Report: Florida's lawsuit against CDC to restart cruises heads to mediator

Report: Cruise ban lawsuit referred to mediator

Cruise lines may have to wait a little bit longer to learn about setting sail again.

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. - Cruise lines must wait longer to learn more about the future of sailing.

A judge has reportedly referred Florida's lawsuit against the CDC to a mediator.

According to reports, a federal judge in Tampa wants both sides to get together to see if they can come to an agreement by June 1.

The state filed a lawsuit against the CDC last month to try to get the No Sail order on the cruise industry lifted.

Governor Ron DeSantis says the cruise industry in Florida has suffered major financial losses because it has been shut down for more than a year. Just last week the governor spoke on why the state filed this lawsuit.

"What we want is the cruise lines to be open and we want them to be able to make decisions about how they're going to handle a lot of this stuff," he said. "The problem is not Florida. The problem is the CDC. We have a whole bunch of people who are itching to do business in the state of Florida."

There was a vaccination event for Royal Caribbean on Wednesday at the port. Royal Caribbean’s Vice President of Worldwide Port Operations said the plan is to vaccinate about 4,000 crew members over the next month, but the cruise line started with about 200 on Wednesday.

Watch FOX 35 News for the latest developments.

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