Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO: CDC guidelines for cruises are ‘stupid’

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO: CDC guidelines for cruises are ‘stupid’

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio tells ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’ the CDC is ‘trying to prevent’ people from cruising and he’s ‘had it’ with their guidelines.

This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," May 7, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, what a piece of work.

Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."

You know how this goes. When we talk about economic numbers, there are the expectations, and then the reality, the expectations that, last month, we are going to see maybe a million or more jobs added to the economy. Turned out to be about 266,000, which certainly are not that bad.

We didn't expect the unemployment rate to inch up, but it did to 6.1 percent. It's still a lot lower than the nearly 15 percent it was at, at the height of the pandemic. But it's raised a whole lot of questions about whether those numbers are being held back by benefits that are keeping people at home, rather than looking for work.

We're going to be exploring that in great detail, but first to Blake Burman on how the White House is playing all of this -- Blake.

BLAKE BURMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Neil.

Over here at the White House, they're kind of making a twofold argument.

They say, look, as it relates to this past month, it is just one data point, they say. Don't look at one month in particular. Instead, we should be looking at the past three months, the first three months under the Biden administration, which they note have averaged 500,000 jobs, more than that, per month.

So that's one way that they are putting this. The second thing that they are pointing to is continued month-over-month job growth. And the president today said, in his belief, that it shows that the American Rescue Plan is working, and the president continued to call for more spending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American Rescue Plan is just that, a rescue plan. It's to get us back to where we were. But that's not nearly enough. We have to build back better. That's why we need the American Jobs Plan I proposed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURMAN: But, Neil, as you mentioned, the White House has also been facing questions today about the $300 weekly federal unemployment benefit, whether it's acting as a hindrance to job growth.

And here's what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out and said today. they said that should be scrapped -- quote -- "The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market. We need a comprehensive approach to dealing with our work force issues and the very real threat unfilled positions poses to our economic recovery from the pandemic."

Now, President Biden was asked about this today. He said he does not believe that has had a measurable impact. Here was the Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Starting up an economy again, trying to get it back on track after a pandemic, in which there are a lot of supply bottlenecks, is going to be, I think, a bumpy process.

But I really don't think the major factor is the extra unemployment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURMAN: Neil, according to the numbers that the Labor Department put out today, of those who identified as unemployed, 43 percent of them said they have been unemployed for at least 27 weeks in a row -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Wow. That is an issue of.

Blake, thank you very, very much.

Well, you can talk to any businessman or woman. You can talk to any politician hearing their lament that this has been going on a while right now. And the irony for a lot of these businesses is, their business is booming. They can't find workers.

How many times have we heard it on this very show? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLEVE MASH, CO-OWNER, PAPICHULO TACOS: If you're getting $600 for free, tax-free, why would you want to go to work for 40 hours a week? Whether you're making $100 more, you're still working the 40 hours.

CAVUTO: Yes.

MASH: So, it just -- it doesn't make any practical sense.

JACK HARTUNG, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL: If we need to raise our rates, Neil, we will.

We already pay well above minimum wage. Our average starting wage is in the $12-ish, $12 to $13 range.

GOV. GREG GIANFORTE (R-MT): Here's the reality. With the supplemental federal benefits, people could make more money staying home than going back to work. And you get what you incent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: So, is now the time just to stop those extra benefits? They all started with a wonderful intention. Things were pretty bad a few months ago and it looked like they could linger a while. That is hardly the case right now.

So let's get right to it with Jenna Arnold, Democratic strategist. We have got Kathryn Rooney Vera, the Bulltick Capital Markets chief strategist, last, but not least, Inez Stepman, Independent Women's Forum.

Inez, to you on stopping these extra federal benefits, the $300 ones added to the state benefits, as the Montana governor is proposing. What do you think?

INEZ STEPMAN, INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S FORUM: Sure.

And he's not wasting that money. He is instead turning it into bonuses for people who are going back to work, I mean, the irony of this, of course, is that we should have a booming economy finally.

