New Texas Law Banning Vaccine ‘Passports’ Does Not Apply to Cruises Leaving the State
Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott announced a new law that would ban any business or government entity from require a vaccine passport or any other vaccine information as a condition of receiving any service or entering any place. Looks like the fine print on the bill does exempt some.
Late in the afternoon on June 7th, Governor Greg Abbott announced his new law mentioned above. That very morning, Carnival Cruise Line announced their very first cruise would be setting sail from Texas since the pandemic started. It's departing out of Galveston on June 20th. Carnival also announced their policy for the cruise.
Before boarding, you would have to show proof of vaccination before setting sail. Then Greg Abbott''s announcement came later in the day and people didn't know what was going to happen now. Carnival released a statement saying, "We are evaluating the legislation recently signed into law in Texas regarding vaccine information. The law provides exceptions for when a business is implementing COVID protocols in accordance with federal law which is consistent with our plans to comply with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s guidelines."
Since Carnival Cruise lines have to follow federal regulations they can still require proof of vaccination. So if you were thinking about taking a cruise this summer out of Texas and didn't want to get the Covid vaccine. Looks like you will still be waiting until federal guidelines change.