2 one way trips

[crdtrnr]

Are you allowed to take a cruise, say from Seattle to Anchorage, stay there a couple of days, then catch a different cruise back...?

Does that violate the Travel Act?

 

Can it be the same cruise line, or should it be different one?

 

Trying to plan ahead for 2021.

 

Thanks for any and all information.

 

[Ashland]

It would be the PVSA .... I believe this would not be a violation.

PVSA = cruise ships.

Jones Act = cargo ships.

[Oakman58]

Your title says two one-way trips so I take it for granted your cruise would end in Anchorage.  First, with a very few exceptions, cruises out of Seattle are round trip cruises that don't go as far as Anchorage.  Of the few Seattle cruises that do go to Anchorage they all make their first port of call in Victoria B.C so no, you would not be violating the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

 

Most cruises that go to Anchorage depart from Vancouver, B.C. so again there would be no violation of the PVSA.  No problem using the same cruise line for a return trip.

[Coral]

I am not aware of any Seattle to Anchorage cruises unless it is a very small ship such as Uncruise or American Cruise line.

 

You can do a B2B if you do Vancouver to Whittier/Seward and even stay on the ship and go back to Vancouver.

[Guindalf]

The OP is talking about staying a couple of days before returning. In that case it would be two separate cruises, so it wouldn't matter what line is used for each leg.

 

You would have to disembark and join the second ship as a new passenger, so if you were thinking you could leave your luggage on board, then no, it's not possible.

 

The question of PVSA would not even be a consideration.

[oaktreerb]

Can you find  a cruise that embarks in Seattle and disembarks in Anchorage (Whittier or Seward)?  You will find some itineraries on HAL that begin in Seattle and bus to Vancouver to board the ship and the same for the reverse from Seward through Vancouver and bus to Seattle.

[CruiserBruce]

51 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Can you find  a cruise that embarks in Seattle and disembarks in Anchorage (Whittier or Seward)?  You will find some itineraries on HAL that begin in Seattle and bus to Vancouver to board the ship and the same for the reverse from Seward through Vancouver and bus to Seattle.

It is not legal to sail from Seattle to Seward (or vice versa) without a stop in a distant foreign port. No Canadian port qualifies. 

 

We sail HAL regularly, including Alaska this year. Have never heard of HAL "starting" a one way cruise in Seattle, but bussing people to Vancouver to make it a legal cruise.

[geoherb]

You can sail from Vancouver to Alaska on one ship, tour some on land, and then sail back to Vancouver on another ship. It's on my bucket list to do that. This year, though, I found a deal for solo travelers on one ship but not another, so I did back-to-back cruises from Vancouver to Alaska and back on the same ship.

[Coral]

9 hours ago, Guindalf said:

The OP is talking about staying a couple of days before returning. In that case it would be two separate cruises, so it wouldn't matter what line is used for each leg.

 

You would have to disembark and join the second ship as a new passenger, so if you were thinking you could leave your luggage on board, then no, it's not possible.

 

The question of PVSA would not even be a consideration.

I understand. My point was that most mass cruise lines will not go from Seattle to Anchorage as that is illegal.

[Guindalf]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I understand. My point was that most mass cruise lines will not go from Seattle to Anchorage as that is illegal.

 

Where are you getting the ridiculous idea that it's 'illegal' to go from Seattle to Anchorage? If you mean directly, it's not illegal, but that never happens anyway.

 

The reason ships sail to at least one foreign port is not a matter of legality. It is because the vessel is registered to a foreign location and must sail internationally or it has to follow US laws as far as minimum wage, etc. If they do comply, they can absolutely sail from one US port to another!

 

NCL's Pride of America sails around the Hawaiian Islands and never leaves US waters. It complies with US employment laws, which is mainly why cruises on that ship are much more expensive that others on the same line. In fact, for the longest time, they were not allowed to offer the drinks package because Hawaii wouldn't allow it, insisting that without it, passengers were more likely to spend their drinks money on the islands.

