First Florida cruise approved by CDC in June!

[dmunsil]

Doesn't a healthcare provider need your permission to release your medical records?

I honestly don't know whether reporting someone's vaccination status would violate medical records laws. They could ask about 8 or 10 different medical issues, including vaccination status, and then just report a go/no-go decision to the cruise line. Or they could require that you allow them to share medical information with the cruise line in order to sail.

But again, I don't think they'll do any of that. I think they'll just say, "everyone on the cruise over age 16 is required to be vaccinated, and we're limiting the number of under-16 guests." Meets the CDC rules, meets the Florida law, no problem. Maybe they'll make guests attest verbally that they understand the rules about vaccinations and all of their party is vaccinated.

 

[DCLMP]

I honestly don't know whether reporting someone's vaccination status would violate medical records laws. They could ask about 8 or 10 different medical issues, including vaccination status, and then just report a go/no-go decision to the cruise line. Or they could require that you allow them to share medical information with the cruise line in order to sail.

But again, I don't think they'll do any of that. I think they'll just say, "everyone on the cruise over age 16 is required to be vaccinated, and we're limiting the number of under-16 guests." Meets the CDC rules, meets the Florida law, no problem. Maybe they'll make guests attest verbally that they understand the rules about vaccinations and all of their party is vaccinated.

They never ask for more than generic symptoms. Fever, nausea, vomiting. Never medical diagnosis other than pregnancy.
I know my doctor cannot release my medical records without my permission. A hospital cannot release records to my doctor without my permission. A hospital cannot release records to another hospital without patients permission.
Anything reported to a cruise line would have to be with customers permission.

I think they’ll probably do exactly what you said in your second paragraph.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

They never ask for more than generic symptoms. Fever, nausea, vomiting. Never medical diagnosis other than pregnancy.
I know my doctor cannot release my medical records without my permission. A hospital cannot release records to my doctor without my permission. A hospital cannot release records to another hospital without patients permission.
Anything reported to a cruise line would have to be with customers permission.

I agree that your doctor can't release medical records without your permission, but you can give it to anyone you like. For example, I just went to Hawaii and had to show my vaccine card to: 1) get into the island without a second negative covid test and 2) rent a car. We knew this before we arrived and I was more than happy to know that almost everyone on our plane was vaccinated. If you don't show your vaccine card, a private business can refuse you service, require a negative covid test or require a mask at all times.

Also, there's an interesting question here if the CDC/federal guidelines preempt Florida's state law. Federal laws take precedence over state law in questions that impact interstate commerce. The waters once you get off the coast of Florida (before entering international waters) are federal property. If Florida really does press this issue and goes to court, I'm not sure that they would win re: refusing cruise lines to ask for documentation of a vaccine. It would be a really interesting case but it would probably halt all cruising in the US until it was decided...

 

[HiStitch626]

Yep. The Cayman Islands. She not only didn't do the mandatory quarantine, she took off her monitoring bracelet to skip quarantine. Her boyfriend was also charged with aiding and abetting her. Both were sentenced to 4 months in jail.

Edit to add: The initially were only fined $2600 and 40 hours of community service each but decided to appeal and got the jail time. It could have been $10,000 Cayman Dollars (about $12K in US) and 2 years if they had gotten the max.

Hawaii jailed people also.

 

[jerry557]

Also, there's an interesting question here if the CDC/federal guidelines preempt Florida's state law. Federal laws take precedence over state law in questions that impact interstate commerce. The waters once you get off the coast of Florida (before entering international waters) are federal property. If Florida really does press this issue and goes to court, I'm not sure that they would win re: refusing cruise lines to ask for documentation of a vaccine. It would be a really interesting case but it would probably halt all cruising in the US until it was decided...

But there is no federal law that mandates the vaccine. Heck, there isn't even a federal policy. The White House continues to say the vaccine is not mandatory and that they don't support a vaccine credential that people have to carry. The CDC does not have the legal or constitutional authority on their own to overrule a state law. Now, when it comes to maritime issues, the whole thing seems to get a bit murky. There are some that say because the federal government tends to be the authority over maritime rules, the Florida state law doesn't apply. However, others say that it does apply to ships docked in Florida ports since it is within Florida's jurisdiction and the ship is a business operating in Florida. If Florida says they cant require vaccines and the CDC says they have to in order to sail, then the ships can't sail from Florida.

If the sides can't agree.. This will have to court. And if that battle gets ugly, it could lead to a hostile relationship between the Florida government and the cruise industry. Long term, that could be very bad for the cruise industry....and especially DCL since they have so much financially invested in Florida.

 

[AquaDame]

This thread has gone off topic, so it will be closed.