PVSA/Jones Act Podcast

[lstone19]

If Ensenada is a distant foreign port, surely Greenland would qualify.

 

 

 

Ensenada is NOT a "distant foreign port", it is a "nearby foreign port"

 

 

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[chengkp75]

If Ensenada is a distant foreign port, surely Greenland would qualify.

 

Ensenada is not a distant foreign port. It is a "foreign" port, which allows a "closed loop" cruise to be legal if visited. A "distant" foreign port is only involved if you are not doing a closed loop cruise, i.e. one where you board in one US port and disembark in a different US port. "Distant" foreign ports are defined by CBP as any port that is not a "near" foreign port. CBP then defines a "near" foreign port as "any port in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda, with the exception of the ABC islands" off the coast of South America.

[Steelers0854]

Yes, a cruise starting or ending in Puerto Rico, and conversely starting or ending in a mainland US port is exempt from the PVSA, as is the USVI. As lstone says, a cruise from one mainland US port to another mainland US port, with a stop in PR does not meet the PVSA, unless it calls at a "distant" foreign port.

 

 

 

Carnival has one way cruises from Galveston (IIRC) to San Juan, and vice versa, but you could not combine a Galveston to San Juan B2B with a San Juan to Miami.

 

 

 

I knew you would have the answers! Thanks for clarifying the rules.

[Cruisin' Chick]

NPR usually does better than this. Disappointing. :(

 

Yes, this is pretty sloppy reporting. But then on the Patters for my first Hawaiian cruise, Princess made the mistake of saying any fines for missing the ship would be due to the Jones act.:rolleyes:

If Ensenada is a distant foreign port, surely Greenland would qualify.

 

Ensenada fulfills the requirement for the Hawaiian cruises because the ship departs and returns to LA. Same for Victoria, BC on the Alaskan cruises out of Seattle -- the ship returns to Seattle.

[Hlitner]

What is wrong with this topic is that the PVSA and Jones Act are two totally different laws...although some cruisers insist they are one and the same. The PVSA was enacted in 1886 and targeted towards passenger ships (cruise ships). The Jones Act (Merchant Merine Act of 1920) was enacted more then 30 years later and primarily impacted cargo vessels. In most cases the "Jones Act" has little or nothing to do with cruise ships.

 

Hank