 

If you insist on calling it illegal, please show us the relevant laws and I will gladly apologize, but I seriously doubt you can.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, Guindalf said:

 

Where are you getting the ridiculous idea that it's 'illegal' to go from Seattle to Anchorage? If you mean directly, it's not illegal, but that never happens anyway.

 

 

OK - what I meant to say is most mass lines are not going to do that route.

 

Most knew what I meant. You must have too much time on your side.

[Guindalf]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

OK - what I meant to say is most mass lines are not going to do that route.

 

Most knew what I meant. You must have too much time on your side.

 

What you meant to say and what you did say are two different things and I doubt that  'most knew what you meant'!

 

As for time on my side (or did you mean on my hands?), it took me no longer to point out your mistake than it did for you to invent it!

 

For your information, as 'none of the mass market cruise lines sail from Seattle to Anchorage', a few that do include Princess, HAL, NCL, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, according to this article - the first I found with  simple search! 

 

[JKHawaii]

Simple search may lead to Simple results.  A more comprehensive search shows NO 1-way cruises from Seattle to Seward or Whittier.

 

I am not a maritime lawyer, but it is my understanding from past issues that no foreign-flagged vessel cruise may start in one U.S. port and end in another U.S. port regardless of whether or not it visits a foreign port.  A cruise must either start or end in a foreign port OR round trip from/to the same U.S. port (with at least 1 foreign port of call).

 

People have even had problems booking back-to-back cruises.  In May, the Ovation cruised from Honolulu to Vancouver.  The next cruise was an Alaska cruise,  starting in Vancouver and ending in Seattle.  From what I remember (I was on the Ovation in Honolulu), people who booked these cruises back-to-back had to either cancel the Alaska cruise or disembark in Vancouver and travel (at their own expense) to the first port of call for the Alaska cruise.

 

For the same reason, there are no 1-way U.S. west coast cruises to Hawaii.

 

Maddening, yes but that's the way it seems to be.

[Hoyaheel]

2 hours ago, JKHawaii said:

For the same reason, there are no 1-way U.S. west coast cruises to Hawaii.

But there are some with HI as a port of call, en route to South Pacific and/or Australia 😉

 

I agree to find an OTA and just start looking at options for fun. Seattle probably not gonna work but Vancouver absolutely could.

[Guindalf]

3 hours ago, JKHawaii said:

Simple search may lead to Simple results.  A more comprehensive search shows NO 1-way cruises from Seattle to Seward or Whittier.

 

I am not a maritime lawyer, but it is my understanding from past issues that no foreign-flagged vessel cruise may start in one U.S. port and end in another U.S. port regardless of whether or not it visits a foreign port.  A cruise must either start or end in a foreign port OR round trip from/to the same U.S. port (with at least 1 foreign port of call).

 

People have even had problems booking back-to-back cruises.  In May, the Ovation cruised from Honolulu to Vancouver.  The next cruise was an Alaska cruise,  starting in Vancouver and ending in Seattle.  From what I remember (I was on the Ovation in Honolulu), people who booked these cruises back-to-back had to either cancel the Alaska cruise or disembark in Vancouver and travel (at their own expense) to the first port of call for the Alaska cruise.

 

For the same reason, there are no 1-way U.S. west coast cruises to Hawaii.

 

Maddening, yes but that's the way it seems to be.

 

So I'm imagining the cruises that start in Miami, sail through the Panama Canal and end in Los Angeles or vice versa?

 

Well alrighty then!

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

 

So I'm imagining the cruises that start in Miami, sail through the Panama Canal and end in Los Angeles or vice versa?

 

Well alrighty then!

You’re not imagining things.... is there a stop in Cartagena, Colombia on the itinerary?

[Guindalf]

There are several foreign ports along the way. I was responding to this...

