PSA: B2B Alaska cruisers

[NancyIL]

That particular B2B is OK because you were not boarding in one US city and disembarking in a different US city.

A cruise that starts in the US and travels to a foreign port only has to visit a near foreign port for it to be OK.

A cruise that begins and ends in two different countries doesn't need to stop at any foreign ports along the way. Examples: Vancouver to Seward/Whittier, Alaska; Ensenada to Honolulu; Vancouver to Honolulu. The requirement to stop in a foreign port is for roundtrip cruises from the US.

 

[NWmom]

Basically
LA to Vancouver, Vancouver to Seattle would be a problem

Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to LA would also be a problem.

Wat Disney should have done was:
#1 La to Vancouver, #2 Vancouver to Vancouver, #3 Vancouver to Seattle

#1 Seattle to Vancouver, #2 Vancouver to Vancouver, #3 Vancouver to LA

By having one Vancouver to Vancouver cuise in between the Repo to/from La and the Seattle season, that maritime law would not apply.

Disney could save options had they scheduled them this way and even now they could (practicality aside) save it for a future year by doing this.

At this late date it would cause too much havoc to change the debarkation for 2 cruises as many flights would be affected. Even offering a free shutle would not be good enough.

But for the future- maybe that is one of the reasons why they are going back to Vancouver.

 

[NancyIL]

Basically
LA to Vancouver, Vancouver to Seattle would be a problem

Seattle to Vancouver, Vancouver to LA would also be a problem.

Wat Disney should have done was:
#1 La to Vancouver, #2 Vancouver to Vancouver, #3 Vancouver to Seattle

#1 Seattle to Vancouver, #2 Vancouver to Vancouver, #3 Vancouver to LA

By having one Vancouver to Vancouver cuise in between the Repo to/from La and the Seattle season, that maritime law would not apply.

Disney could save options had they scheduled them this way and even now they could (practicality aside) save it for a future year by doing this.

At this late date it would cause too much havoc to change the debarkation for 2 cruises as many flights would be affected. Even offering a free shutle would not be good enough.

But for the future- maybe that is one of the reasons why they are going back to Vancouver.

I don't think either of your suggestions would fly. As long as you are on the same ship, with no days off the ship between cruises, what counts is your embarkation port and your disembarkation port. Option # 1 is LA to Seattle, and option #2 is Seattle to LA.

 

[Melcatfish]

I imagine what NWmom is saying is that not many people do b2b2b so by having the Vancouver to Vancouver RT cruise in between the two one ways would mean people could do a b2b as they would either start or finish in Vancouver. I think!

Mel
x

 

[PrincessShmoo]

A cruise that begins and ends in two different countries doesn't need to stop at any foreign ports along the way. Examples: Vancouver to Seward/Whittier, Alaska; Ensenada to Honolulu; Vancouver to Honolulu. The requirement to stop in a foreign port is for roundtrip cruises from the US.

Right

 

[NancyIL]

I imagine what NWmom is saying is that not many people do b2b2b so by having the Vancouver to Vancouver RT cruise in between the two one ways would mean people could do a b2b as they would either start or finish in Vancouver. I think!

Mel
x

Ahhh...gotcha! Thanks for clarifying!

 

[NWmom]

I was saying that as long as cruise #2 was Vancouver to Vancouver
on a B2B then the repo cruise #1 plus the Alaskan cruise #2 could be done. (and showing how they could still do that and reposition the ship to Seattle the next week on cruise #3, but without the B2B people on it)

Seriously, if you want to do another Alaskan just to end in Seattle-
It is much cheaper to take the train or the Quickshuttle instead of another cruise.

Or the reverse direction as well.

NW

 

[rosermama]

This is all great information to think about when booking an Alaska cruise. Who knew there was so much involved in these cruises as opposed to some of the Carribean cruises.

I read on another thread that DH might not be able to get into Canada becasue he has a reckless driving ticket in the US. I couldn't belive it was true- really this is the oddest thing they must not be telling the truth.

Well needless to say good thing I didn't book that cruise, cause in 2013 they all leave from Vancouver and according to the Canadian consulate he cannot get in.

So I understand skeptism on some of these crazy laws but it never hurts to check into it- there is often a lot of truth behind it.

 

[sayhello]

This is all great information to think about when booking an Alaska cruise. Who knew there was so much involved in these cruises as opposed to some of the Carribean cruises.