Thankfully, we are coming out of this pandemic, thanks to a great vaccine rollout that started under President Trump, was continued under President Biden. We are finally coming out of this. And we are climbing out of an economic hole, only for small businesses to confront this labor shortage, because they are having difficulty getting people to work when the unemployment benefits are so high.

And restauranteurs in New York talked to The New York Post about this as well. They're having difficulty staffing up even at 50 percent capacity.

When it goes back to 100 percent capacity in restaurants, they are going to have an even harder time.

So, this is really an extra wrench being thrown in at small businesses in a time where they really need to quickly get back on their feet after what's been a very, very difficult year-and-a-half.

CAVUTO: You know, if you think about it, Jenna Arnold, what the Montana governor was saying, I will pay you 1,200 bucks, the equivalent of four months of these extra federal benefits, to land that job.

And a number of Democratic politicians say, that's not a bad idea. What do you think?

JENNA ARNOLD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think it's a bad idea, either.

But, Neil, nice to see you again.

CAVUTO: Same here.

ARNOLD: I do think it is a reflection of the sad state of affairs of our economy that a $600 stimulus check is more than folks are making in a 40- hour workweek.

I think the bigger question we should be asking is exactly how we're compensating Americans for their hard-earned time. And so, when I think about what it is that we need to do as we step into this next chapter of the country, of the economy, as Janet Yellen said, it's going to be a bumpy road ahead.

But it's really important that we collectively start to create value by supporting each other. And I would ask, not just small businesses, but the Amazons of the world, what are we doing about minimum wage? Or what are we doing about minimum wage, plus a dollar?

God forbid that we actually talk about paying our hourly workers more money, when they barely are able to keep lights on.

CAVUTO: All right, well, in the case of Amazon, they are at $20, and north of that, as is Walmart, on average, now.

But leaving that aside, Kathryn, one of the things I have noticed is that, with these benefits all combined, that is, stimulus payments and the state unemployment, then the added federal benefit of $300, it is the equivalent of around $21 to $22 an hour.

You tell a restaurant owner or a small business owner to compete with that, he can't. And that's the problem.

KATHRYN ROONEY VERA, BULLTICK CAPITAL MARKETS HOLDINGS: No, he won't compete with that.

And if he or she does try to compete with that, what they will end up doing is cutting back their employees' hours. And I will address Jenna's point. I think it's not the role of the government to compensate American workers for their -- for their hard work. It's the government's job to stay out of the way of private enterprise, so that they can produce enough revenue to continue to hire workers.

In this case, just to put numbers on it -- as an economist, I like to do that, Neil -- we're back to pre-pandemic levels in terms of job openings.

There are 7.4 million jobs available right now in the U.S. economy. Last month, only 266,000 of those jobs were filled.

And that's not just because people are still concerned about the pandemic.

And, eventually, that will go away. So, part of this, I think, is temporary. Especially these more attractive wages, because wages are going higher, will tantalize people back into the job force.

But it's unequivocally a fact that, when you have a top-off benefit -- and that's $300, in addition to unemployment benefits per week -- as you said, that adds up to about $22 per hour -- that's enormously incentivizing to not return to the labor force.

And we have an economy, Neil, that's $25 trillion in debt. We have a fiscal deficit that is 20 percent -- is 20 percent of GDP, 20 percent of GDP, and

$6 trillion in additional stimulus spending only over the past 12 months, with not even a discussion of retracing any of that additional $6 trillion of deficit and debt-financed spending.

To the contrary, Neil, we're talking about more spending. This is egregious and it's very worrisome.

CAVUTO: All right.

ROONEY VERA: At a minimum, it's inflationary. It's devastating for our grandchildren.

CAVUTO: All right, well, it's a debate for the future, I guess. And I want to thank you all for that.

No debating what could happen this weekend to make it all a moot point. A rocket could fall on our heads and end it all.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Why people are fearing that -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, they don't know exactly where this errant rocket will land. They just know that it will happen this weekend. And chances are, with the Earth 70 percent water, most statisticians say that means it would land somewhere on water, and you don't have to worry about it on land.

