

As always, economic health depends on public health. The website CruiseCritic.com reported that 86 percent of its regular users were more likely to book a trip if crew members have to be vaccinated and test negative. Some users want all passengers to have been vaccinated.

Some companies, tired of waiting, are scheduling cruises from The Bahamas. But that won’t help Florida.

So we suggest that a bipartisan delegation from the state try to meet with Walensky and other CDC officials – virtually, if need be – and seek ways to get that guidance. We also suggest that DeSantis drop his knee-jerk aversion to so-called “vaccine passports.”

Biden administration officials have stressed that they won’t require businesses to demand proof of vaccination. But the administration is working on guidance for those that do.

And look who’s interested.

Windstar Cruises will take only vaccinated passengers. Royal Caribbean will require crew and passengers over 18 to be vaccinated. Crystal Cruises will require it of all passengers.

So vaccine passports may be one way to resume cruising until we reach herd immunity. In trying to help the industry, bipartisanship will work better than Republican herd mentality.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O’Hara, Dan Sweeney, Steve Bousquet and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.