On Cruises That Allow Them, the Unvaccinated Are Second-Class Citizens

[Initech]

Royal Caribbean’s 4,275-passenger Freedom of the Seas has restarted sailings from Miami to the Bahamas with two classes of passengers on board—those who’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19, and those who have not. Jabbed guests, identified with special wristbands, get full run of the ship; those unprotected from the virus won’t even be able to walk into the sushi bar, casino, or spa.

Freedom is the first ship to depart the U.S. without a vaccination requirement, and it’s also the first to depart from the nation’s cruise capital of Miami. For all the city’s influence on the cruising industry, it’s also proved to be a difficult place to restart business, given that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has barred businesses from requiring vaccine cards.

“The cruise experience benefits from being impromptu,” says Jukka Laitamaki, a tourism marketing expert and professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. Cruisers are typically free to hang out where they want, do what they want to do, and make friends. But unvaccinated cruisers on Freedom will find much of that restricted.

“It is the cruise lines’ worst nightmare to have to have separate areas for the vaccinated and unvaccinated,” Laitamaki says.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-07/on-cruises-that-allow-them-the-unvaccinated-are-second-class-citizens?utm_medium=cpc_social&utm_source=twitter_post&utm_campaign=mofu_content_0_[business_news]&utm_content=[vaccinecruise]

Excuse me, but how are unvaccinated passengers even allowed to board? This is grossly irresponsible on Royal Carribean's part. Easy way to solve this: ONLY VACCINATED PEOPLE CAN BOARD! The unvaccinated can stay outside and fling their feces against the walls.

Get vaxxed or get sacked.

[BannonsLiver]

1. Take it up with their idiot governor and state government.

They’ve told the cruise lines they can’t bar unvaccinated people from traveling. That’s the issue here, not RCCL’s protocols.

[PSPS]

2. "DeSantis has barred businesses from requiring vaccine cards" -- was blocked

From 5 days ago:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pandemic restrictions on Florida-based cruise ships will remain in place after a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a previous ruling that sided with a Florida lawsuit challenging the regulations.

The one-paragraph decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was filed at 11:50 p.m. Saturday, just minutes before a Tampa judge’s previous ruling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restrictions was set to take effect.

The judges’ issuance of a temporary stay keeps the CDC regulations regarding Florida-based cruise ships in place while the CDC appeals the June decision by U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday.

[royable]

3. How about if the unvaccinated are allowed on board to serve as ballast? n/t