But here's the problem with that theory. It's so big all bets are off. And its trajectory coming into the atmosphere could be so wild that guessing where it ends up, well, is anyone's guess.

But to show you how big a deal this is, this is roughly 100 feet long. This rocket is 100 feet long, typical 18-wheeler, about 70 to 80 feet long. And it's a lot heavier than that, I mean, maybe up to 10 times heavier than that. And it's coming into the Earth here.

Now, this is going to happen this weekend. We're told that it could happen any time between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. tomorrow. No, they're not saying that, but that's just when my Saturday show is on.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: So, I thought I would scare you into watching it, which is very tacky. And I apologize for that.

But I do want to bring Michio Kaku in here, the theoretical physics professor, author of "The God Equation."

And I think, Michio, I would agree that maybe only God knows exactly where this thing will land. Are you worried it's going to land on a populated area?

MICHIO KAKU, THEORETICAL PHYSICS PROFESSOR: Well, this is the second, the second rocket launched by the Chinese that is wildly swinging uncontrollably.

Last year, it landed in the Atlantic Ocean in parts of Africa. So who knows where it's going to land? But just remember that it's traveling at 18,000 miles per hour. That's 25 times the speed of sound, and it can whip around the Earth within just 90 minutes.

So, we in New York City are actually in the crosshairs of this satellite.

Anywhere from as far north as New York City, as far south as New Zealand, these cities are in the crosshairs of this device, which is tumbling out of control.

CAVUTO: You know what I didn't understand? The Chinese reaction has been, what -- we don't see any problem here. There are no apologies for it or concerns about it.

And, furthermore, they have two more planned launches using this same technology, where this could happen again and again.

I'm wondering, what are they doing to help the world figure this out? Or do they care?

KAKU: You know, for the past 30 years, the United States and Russia have deliberately planned deorbiting their booster rockets, so that they don't land on someone's backyard.

Now, the Chinese are different. They're trying to play catchup. They know that they're decades behind the United States and Russia. And so they're cutting corners. They're getting careless. They want to launch as many things into outer space as they can. And where they land, well, that's a secondary priority for them, I think.

And so that's the fundamental problem. And realize that, 30 years ago, the United States and Russia used to do this.

CAVUTO: Right.

KAKU: Remember Skylab?

CAVUTO: I do.

KAKU: Skylab was a 76-ton device that fell in 1979 in Australia. That's where it landed.

And I still remember that bookies in Las Vegas were taking bets, they were taking bets as to where Skylab would crash. And so, remember, this was something that the great powers did 30 years ago, but not since. This is the largest such craft to come down in 30 years.

CAVUTO: It is scary.

But I know the odds are of it going over land, and, furthermore, over land, in the case of Skylab, it was barren land. No one was affected or hurt in that one.

But the sheer size of this makes me think about the meteor that hit Russia.

Would it be akin to something like that? Or is that a night-and-day comparison?

KAKU: Well, the Chinese are trying to downplay this by saying that it's going to disintegrate in the atmosphere. But that's not the experience.

The actual experience is that between 20 to 40 percent of the object will survive, will survive reentry and make landfall somewhere on the planet Earth. And because most of the Earth's surface is water, chances are it'll land in water.

And, so far, no one has ever died from a direct impact from celestial debris from outer space. But it can't be ruled out. And, remember, New York City, we are in the crosshairs of this gigantic, monstrous rocket that is tumbling out of control.

CAVUTO: Incredible.

The dinosaurs might beg to differ with you, Michio, about don't make a big deal of something that's coming your way. In fact, I booked one tomorrow to talk to.

No, I haven't. But we will see what happens on all of that. So, it's sometime, sometime this weekend. That's all we know.

Michio, always good seeing you, my friend.

We will keep an eye on this thing and get the latest. As you heard from the defense secretary, no plans to try to shoot this thing down. But you must be thinking, behind the scenes, they're thinking of the unthinkable just in case they have to start thinking of that.

KAKU: Right.

CAVUTO: But, but, but, if we survive all of this, can we survive mask mandates? Because that's a more immediate concern for a lot of people, particularly in Utah.