 

3 hours ago, JKHawaii said:

~

 

I am not a maritime lawyer, but it is my understanding from past issues that no foreign-flagged vessel cruise may start in one U.S. port and end in another U.S. port regardless of whether or not it visits a foreign port.  A cruise must either start or end in a foreign port OR round trip from/to the same U.S. port (with at least 1 foreign port of call).

 

~

 

...which we all know is bunk.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Guindalf

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Guindalf said:

There are several foreign ports along the way. I was responding to this...

 

 

...which we all know is bunk.

For sure.... a stop at a ‘distant foreign port’ (ie Cartagena) permits the voyage.

 

The B2B business can be problematic though.... a cruise from Hawaii to Vancouver followed by a cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles on the same ship without a substantial ‘layover’ would likely not be a permissible combination.

[Guindalf]

Please cite your sources if you're going to promote all this misinformation.

[d9704011]

Have a look at page 13 of the CBP document in the following...

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ICP Pax Vessel Services Act Apr 2010.pdf

[sherryf]

8 hours ago, Guindalf said:

For your information, as 'none of the mass market cruise lines sail from Seattle to Anchorage', a few that do include Princess, HAL, NCL, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, according to this article - the first I found with  simple search! 

This article is a bunch of hooey.  These cruises do not sail from Seattle to Anchorage.  They sail round trip from Seattle to Alaskan ports, and back to Seattle. They don't even get near Anchorage, or even the common end ports of Whittier or Seward. One bad article is not proof of anything.  Find me an actual itinerary that sails from Seattle to Anchorage without a distant foreign port stop, and then I might believe you.  It would have to be a US flagged ship that follows US employment laws, and none of the major lines qualify.

 

It is in violation of the PVSA for a foreign flagged ship to transport passengers from one US port (Seattle) to another US port (Anchorage/Whittier/Seward) without a stop at a DISTANT foreign port.  There are no distant foreign ports to stop at (no, Victoria does not count) so no ships sail between Seattle and Anchorage. The round-trip Seattle sailings are allowed with a near foreign port, which is usually Victoria.

[Guindalf]

This has turned into a peeing contest and has nothing to do with the OP's original post. Therefore I'll be the bigger man and bow out gracefully. I have better things to do and better people to do it with.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

1 minute ago, Guindalf said:

This has turned into a peeing contest and has nothing to do with the OP's original post. Therefore I'll be the bigger man and bow out gracefully. I have better things to do and better people to do it with.

 

 

Perhaps you should read the article you linked. In regards to HAL sailing to Alaska, it CLEARLY  says the cruises are ROUNDTRIP out of Seattle. 

 

In reference to cruises from Florida to the West Coast,  they stop at Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao or Cartagena to meet the requirements of transporting people from one US port to another. 

 

Lastly,  you are correct, that if a cruise line wishes to meet various US Labor laws and a couple of other requirements, they may sail from one US port to another, LEGALLY.  If they chose not to meet those requirements,  they may NOT sail from one US port to another, without stop in a "distant foreign port". So, you are missing the two sides of the legality issue.

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, Guindalf said:

This has turned into a peeing contest and has nothing to do with the OP's original post. Therefore I'll be the bigger man and bow out gracefully. I have better things to do and better people to do it with.

 

 

 

Just to clarify, though, the article you linked to doesn't show what you claim it does. There are no major cruise lines sailing one-way cruises between Alaska and Seattle. It is not allowed under the PVSA. 

[JKHawaii]

Now that the "bigger man" has left the party, perhaps we can return to a rational discussion.

 

Yes, I've been on a Panama Canal cruise from Miami to Los Angeles.  Since South America and the ABC islands are one of the exemptions to the law, my cruise was "legit" because it stopped at Cartagena, Columbia, South America.

 

I also did the 1-way cruise from Australia (stopping in French Polynesia) to Honolulu.  I'm pretty sure Australia and the South Pacific are foreign ports.

 

Anyway, back to the OP, the fact remains that there are NO 1-way cruises between Seattle & Alaska.

 

And be careful when booking back-to-back cruises, because the cruise line may not initially tell you about these restrictions.