DCL out of Seattle?

[kiapepito]

Do you think DCL will ever sail out of Seattle again? I know they did in the past. Was there a reason they left Seattle and are now out of Vancouver?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you think DCL will ever sail out of Seattle again? I know they did in the past. Was there a reason they left Seattle and are now out of Vancouver?

I think it mostly had to do with the B2B/PVSA fiasco that ensued the year they sailed out of Seattle. Many cruise lines use Vancouver to get around that PVSA requirement.

Not sure, though. Maybe docking in Vancouver is cheaper than Seattle. Maybe there was more availability to use Vancouver than Seattle.

 

[Geomom]

If DCL goes from Seattle, they'll need to stop at a Canadian port during the Alaskan sailings. Also by going from Vancouver, they can have longer Alaskan port times as it is closer to Alaska...and not needing a port stop in Canada. Some people have also mentioned some rough seas out of the Seattle area.

 

[Westcoastwild]

It may just be expense. Seattle is dealing with extremely high prices for hotels during the summer because of the amount of ships that already go out of Seattle. Constant shortage of supply for the amount of demand. I'd imagine that in turn affects dock prices or whatever. Vancouver probably has a higher capacity.

And meanwhile the Canadian dollar is way down so that probably also helps Disney.

 

[kiapepito]

Thank you for the responses! Out of convenience for me... lol... we lived near Seattle while my husband served and was stationed in the Coast Guard. It would be wonderful to go on a cruise out of Seattle and sight see and reminisce where we used to live! We did the same for our Galveston trip in December. We were able to go back to his apartment where he proposed and show our kids.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Thank you for the responses! Out of convenience for me... lol... we lived near Seattle while my husband served and was stationed in the Coast Guard. It would be wonderful to go on a cruise out of Seattle and sight see and reminisce where we used to live! We did the same for our Galveston trip in December. We were able to go back to his apartment where he proposed and show our kids.

You can easily fly into SeaTac, do your sightseeing and then take a train to Vancouver. Lots of tourists do that. Probably because it can be a lot cheaper to fly into SeaTac. I'm about halfway in between SeaTac and Vancouver international, but SeaTac is almost always much cheaper. Only exceptions are U.K. and Asia flights (not a lot of budget carriers out of SeaTac)

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• It's 2.5 hrs to Vancouver by car
• Bolt buses are so affordable
• Amtrak has two daily trips
• affordable Quick shuttle from downtown to SeaTac into Vancouver.
• Vancouver is closer to Alaska....
  • saves cruise ship fuel.... keeps the DCL cost low
  • more Alaskan port time as they don't need to rush back to Cascadia as quickly.
• the better Canadian port
• Vancouver has an International airport
• calmer waters to sail the Canadian Inside passage

 

[MillauFr]

I think it mostly had to do with the B2B/PVSA fiasco that ensued the year they sailed out of Seattle. Many cruise lines use Vancouver to get around that PVSA requirement.

Not sure, though. Maybe docking in Vancouver is cheaper than Seattle. Maybe there was more availability to use Vancouver than Seattle.

B2B/PVSA??? What is that?

 

[kiapepito]

The only problem is that where we lived we need to take the Ferry over to Bainbridge Island and then drive to Port Angeles, which is over the pond from Victoria, Canada....! I guess we could take the ferry over to Victoria and then take another ferry over to Vancouver.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

B2B/PVSA??? What is that?

Back to Back cruises. Passenger Vessel Services Act.

Basically the law says that a foreign flagged vessel can't transport passengers from one US port to a different US port without a stop in a distant foreign port.

When Disney cruised Alaska out of Seattle, they allowed a lot of people to book the LA/Vancouver repo B2B with the Vancouver/Seattle repo for the start of the Alaska season. And it wasn't until about 3 months out that they found out that was illegal, in spite of many people calling and getting confirmations (from Disney) that it was OK.

Caused a lot of problems when DCL contacted people holding that B2B combo telling them "oh, by the way, you have to cancel one of your cruises" just 3 months out.

 

[bumbershoot]

B2B/PVSA??? What is that?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886


Shmoo can explain the specifics lol.

ETA: shmoo DID explain the specifics! I type too slowly. I'll leave the wiki link.

 

[Shanti]

I wish DCL sailed out of Seattle, too. The airfare would be so much cheaper! And no, I don't want to add hours of driving or busing to my trip by flying into Seattle and then hoofing it to Vancouver.

But at least the way it is, you can explore the Vancouver area a bit before and after the cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

ETA: shmoo DID explain the specifics! I type too slowly.

But we love you, anyway.

 

[bumbershoot]

But we love you, anyway.

Darn, PrincessS, that was so sweet. And I didn't get you anything. Here's a pretty butterfly for you.

From,

Molly the