I will explain -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You think cruises are coming back? Well, maybe not so fast.

Hear from Norwegian Cruise Line's CEO on why and how he has done everything and anything he can to get things going, and he keeps -- gets well, stopped.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: All right, let's just say the masks came off at a Utah school board meeting, some angry parents who have had it with enforcement policies on masks for their kids that say, enough is enough.

Alicia Acuna in Denver on where this stands right now.

Hey, Alicia.

ALICIA ACUNA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

Yes, and a spokesperson with the school district tells me police are evaluating the video and determining whether charges will be brought against some of these parents. And we have reached out to the South Salt Lake Police Department on this, and still waiting to hear back.

The Granite School District board adjourned its meeting when some parents frustrated by the state's health order that masks be worn in schools until mid-June boiled over. This week, Utah lifted many of its COVID-19 protection mandates after seeing success in vaccinations and a lower number of cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do need to continue. We have board business to conduct.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACUNA: Some of the anger came when the public comment portion of the meeting was closed. But a state senator and a union representative were allowed to speak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNADETTE BROCKMAN, MOTHER: They don't listen to the parents. They ignore the parents.

And when you have something like that occur time and time again, then there becomes a boiling point. And I just feel like they could have ended it and gave us our parental rights -- not give us. They are our parental rights.

That's not what happened.

We're masking children that are in no way a risk to the rest of the population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACUNA: A portion of a statement given to FOX News reads: "Granite District fundamentally believes and encourages a diversity of opinions when shared in respectful and civil manner, and will continue to encourage civil discourse as a model for the children which we have stewardship over."

But, Neil, two days after this uproar and under mounting pressure, Utah's governor says the state will not renew the mask order for schools in the fall -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Confusing, Alicia Acuna.

And the president just added to that confusion himself, maybe unintentionally, today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: CDC mask guidance, I noticed you walked out to the podium with your mask on. Why do you choose to wear a mask so often when you're vaccinated and you're around other people who are vaccinated?

BIDEN: Because I'm worried about you. No, that's a joke. It's a joke.

Why am -- why am I wearing the mask? Because, when we're inside, it's still good policy to wear the mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: It's still good policy to wear the mask.

Let's go right to the source on all of this, Dr. Francis Collins, the National Institutes of Health director.

Doctor, always great having you.

Is it still a good idea to wear the mask?

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Well, CDC is the place to go if you're confused about this. And I know the recommendations have been changing. And so people are understandably not quite clear.

But if you go to CDC's site, if you're vaccinated, you still, in an inside gathering, are well-advised to keep the mask on. Why is that? Because even a vaccinated person like me might potentially still be able to carry the virus. And if you're inside with other unvaccinated people who might be vulnerable, you're protecting them by keeping your mask on.

Not so outside. I mean, I worry that everybody thinks, oh, my God, we're going to have to wear these masks forever. Things have changed a lot. If you're vaccinated, you can gather with people in your own home who are also vaccinated and have dinner together. My wife and I have been doing that.

It's great.

You can go outside and do what you want to, take the mask off, unless you're in like a huge stadium with people packed in like two feet apart.

Otherwise, masks off outside. Live it up. But you got to get vaccinated to enjoy that liberation.

CAVUTO: What about this dust-up that has happened?

And you have seen this play out in the Utah school district, but it's throughout the country, Doctor, where a lot of parents are saying, my kid has to wear a mask. They say, this is getting ridiculous.

What do you tell them?

COLLINS: I tell them, everybody, keep calm. Civil discourse would be a good thing to model for your children. Having a screaming fight with a school board maybe not such a great model.

Look at the evidence. Look at, what is the actual risk in your community by how much disease is there right now? It'll be different in different parts of the country. And what is actually the story about kids? Are they completely immune from this disease? No, they're not. They can get sick.

In fact, in the last little bit, more than a quarter of the cases have been in children and young adults, I mean, up to 18. So, kids do get this. They usually handle it well. They can though, get this long COVID that goes on a long time. So, nobody should imagine kids are just completely off the list here as far as having any risk.

