TAMPA, Fla. — As Florida’s government continues its hard press for the state to reopen, the status of Port Tampa Bay’s cruising business remains in limbo.

Despite a photo op on the east coast this Monday during which Carnival Cruise Lines President Christine Duffy visited Port Canaveral to watch some employees get vaccinated on one of the company’s liners, there’s been little movement for the industry within the Sunshine State.

What You Need To Know

  • Despite Carnival hoping to resume cruises from Miami in June, no plans have emerged yet for Port Tampa Bay

  • Carnival Cruise Lines president visited Port Canaveral earlier this week

  • Gov. DeSantis's lawsuit against the CDC regarding cruising has reached a federal judge

A Carnival press release announced last week that the company might be able to resume cruises in a limited capacity by July; the only Florida-related cruise mentioned was Miami’s Carnival Horizon. Carnival’s Paradise and Miracle sailed from Port Tampa Bay pre-COVID.

“Port Tampa Bay is anxious to resume cruise sailings and continues to work closely with our cruise line partners, including Carnival, to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines,” Director of Communications Lisa Wolf-Chason said in a statement. “We are ready to do our part to ensure passenger safety and follow all protocols in place for a safe return of cruising.”

“As a company that relies on the availability and accessibility of ports, we are in constant communication with the local port and government authorities in the destinations we visit,” said a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines, another major player that uses Port Tampa Bay as a homeport, also in a statement. “As such, we continue to evaluate when we will be able to resume cruise voyages in the U.S. and are optimistic that we will sail again in the near future. We look forward to redeploying our ships soon and returning to Tampa and the nearly 300 destinations we visit around the world. We will share additional updates as they become available.”

The Sunshine State has been bullish on the subject of cruising since well before last week’s CDC announcement that it was easing mask restrictions for the vaccinated. The governor sued the CDC last month for what he called “overreach” with regard to cruise ship restrictions; that suit headed to a federal judge last week.