(May 14) Disney Cruise Line Cancels Select Cruises Through July 2021 - Hope Remains for Alaskan Sailings

[bcwife76]

The Wonder is listed in the legislation.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1318/text?q={"search":["Hr1318"]}&r=1&s=2

Wow, look at that! There's a lot of ships listed there.

 

[BruinEd03]

FYI this is the Cruise port schedule for Seattle from 2019: http://crew-center.com/seattle-washington-cruise-ship-schedule-2019

It appears that Seattle can accommodate of 3 ships loading/unloading each day: https://www.portseattle.org/page/vessel-berthing-opportunities-seattle

Based on those two information, it seems that there were regular days which did not have 3 ships filled each day. Thus, there are probably openings for the Wonder, should Disney want to utilize it. I haven't reviewed in-depth, but they may have to shift the days that the 7 day cruise starts/stops. E.g., instead of Sunday through Sunday it may need to be Tuesday through Tuesday.

 

[HiStitch626]

The Wonder would still need a place to port in Seattle, and a way to get all the needed fuel and ship supplies. If all of the other lines are restarting, there may not be availbility for the Wonder.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think they could contract for a berth. But I think the overall logistics would be challenging.

"Hey everyone booked summer 2021 from Vancouver! We are now sailing from Seattle! And instead of Monday-Monday, we are switching them all to Wednesday-Wednesday! And the itinerary is totally different too because by switching departure site and date we had to completely change ports! See ya real soon!"

It's a lot to change up on under 60 days notice for a lot of people.

 

[ddonner]

I think they could contract for a berth. But I think the overall logistics would be challenging.

"Hey everyone booked summer 2021 from Vancouver! We are now sailing from Seattle! And instead of Monday-Monday, we are switching them all to Wednesday-Wednesday! And the itinerary is totally different too because by switching departure site and date we had to completely change ports! See ya real soon!"

It's a lot to change up on under 60 days notice for a lot of people.

I'm booked for end of August and would be more than happy to change flights and hotels if that meant we get to sail to Alaska this year with DCL. I'm sure some people may not be willing to go with the changes, but there a good bunch like me who have no problem with that. If it sails, we'll be there.

** edit to fix my phone's fixation to change my words to some other random ones**

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'm booked for end of August and would be more than happy to change flights and hotels if that meant we get to sail to Alaska this year with DCL. I'm sure some people may not be willing to go with the changes, but there a good bunch like me who have no problem with that. If it sails, we'll be there.

** edit to fix my phone's fixation to change my words to some other random ones**

I think the risk is in how many are willing, because once you also factor in an empty PC crossing you need full ships to help balance out that expense.

 

[mocodis]

Maybe Canada will see what is going on and open up the Vancouver cruise port early.

 

[bcwife76]

Maybe Canada will see what is going on and open up the Vancouver cruise port early.

Nope. Won't be happening. We are still in the third wave here in Canada and while here in BC our cases are down and we are reopening (again), other provinces are still in the thick of it. The ports are Federal so even *if* Vancouver wanted to open, it's up to the Federal Gov't, not the Provincial govt. Although I *have* heard that our premier here in BC does want to meet with the Alaska delegation, though I'm not sure (a) if that is even true and (b) what he hopes to accomplish.

 

[soniam]

Celebrity will be doing Alaska this summer. Here's the email from the company.

"The Alaskan communities have been hurting without the economic support they receive from tourism, and especially, the cruise industry. I am grateful to our elected officials across the country for recognizing the need and finding a way to restore them to their livelihoods.

I truly believe that the best way to experience Alaska is by cruise ship. Our new 2021 Alaska sailings open for booking on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 and you can find more information about them at https://www.celebritycruises.com/destinations/alaska-cruises. If you've never been to Alaska, now Is the time to go.

All sailings will depart with vaccinated crew and everyone over the age of 16 must be vaccinated; as of August 1, 2021, all US guests ages 12 and older must be fully vaccinated."

 

[HiStitch626]

Celebrity will be doing Alaska this summer. Here's the email from the company.

"The Alaskan communities have been hurting without the economic support they receive from tourism, and especially, the cruise industry. I am grateful to our elected officials across the country for recognizing the need and finding a way to restore them to their livelihoods.

I truly believe that the best way to experience Alaska is by cruise ship. Our new 2021 Alaska sailings open for booking on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 and you can find more information about them at https://www.celebritycruises.com/destinations/alaska-cruises. If you've never been to Alaska, now Is the time to go.

All sailings will depart with vaccinated crew and everyone over the age of 16 must be vaccinated; as of August 1, 2021, all US guests ages 12 and older must be fully vaccinated."

It still links to the 2022 cruises. We won't go to Alaska this summer, but it would be interesting to see the pricing.

 

[soniam]

It still links to the 2022 cruises. We won't go to Alaska this summer, but it would be interesting to see the pricing.

It will show up once it opens for booking on Tuesday. Celebrity will definitely be cheaper than DCL, but it's not the same if you have kids. It felt more of an adult experience. We won't be cruising this summer either. Moved to the 9 night Southern Caribbean in summer 2022.

 

[tee11]

I'm still catching up on cruise news, and we haven't done the Alaska itinerary, but correct me, if I'm wrong, didn't the DCL Alaska cruises consist of 4-5 Canadian port of calls? And didn't Canada say they won't authorize any ships over 100 pax at any Canadian port until after Feb 2022? How is this going to work this July and August?

