Destination Portland Oregon

Why haven't cruise lines realized that Portland could be a awesome destination for tourists? Beer! Wine! Under ground tunnels! It's weird! Beautiful city!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thoughts....

* the occassional cruise ships do go to Astoria at this time. It's about 100 miles down river from Portland.

* 100 miles of winding narrow Columbia River is a navigation risk for a cruise ship. It's easier for a cruise ship to stay close to the Pacific.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Forums mobile app

Thoughts....

 

* the occassional cruise ships do go to Astoria at this time. It's about 100 miles down river from Portland.

 

* 100 miles of winding narrow Columbia River is a navigation risk for a cruise ship. It's easier for a cruise ship to stay close to the Pacific.

 

Sent from my SM-T820 using Forums mobile app

I can see your point.

Portland is so rad though. I know it could be done. They dry dock cruise ships for repairs some times in Portland. Just think it would make more money if they came to the city of roses. American Cruise Line does river cruises there. But, would be nice to have a ocean itinerary for it.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

There are a few ocean itineraries already - I posted some info for folks on one of the small luxury ships late in 2017. The biggest problem I see isn't the Columbia Bar, but the lack of infrastructure to handle big ships with passengers. There's a crapton of produce moved by ship through Portland, and lots of potential docking space along the Willamette right in the heart of downtown, but there's nowhere I know of that can handle the big ships that the overwhelming majority of ocean cruises happen on - even the river boats and smaller cruise vessels mostly dock in Vancouver WA.

There are a few ocean itineraries already - I posted some info for folks on one of the small luxury ships late in 2017. The biggest problem I see isn't the Columbia Bar, but the lack of infrastructure to handle big ships with passengers. There's a crapton of produce moved by ship through Portland, and lots of potential docking space along the Willamette right in the heart of downtown, but there's nowhere I know of that can handle the big ships that the overwhelming majority of ocean cruises happen on - even the river boats and smaller cruise vessels mostly dock in Vancouver WA.

So really the city would need to want the cruise lines come? That would mean the city would need to build a terminal to handle the people. Along with transportation? I think it would bring in so much money for the businesses and city.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The city might want the cruise ships, but the cruise lines really have little reason to want the city...

First, realize that a lot of cruise lines virtually ignore the West Coast entirely...but, the ones that do put ships here will base those ships out of Vancouver (for the Alaska cruises) and, sometimes, Seattle...or out of Los Angeles (for Mexico cruises) and sometimes San Diego or San Francisco...It has to do, for the most part, with the logistics of the itineraries and with the "Jones Act" (or whatever the actual name is). For the most part, the only other reason to visit ports in between Los Angeles and Vancouver is for repositioning cruises between Alaska and the other side of the globe. With the Act requiring visits to a foreign port and with the lack of usable cruise destinations up and down the Coast, only Southern California or Vancouver/Seattle make sense. Southern California because you can quickly get down to Ensenada to give you that foreign port...Vancouver because it already starts you in a foreign port...or Seattle, because you can route through Victoria on your way to Alaska. Starting anywhere in between only adds unnecessary distance and lengthens your cruises. Add to the distance factors that there just aren't as many air connections into PDX as there are to LAX or YVR.

So, the only real practical use for a stop in Oregon is during a repositioning cruise. And, on those, you are just trying to make time as you've brought a ship, first, through the Panama Canal from the Caribbean...and ended in Los Angeles most likely...then you throw in that once or twice a year bridging that cruise to the ones that head out of Vancouver or Seattle to Alaska. But, those repositioning cruises are not favored by the cruise lines...They would rather get that ship up north as soon as possible to do that more lucrative Alaska cruise. So, if you are going to pass Oregon, Astoria, on the coast, makes more sense. Takes you less time, less fuel...and, if someone really wants to visit Portland, they can get transportation from there.

The city might want the cruise ships, but the cruise lines really have little reason to want the city...