And, of course, they can pass it on to others. But, again, I'm sorry that America has turned into a place where masks have become such a battleground. Think of a mask as a lifesaving medical device. If used in the right place, it can do a lot of good. I get it. If it's not necessary, let's take it off.

But if there's a reason to wear it, even now in a school setting indoors, where kids are close together, let's look at the evidence and make a wise, rational decision.

CAVUTO: All right, well, the wise, rational decision, supposedly, is to keep the mask on and the kids to keep the masks on, even though they're -- it's really tough for them. A lot of these kids don't wear it correctly.

It's causing confusion.

What would be the harm, Doctor, if they were not compelled to wear it?

COLLINS: Well, the specific risk, of course, is that you then get an outbreak in that classroom, multiple kids get infected.

This has happened in my...

CAVUTO: Do you think that would happen? Is that statistically possible, Doctor, from kids, starting with kids?

COLLINS: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

It happened in my granddaughter's classroom in Michigan not long ago. It's entirely possible. And then those kids can carry it home. And if there's somebody unvaccinated at home who's at risk, then really serious illness can happen.

We are not out of the woods on this yet. And I'm so sorry I have to keep saying that.

CAVUTO: Yes.

COLLINS: The answer, though, Neil, is we have got to get our nation completely on board to get to that 80 percent or so coverage with vaccination.

I know the president has made a goal of 70 percent. Let's blow that away, because, if you really want to take the mask off, get your kids back in school, forget about the masks. That's what we got to do. And that means all of us, not just some of us.

So, please, everybody, look at that evidence. If you're mad about masks, then roll up your sleeve and get vaccinated, and tell everybody else around you...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: All right, then let me ask you about -- I'm sorry, Doctor.

Let me ask you about the stadium thing. And the Mets and the Yankees, they're going to, I guess, segregate those who have been vaccinated vs.

those who haven't. How's that going to work out, you think?

COLLINS: Well, the idea, of course, is that people who are vaccinated and who have been able to show that, they can gather close together without any risk to anybody.

But if you have a mixing of vaccinated and unvaccinated people at close quarters, then there's a greater risk. So, I think they're trying something creative here. Obviously, it wouldn't be necessary if everybody had decided to get vaccinated.

So, again, I come back to that. Come on, America.

CAVUTO: Right.

COLLINS: If you want to get past this awkward moment, this is how to do it.

CAVUTO: Isn't that a lot of trouble to go to if you're a Mets fan, though?

I mean, you're rooting for the Mets, after all.

Should it make a difference whether you're vaccinated or not? I guess that's a personal thing, right?

COLLINS: Oh, it's not -- yes, it's not about whether you're rooting for the Mets.

CAVUTO: Right.

COLLINS: It's about whether you're putting somebody else at risk who might actually end up in the hospital or the ICU or even dying.

You know we lost several 700 people today to this disease. We're not done with this.

CAVUTO: People forget. No, you're -- people forget that.

COLLINS: I know we're tired of it, but we're not done with it.

CAVUTO: All right, real quickly on that, I have seen that Disney World and Universal in Orlando have dropped temperature checks, stuff like that.

Are we letting our guard down when you hear stuff like that?

COLLINS: I think Disney World is being pretty careful about it, from what I have heard, in terms of keeping people spaced. And, of course, a lot of that is outdoors.

Frankly, the temperature checks were never a very sensitive way to figure out whether somebody is at risk or not. I think most places realized a while back that, if you were going to try to protect against COVID, that wasn't going to help you all that much.

CAVUTO: Got it.

Dr. Francis Collins, great seeing you again. I hope you weren't a Mets fan.

I wasn't meaning to slight you if you were, but just passing that along.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: The National Institutes of Health director, Dr. Francis Collins, thank you, sir.

COLLINS: Yes.

Go, Nats.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right.

Now we want to talk, and we will talk when we come back, with what the cruise line industry is doing. I want you to meet the CEO who's done everything way beyond whatever requirements are to make things COVID-proof and super safe, vaccinations for passengers and crew workers alike.