I read on another thread that DH might not be able to get into Canada becasue he has a reckless driving ticket in the US. I couldn't belive it was true- really this is the oddest thing they must not be telling the truth.

Well needless to say good thing I didn't book that cruise, cause in 2013 they all leave from Vancouver and according to the Canadian consulate he cannot get in.

So I understand skeptism on some of these crazy laws but it never hurts to check into it- there is often a lot of truth behind it.

The law they are quoting is absolutely genuine. The PVSA says that no ship flagged outside of the USA can carry people from one US port to a different US port without visiting a distant foreign port (and Vancouver is not considered distant). The only question is whether or not a B2B is considered one cruise or two cruises in this instance. I agree, anyone booked on that B2B really needs to talk to DCL, and get it in WRITING that DCL considers it not to be a violation of the PVSA.

Sayhello

 

[NancyIL]

This is all great information to think about when booking an Alaska cruise. Who knew there was so much involved in these cruises as opposed to some of the Carribean cruises.

I read on another thread that DH might not be able to get into Canada becasue he has a reckless driving ticket in the US. I couldn't belive it was true- really this is the oddest thing they must not be telling the truth.

Well needless to say good thing I didn't book that cruise, cause in 2013 they all leave from Vancouver and according to the Canadian consulate he cannot get in.

So I understand skeptism on some of these crazy laws but it never hurts to check into it- there is often a lot of truth behind it.

I don't know about reckless driving, but a DUI can be problematic for entering Canada,

 

[spark21]

We're booked on the b2b la-Vancouver, Vancouver-Seattle - really hope this isn't an issue for us

 

[sayhello]

We're booked on the b2b la-Vancouver, Vancouver-Seattle - really hope this isn't an issue for us

Have you checked with DCL? I really think you should.

Sayhello

 

[rillsung]

We're booked on the b2b la-Vancouver, Vancouver-Seattle - really hope this isn't an issue for us

Us too! Guess I will be calling tomorrow. I'm gonna be one unhappy cruiser a month out if this is all true for our cruise...

 

[A Litle Pixie Dust]

I have called DCL and have been advised that it is not an issue. It is two separate cruises that include us going through customs and then checking in for the 2nd cruise just as a regular passenger.

I would have been really upset this close to the cruise to find out otherwise since DCL has known that these have been booked for a year.

I did read the act and I can see where this would have possibly qualified except the fact is that we are going through customs and it is a different cruise.

Thanks for letting us know though - I do appreciate it! I would have been bummed to learn otherwise in Vancouver.

 

[spark21]

Disney have confirmed that all is ok - they should be confirming via email soon.

I'd have been really surprised to find out that Disney had made a mistake letting us do these b2b's.

I don't really understand why this law even exists these days.

 

[joan4mickey]

I'm so confused after reading the whole thread...
I was looking at May 2013. Doing the 14 day from Miami to LA, the 7 day from LA to Vancouver, finishing with 7 day Vancouver-Vancourer.
Would there be any problems with customs doing this?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm so confused after reading the whole thread...
I was looking at May 2013. Doing the 14 day from Miami to LA, the 7 day from LA to Vancouver, finishing with 7 day Vancouver-Vancourer.
Would there be any problems with customs doing this?

It's not customs that's the problem. But, in this scenario, there's no problem. Since the total cruise is not from one US city to a different US city (Miami to Vancouver).

The only leg that falls in these perameters is the Miami to LA leg, BUT, you're probably stopping in Aruba (that's in South America) and so the PVSA doesn't apply.

 

[joan4mickey]

It's not customs that's the problem. But, in this scenario, there's no problem. Since the total cruise is not from one US city to a different US city (Miami to Vancouver).

The only leg that falls in these perameters is the Miami to LA leg, BUT, you're probably stopping in Aruba (that's in South America) and so the PVSA doesn't apply.

Thanks..the stop is in Columbia so still SA

 

[LuvsTheSun]

The BTB Seattle-Vancouver and Vancouver-LA is fine! Called DCL yesterday, and they checked with their legal dept. Disney got back to me last night and said not to worry....it won't affect us. So now we can relax and resume planning and ENJOY

 

[catislander]

Glad to hear that Disney says it's not a problem, but I'm surprised that Disney can do it and the other cruise lines can't.