 

 

 

First, realize that a lot of cruise lines virtually ignore the West Coast entirely...but, the ones that do put ships here will base those ships out of Vancouver (for the Alaska cruises) and, sometimes, Seattle...or out of Los Angeles (for Mexico cruises) and sometimes San Diego or San Francisco...It has to do, for the most part, with the logistics of the itineraries and with the "Jones Act" (or whatever the actual name is). For the most part, the only other reason to visit ports in between Los Angeles and Vancouver is for repositioning cruises between Alaska and the other side of the globe. With the Act requiring visits to a foreign port and with the lack of usable cruise destinations up and down the Coast, only Southern California or Vancouver/Seattle make sense. Southern California because you can quickly get down to Ensenada to give you that foreign port...Vancouver because it already starts you in a foreign port...or Seattle, because you can route through Victoria on your way to Alaska. Starting anywhere in between only adds unnecessary distance and lengthens your cruises. Add to the distance factors that there just aren't as many air connections into PDX as there are to LAX or YVR.

 

 

 

So, the only real practical use for a stop in Oregon is during a repositioning cruise. And, on those, you are just trying to make time as you've brought a ship, first, through the Panama Canal from the Caribbean...and ended in Los Angeles most likely...then you throw in that once or twice a year bridging that cruise to the ones that head out of Vancouver or Seattle to Alaska. But, those repositioning cruises are not favored by the cruise lines...They would rather get that ship up north as soon as possible to do that more lucrative Alaska cruise. So, if you are going to pass Oregon, Astoria, on the coast, makes more sense. Takes you less time, less fuel...and, if someone really wants to visit Portland, they can get transportation from there.

Great post! Thank you for your time explaining this. The Passenger Service Act. Yup, makes sense. This ship would have to be registered in the USA to make sense for it to come to Portland. What's great about your post, is I learned something from it! Passengers might have to pay a Jones Act fee if they miss their port. It's $762 fine they would have to pay. That's where insurance would come in handy. I guess American Cruise Line it is for my clients that want to cruise Portland.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

So really the city would need to want the cruise lines come? That would mean the city would need to build a terminal to handle the people. Along with transportation? I think it would bring in so much money for the businesses and city.

Transportation might not be a huge issue - Portland already has some of the best transit infrastructure in the US, so depending where a dock was there might already be good MAX options for example. Steve's astute comments re: PVSA do bring up the point that only cruises RT Vancouver, or going to Canada or Mexico and several CA/WA/OR stops would be feasible regular visitors - and there simply doesn't seem to be close to enough demand to make it worth actually building something, training folks to staff it etc. etc.

We loved the Princess Cali Coastals out of YVR, and if Portland was a stop we'd be able to pop home and do some laundry mid-cruise! But I don't think cruiselines would see much profit in PDX - ironically for exactly the reasons you gave that folks want to visit! Pax who leave the ship and head to pubs, restos, underground tours etc. downtown make diddly squat profit for the line unless they book cruiseline excursions - and even then, with the major cost involved the food/drink/experience rather than transportation there's only so much they can gouge pax by before even the dumbest realises they can do it independently for a fraction of the cost...

I'd be pushing bus tours up the gorge - with Vista House, Multnomah Falls, many other falls all free to visit a tour is gravy for the line as soon as they've covered the cost of the bus rental, diesel, a driver & guide's basic pay. If you look at cruiseline excursions from Astoria, they're getting you up the coast to Cannon beach, or over to Mount St Helens, or actually into Portland for a (very short!) day trip.

Personally I'm also glad that there are so sudden hordes of thousands of cruise pax crowding the sidewalks and roads;-) There are already a few spots in Vancouver that I simply avoid entirely throughout Cruise Season.

Ditto what BruinSteve said:

Plus, I know Portland very well and yes, there would be fun and beautiful things to do. The powers that be in Portland, really do not have any desire to do the prep work for the Columbia River. Portland is at least an hour and a half drive to the coast.