So, he's done all that, and still, still doubts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, NIH director says, just listen to the guidance from the CDC. They know what they're talking about.

The problem for my next guest is that it's never consistent. He's doing everything in his power to keep his ships safe for all the workers, all the passengers. They must be vaccinated, submits that, assumes that is more than enough, and still nothing, still changing guidelines coming from the CDC.

And the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO -- this is the third largest cruise company on the planet. That includes Norwegian and Oceania and Regent Seven Seas -- he's at a loss what to do.

And he's back with us right now.

Frank Del Rio, I was thinking of you, and thinking, all right, what happened now? I mean, you did all of this. You prepared all of this. You were ready, went way beyond any guidelines or even requirements. And still you're -- you're at pause here. What happened?

FRANK DEL RIO, CEO, NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS: Well, Neil, as you know

-- and, by the way, thanks for having me back. Good to see you again.

On April 5, we submitted a -- what we believed to be an ironclad proposal to the CDC, where we said that we would mandate 100 percent vaccination for every single person on board the vessel, crew and guests, which would render all these, do you wear a mask, don't you wear a mask issues that your previous guest was talking about -- if everybody inside that venue, in this case, a ship, is vaccinated, there is no need for a mask.

Yet, this week, the CDC came out with one of their bizarre requirements that, while you are eating at a restaurant or drinking a beverage at a bar, you must wear -- you must take on your mask on and off, only take it off to put food in your mouth, then put your mask back on while you're chewing and swallowing.

And then you can take it off again and put another piece of food or another sip of beverage. Is that not the craziest, most bizarre, onerous thing you ever heard, especially when everybody on the ship is vaccinated?

If it was mixed company, maybe, maybe, but 100 percent vaccination? So these are the kinds of incredibly stupid, for lack of a better term, just stupid requirements that the CDC is throwing our way for what we now believe is just to prevent us from cruising.

There is no good reason to prevent us from cruising. Every other transportation venue, entertainment venue, hospitality venue is open around the country, and we're still shut down after 15 months?

It's unfair. It's un-American. My guess, it's even illegal. And, I mean, we have had it. And we're pushing back hard. We will see how things develop, but since we spoke last a couple of weeks ago, one step forward, two steps back.

CAVUTO: Yes. No, I can understand your frustration, Frank, because I studied this very closely, and particularly what you're doing. You're doing far more than any industry, and even within your industry, any other cruise line company.

And I always think of that old line. I think your ships, big and beautiful as they are, they can move. They're not stuck. You can move them elsewhere.

Are you considering that?

DEL RIO: Well, we have.

As you know, we have already announced that the first seven ships we're standing up this summer are all outside of the U.S. We're a public company.

We have got shareholders to think about. These assets have been idle for, like I said, 15 months.

By the time we get them back operating, they will...

CAVUTO: So, U.S. passengers can find you? U.S. passengers can go to these other non-U.S. ports...

DEL RIO: Oh, sure, yes. Yes.

CAVUTO: ... and still enjoy a cruise, right?

DEL RIO: Absolutely.

I mean, today, you can get on an airplane, fly to Italy or fly to Singapore or fly to a few places around the world, get on a cruise ship, take your cruise, and fly back, and no questions asked. But you can't board a ship from a U.S. port. That's nuts. That's just nuts.

And, by the way, we submitted this plan to the CDC, 100 percent vaccination for everyone. And they came back with 95 percent for passengers and 98 percent for crew. If you're a public health organization, why in the world would you leave a 2 percent loophole where COVID can be introduced in that venue?

A hundred percent is foolproof; 98 percent is not.

CAVUTO: So, the CDC, people think that its guidelines are etched in stone.

But, remember, this is the same organization -- I'm not faulting them -- that pooh-poohed the issue of masks when all of this started, then said masks, pooh-poohed distancing provisions that they were a little silly, then enforced them. The same with what they're requiring now of cruise line operators such as yourself.

It's not as if they have been consistent, so they leave you in a lurch.

DEL RIO: Yes, look, if there was science-backed information, we'd accept it.

