Will Disney will add any new ship to Alaska?

[lanejudy]

Flagged =/= built =/= crewed.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. To be US-flagged the ship must be primarily built in the US, owned by a US company, and primarily crewed by US citizens or permanent residents. That's why nearly all cruise ships serving US ports are foreign-flagged.

 

[BrokeMack]

I'm not sure what you mean by this. To be US-flagged the ship must be primarily built in the US, owned by a US company, and primarily crewed by US citizens or permanent residents. That's why nearly all cruise ships serving US ports are foreign-flagged.

My comment was about changing the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886 (and that portion of the PVSA that carried into the Jones Act). Happycamper was talking about flagging/crewing/building requirements according to the Jones act. We were talking about two different things (or two different sections of the same law, I guess), so I was saying the other things don't apply to the solution I was proposing.

 

[Scalemaster34]

My comment was about changing the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886 (and that portion of the PVSA that carried into the Jones Act). Happycamper was talking about flagging/crewing/building requirements according to the Jones act. We were talking about two different things (or two different sections of the same law, I guess), so I was saying the other things don't apply to the solution I was proposing.

Yeah being able to do a West Coast, East Coast, Alaskan, or Gulf Coast Cruise without having to add foreign port, would open up a number of Itineraries that some would enjoy. But I don't know how many sail for the ports, vs just wanting a tropical beach?

 

[BrokeMack]

Yeah being able to do a West Coast, East Coast, Alaskan, or Gulf Coast Cruise without having to add foreign port, would open up a number of Itineraries that some would enjoy. But I don't know how many sail for the ports, vs just wanting a tropical beach?

Yeah, most probably just want a tropical beach. I know I don't care much whether it's Cozumel or Nassau, and that's probably true of the Mexican Riviera as well (I haven't been..yet). But Alaska is certainly all about the destination and as much as I love Vancouver, it would be a lot more convenient if I could sail out of Seattle instead (and I don't want to have to stop in Victoria just "because").

 

[jwalk03]

Yeah, most probably just want a tropical beach. I know I don't care much whether it's Cozumel or Nassau, and that's probably true of the Mexican Riviera as well (I haven't been..yet). But Alaska is certainly all about the destination and as much as I love Vancouver, it would be a lot more convenient if I could sail out of Seattle instead (and I don't want to have to stop in Victoria just "because").

I wouldn't hold your breath on the PVSA getting repealed or changed anytime soon. Too many special interests with lobbyists that work hard to keep it in place. (Including the Canadian government- which actively lobby the US government to keep it because of the additional tourism dollars it generates in places like Vancouver and Victoria!!)

 

[Scalemaster34]

I wouldn't hold your breath on the PVSA getting repealed or changed anytime soon. Too many special interests with lobbyists that work hard to keep it in place. (Including the Canadian government- which actively lobby the US government to keep it because of the additional tourism dollars it generates in places like Vancouver and Victoria!!)

Presidential Order... If it snubbed Canada and generated more tourism dollars here, I'm not sure congress or special interests would be needed, in this new world order.

 

[BrokeMack]

I wouldn't hold your breath on the PVSA getting repealed or changed anytime soon. Too many special interests with lobbyists that work hard to keep it in place. (Including the Canadian government- which actively lobby the US government to keep it because of the additional tourism dollars it generates in places like Vancouver and Victoria!!)

Yeah, it sucks. I was always told we had a free market where businesses competed to earn my dollars by delivering better products and driving prices lower, but brother/sister/non-binary-sibling, I was wrong.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Like AgentMama said they would have to change the departure port from Vancouver to the west coast because cruise ships sailing from Vancouver pass under the Lions Gate Bridge. The bridge has a clearance of 61 meters at high tide, and while it can accommodate many cruise ships, it does pose a restriction for the larger vessels. I believe the Dream class ships are 66 meters tall as it is.

When we sailed to Alaska on the Wonder in 2012, it was the one year she sailed out of Seattle. The year before it was Vancouver and flights from Philly were terrrible. So when we saw Seattle, we jumped on it. Non stop flights make it so much faster & easier. I do recall reading that the port times are not as good when sailing from Seattle though. Also we had to stop in Victoria to satisfy the foreign port requirement.

 

[Bunless]

I'm in the minority of loving a Victoria stop. I would be pro taking Ketchikan out of the mix in order to get an all day stop in Victoria. But... I live in the Seattle area, and have been on about a dozen or so Alaska cruises. Next month doing a first ever out of Vancouver on the Wonder, so it will be an interesting compare/contrast.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

They changed it temporarily during the pandemic in order to try to save the Alaska cruise season, though it didn't work out.

But maybe it's for the best. Without the law, Disney might start giving us a bunch of 3/4-night cruises to nowhere like they do in the UK and Singapore!

Somehow DCL forgot about that law in 2012 when the Magic first sailed out of NYC. They offered several weekends over the summer of 2 night cruises to nowhere. My inner nerd loves the map channel so I watched it to see where we'd go. We went to approximately the same latitude as Virginia Beach and turned around.
It was only 2 nights but we're only a 90 min train ride to NYC so it was a breeze. It was fun to sail past the Statue of Liberty. It also gave me a chance to book another OBB.
Sure beats doing laundry half the weekend.

 

[Kwami]

Somehow DCL forgot about that law in 2012 when the Magic first sailed out of NYC. They offered several weekends over the summer of 2 night cruises to nowhere. My inner nerd loves the map channel so I watched it to see where we'd go. We went to approximately the same latitude as Virginia Beach and turned around.
It was only 2 nights but we're only a 90 min train ride to NYC so it was a breeze. It was fun to sail past the Statue of Liberty. It also gave me a chance to book another OBB.
Sure beats doing laundry half the weekend.

I wonder how they got away with that!

 

[Mommb]

I wonder how they got away with that!

Here is an explanation (https://cruiseline.com/advice/how-to-book/choose-a-destination/cruise-to-nowhere). In 2012, the law wasn't being enforced.

Why You Can't Take a Cruise to Nowhere Anymore​

Beginning in 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection cracked down on the enforcement of maritime laws, and foreign-flagged ships could no longer sail without calling in a foreign port along the way. The new push focused on immigration laws concerning D-1 visa holders, a type of working visa often held by cruise ship crew members. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, “a D-1 visa holder is eligible to serve as a crew member on a vessel only if the crew member 'intends to land [in the United States] temporarily and solely in the pursuit of his calling as a crewman and to depart from the United States with the vessel.” So even though cruises to nowhere enter international waters, legally the cruise is not considered to have left the US because the ship never touches a foreign country or territory.