Celebrity will be doing Alaska this summer. Here's the email from the company.

"The Alaskan communities have been hurting without the economic support they receive from tourism, and especially, the cruise industry. I am grateful to our elected officials across the country for recognizing the need and finding a way to restore them to their livelihoods.

I truly believe that the best way to experience Alaska is by cruise ship. Our new 2021 Alaska sailings open for booking on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 and you can find more information about them at https://www.celebritycruises.com/destinations/alaska-cruises. If you've never been to Alaska, now Is the time to go.

All sailings will depart with vaccinated crew and everyone over the age of 16 must be vaccinated; as of August 1, 2021, all US guests ages 12 and older must be fully vaccinated."

 

[soniam]

I'm still catching up on cruise news, and we haven't done the Alaska itinerary, but correct me, if I'm wrong, didn't the DCL Alaska cruises consist of 4-5 Canadian port of calls? And didn't Canada say they won't authorize any ships over 100 pax at any Canadian port until after Feb 2022? How is this going to work this July and August?

There’s a bill in congress to allow the Alaska cruises to not have to hit a foreign port, ie Canada.

 

[HiStitch626]

I'm still catching up on cruise news, and we haven't done the Alaska itinerary, but correct me, if I'm wrong, didn't the DCL Alaska cruises consist of 4-5 Canadian port of calls? And didn't Canada say they won't authorize any ships over 100 pax at any Canadian port until after Feb 2022? How is this going to work this July and August?

The Wonder sails round trip out of Vancouver and only goes to US ports in Alaska. But, she cannot currently sail from Vancouver. Some lines do a round trip out of Seattle. This requires a foreign port stop, and all of the big ships stop in Victoria, BC to meet that requirement. The recent bill would allow a round trip out of Seattle without the required port stop in Canada. But, the Wonder has not sailed out of Seattle since 2012, so whether they can get her ready to go remains to be seen.

 

[BruinEd03]

I'm still catching up on cruise news, and we haven't done the Alaska itinerary, but correct me, if I'm wrong, didn't the DCL Alaska cruises consist of 4-5 Canadian port of calls? And didn't Canada say they won't authorize any ships over 100 pax at any Canadian port until after Feb 2022? How is this going to work this July and August?

The general ports for 7 day DCL Cruises to Alaska are Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau. In some excursions, you may cross into Canada. Generally the only Canadian port is Vancouver (the start/return port).

 

[BruinEd03]

I think the risk is in how many are willing, because once you also factor in an empty PC crossing you need full ships to help balance out that expense.

If they switch it to Seattle, and people cancel, they open it up to booking for new guests. It's also easier to get to Seattle than Vancouver for the vast majority of the U.S. I imagine it'll be pretty popular.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If they switch it to Seattle, and people cancel, they open it up to booking for new guests. It's also easier to get to Seattle than Vancouver for the vast majority of the U.S. I imagine it'll be pretty popular.

Disney doesn't do anything without a lot of confidence and market research.

 

[Starwind]

I'm still catching up on cruise news, and we haven't done the Alaska itinerary, but correct me, if I'm wrong, didn't the DCL Alaska cruises consist of 4-5 Canadian port of calls? And didn't Canada say they won't authorize any ships over 100 pax at any Canadian port until after Feb 2022? How is this going to work this July and August?

The DCL Alaska cruises for 2020, 2021, and 2022 all start and end in Vancouver, BC, Canada in roundtrip 7 night (most) or 9 night (a few) sailings. They sail the BC (Canadian) Inside passage waters and then into Alaska. The ports themselves are all in Alaska - e.g. Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan.

Canada has banned passenger ships with over 100 passengers from being in Canadian *waters* not just ports, with the current end date being in February 2022.

Unless Canada changes it ban to allow the ships in Canadian waters [still keeping the port ban], any ships doing Alaska 2021 will have to leave from Seattle and sail outside Canadian waters [so no Canadian inside passage] to get to Alaska. For DCL it would mean changing the departure port from Vancouver to Seattle; for other lines they may already have ships that were scheduled out of Seattle already [for those it would mean dropping the Canadian port, which is probably Victoria, and then adjusting the route to avoid Canadian waters].

 

[Snowwhyt]

Canada has banned passenger ships with over 100 passengers from being in Canadian *waters* not just ports, with the current end date being in February 2022.

Unless Canada changes it ban to allow the ships in Canadian waters [still keeping the port ban], any ships doing Alaska 2021 will have to leave from Seattle and sail outside Canadian waters [so no Canadian inside passage] to get to Alaska. For DCL it would mean changing the departure port from Vancouver to Seattle; for other lines they may already have ships that were scheduled out of Seattle already [for those it would mean dropping the Canadian port, which is probably Victoria, and then adjusting the route to avoid Canadian waters].

I thought international water was like 10 miles from shore? Is it not possible to travel 10 miles outside the shore? Honestly don’t know the answer here. Maybe there are islands that expand the shorelines and passage is nonexistent or too narrow?

 

[HiStitch626]

I thought international water was like 10 miles from shore? Is it not possible to travel 10 miles outside the shore? Honestly don’t know the answer here. Maybe there are islands that expand the shorelines and passage is nonexistent or too narrow?

The territorial sea limit is 12 miles. Outside of the area around the Salish Sea this won’t be an issue. What it will be however is a rougher voyage. One of the selling points of cruises to Alaska is using the inside passage to have a smoother trip. Having to travel out in the open ocean of the Pacific will make things rougher.