But we don't -- we have never -- they have never shared any data with us, any scientific data or any data, period. And so, look, it seems to me they make this stuff up as they go along. A lot of this is just good old common sense. And we don't see much of it lately.

CAVUTO: No, we don't.

Frank Del Rio, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and CEO, some of the most beautiful ships and lines in the world, and all stymied by an inconsistent CDC that doesn't get it straight or get it consistent.

Keep us posted, Frank. Thank you very, very much.

All right, in the meantime, we are focused on some other developments here that have come to light really since the pandemic, targeting Asians. And it's rampant.

And our Susan Li on the fallout -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN LI, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Towns like these and ethnically grouped communities have been popping up across America since the middle of the 1800s, people that are bound together linguistically, culturally and even economically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAVUTO: And now in the news post the pandemic for being blamed for that pandemic and targeted for that pandemic.

I'm talking about Asian Americans, who are simply trying to make a living in this country, and now oftentimes on the receiving end of a lot of violence in this country, and this during Asian American Heritage Month.

Susan Li with more on all of that -- Susan.

LI: Yes, 200 years of history, Neil, so there's lots to celebrate, but also a time of deep reflection within the community with a rise in anti-Asian violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I will be your rescuer today.

LI (voice-over): The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific islander community have come a long way, each with their own cultural distinctions, but all contributing to America's long colorful history.

Despite their cheap labor helping build the economic artery across America, Chinese immigrants were the first and only ethnic group to be banned by law from immigrating to the U.S. with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

That may have also foreshadowed a dark period awaiting Japanese Americans.

More than 120,000 were locked up across 10 internment camps in multiple states during World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, most of them American citizens born on U.S. soil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During World War II, when Japanese Americans were interned, the same thing didn't happen to German and Italian Americans.

LI: The boom in the Asian American population only started after 1965 Hart- Celler Immigration Act. It gave preference to highly skilled workers.

Donald Moy came here during that time, and says he now lives the American dream. He's owned Mee Sum tea house in New York's Chinatown for more than

50 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is nowhere better than America. It's a dream.

LI: But the recent rise in anti-Asian attacks has many wondering if they're welcome here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LI: More than 3,500 anti-Asian incidents have been reported over the past year, according to one nonprofit.

But the good news there is that, in a rare show of bipartisan agreement in Washington, D.C., you had virtually every senator voting for the anti-Asian hate crimes bill.

And that means more prosecution and more reporting of any attacks targeted at Asians -- Neil.

CAVUTO: So, the very fact that the pandemic started in Asia, Asian Americans are the ones being subjected to the attacks they had nothing to do with?

LI: Unfortunately so.

And, in my own personal experience, I have been called names that I thought were relics of history, something that didn't happen in 2021. And it's very un-American, Neil, to be targeted for the way you look, for the language you speak. And, hopefully, this will end very soon.

CAVUTO: Hopefully, because it certainly doesn't speak for the majority, overwhelming majority of Americans, who find this offensive.

Susan Li, thank you very much.

We will have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: Remember when it was just gas? Now it's a whole bunch of other things that are going up, from groceries and seafood and chicken, chocolate, you name it, even washers and dryers, all moving up, and fast, in price.

What's going on here?

Jackie DeAngelis on the inflation threat that's now a little bit more than a threat -- Jackie.

JACKIE DEANGELIS, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Neil.

Well, inflation, it happens when the government spends and prints money at a faster pace than the economy can handle, and consumer wages can't keep up. Now, people are worried about it right now. And there are some good reasons why.

Things feel really expensive. Let's go ahead and start with that gallon of gas. In case you're filling up to go see mom on Sunday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline, $2.95. That's according to AAA.

It's $1.14 more than this time last year, or an increase of 62 percent. And we are not even in the so-called summer driving season yet, so buckle up.

What about food prices, as you mentioned? Well, the USDA's latest report on milk for April says the average price for a gallon of whole milk, $3.58.

That's not the fancy lactose-free kind or the organic milk. It's the regular kind. And that price is up roughly 4 percent in about 18 months, so not so terrible there.

What about chicken, another staple for the summer? Prices are skyrocketing, tight supply and not enough workers coming back to work. You are looking at wings that cost roughly 50 percent more. This has been a problem since the Super Bowl. It is still not resolved.

So, what's the government doing about it? Well, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen not too worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YELLEN: I really doubt that we're going to see an inflationary cycle, although I will say that all the economists in the administration are watching that very closely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEANGELIS: All right, she said that earlier today.

Now, the measure of inflation that the government uses is called core CPI, its Consumer Price Index. And it strips out food and energy, because they're -- quote -- "too volatile."

And, indeed, if you have been to the grocery store or the pump lately, you would agree on the volatility part, but you might have some trouble saying there's no inflation, Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, we can't X-out those things in our lives, can we?

DEANGELIS: No.

CAVUTO: Jackie, thank you very, very much, scary stuff.

Jackie DeAngelis on that.

Bill Simon with us right now, the former Walmart U.S. CEO. Bill was very effective in those days trying very hard not to pass along price increases to consumers.

I would think, Bill, now it's almost unavoidable. What do you say?

BILL SIMON, FORMER WALMART CEO: Well, Neil, how are you doing?

Yes, there's a lot of factors that are going on that are impacting it.

Prices are going up. It's demand-driven. It's shortage-driven. As Jackie mentioned, the availability of workers and labor in general is causing shortages in all kinds of different industries.

That's going to drive prices up. But demand-driven price increases, which is what we're seeing, I think, have the ability to be better absorbed by the economy than price increases that are raw material-generated.

And so I'm hopeful, when things settle out, we won't be in a very, very steep inflationary cycle. And it's very hard to measure gas prices, for example, against this time last year.

CAVUTO: Yes.

SIMON: This time last year, everybody was at home, and nobody was driving.

There was no demand for gasoline.

CAVUTO: That's right.

And we talk about core commodity prices, you're talking about things like oil and copper and some of these other things, lumber particularly, that are unavoidable. And those increases do hit, for example, new homebuyers, who are oftentimes getting priced out of the market.

But I'm not an age to remember when inflation was a lot worse, when it was hyperinflation, and things got out of control. But do you see any signs of that, because the backdrop for this is a strong economy, right? I mean, demand is building as people get back to work. That's the good rationale for this, and leave it at that.

But will it be left at that? What do you think?

SIMON: Well, I think we have keep a real close eye on a couple of things, Neil.

We have -- there's really no record that I can -- that I can point to where we have had a full employment recession in this country. And jobs are really the most important thing to making sure that we keep growing.

And today's job reports was -- job report was concerning to me, because we're starting -- some could interpret it as we're starting to see it slow down. And I think what we're having are these sort of counterbalanced forces at each other. We have increasing demand as we come out of the pandemic, and we have government, and well-meaning government policies to try to help people who suffered from the pandemic, that are actually causing some of the labor shortages now.

And there are jobs everywhere. And I have been in three states in the last two days. And there are job openings everywhere. Restaurants are not able to open every -- seven days a week because they just can't staff them.

So the jobs are out there, and yet our employment is going in the wrong direction. So, they're -- some of the policies that are in place are having

-- are being sort of counterproductive to that growth. And if we don't get that under control, we could have our unemployment tick up at the same time that our prices are ticking up.

CAVUTO: Yes.

SIMON: And that's a very, very bad formula.

CAVUTO: Well, let's see how it goes. I mean, steady as she goes right now, because this is a reflection of a strong economy, but you're quite right. I mean, those pressures are building.

Bill Simon, the former Walmart U.S. CEO.

Tomorrow -- and, remember, we are live at 10:00 a.m. -- we will be monitoring all of this, and really getting into the weeds here, because it'll be the same day a lot of you are going to go out grocery shopping for yourself and seeing it.

Do this before my show, or, ideally, after my show. But the fact of the matter is, it is a very, very big worry. We will be chronicling that.

But, again, I want to advise, things could be worse, because we're also monitoring something else, that rocket that is hurtling to Earth, which, if it obliterates a good chunk of Earth, all of this stuff passes, right?

See you tomorrow.

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