Cruise from Canada for Alaska (as Americans) risky?

[screwsmcernst]

23 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Is it a one way to Hawaii?  If so, then it won't happen due to the PVSA, which precludes a foreign flag cruise ship departing in one US port and ending in another US port, unless the voyage includes a "distant" foreign port (any port outside of North and Central America, the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda).  I suspect it is a one way, since those are the cruises that start in Vancouver, for just this reason.

It is one way, with a planned stop in Victoria, BC.  If they sail from Seattle, and still stopped their, wouldn't that satisfy the PVSA rule?

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, screwsmcernst said:

If they sail from Seattle, and still stopped there, wouldn't that satisfy the PVSA rule?

No, Victoria is not a "distant" foreign port.

Edited January 4, 2022 by Biker19

[screwsmcernst]

23 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

If you are talking Quantum, I am more concerned about that ship even coming to Alaska.  Royal Caribbean chose to leave it sailing out of Singapore this past Alaska season and allowed us to lift and shift to 2022.  If things stay the way they are, I bet they leave it there again, unfortunately.  They did adjust the itinerary of the first sailing to round trip Seattle, instead of Vancouver to Seattle since it isn't coming from Australia via Hawaii, so that was a good sign but I still think it is 50/50 that it comes here.

We are on Quantum.  I didn't even think about them not moving the ship.  Didn't they keep it in Singapore because Canada/Australia hasn't allowed cruising from their ports?    I guess we sill wait and see what Canada/Austrailia decides to do.  Ugh!  The waiting game.  I think we will need a backup plan  =(  

Edited January 4, 2022 by screwsmcernst

[reallyitsmema]

7 minutes ago, screwsmcernst said:

We are on Quantum.  I didn't even think about them not moving the ship.  Didn't they keep it in Singapore because Canada/Australia hasn't allowed cruising from their ports?    I guess we sill wait and see what Canada/Austrailia decides to do.  Ugh!  The waiting game.  I think we will need a backup plan  =(  

 

Yes, last year it stayed in Singapore and did not come to Alaska for the shortened Alaska season.  We did a lift and shift to this year.  Hopefully, Canada and Australia decide to open to cruise ships and Quantum comes for its Alaska season but I am not getting my hopes up.  You must be on the last Quantum sailing of the season if it is ending in Vancouver.  

[twangster]

I am booked on two in May that were originally a side to side with a night in between.  Serenade first then Quantum on the original repo cruise that was supposed to be Vancouver to Seattle.  My airfare was booked to Vancouver and returning from Seattle after Quantum.

 

When Royal moved Quantum to Seattle it required a new flight from Vancouver to Seattle.  That day in between is proving to be valuable now.  Royal has promised to reimburse me for the new flight, Vancouver to Seattle.  

 

So I've got two riding on Canada opening this year and if Canada stays closed then I'm hoping for another ATRA exemption for Seattle based cruises.  

 

I'm also facing a lot of potential testing if both countries still require testing for flights into each country.

 

However I'm not sweating it at this point.  If they cancel and I lose both I'll be disappointed but will book them another year.  The PCR test for Canada should be easy enough, I've already entered Canada three times recently.  If Royal can't give me a test for the flight into the US hopefully antigen still works and I'll use an eMed proctored test kit to fly into the US.

 

A lot of unanswered questions and a lot of potential things to get stressed over but I am not going to stress about it.  It is what it is, it will sort itself out.  More refunds if they cancel, more FCC if I need to back out. 

 

It will all sort itself out.

[screwsmcernst]

6 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Yes, last year it stayed in Singapore and did not come to Alaska for the shortened Alaska season.  We did a lift and shift to this year.  Hopefully, Canada and Australia decide to open to cruise ships and Quantum comes for its Alaska season but I am not getting my hopes up.  You must be on the last Quantum sailing of the season if it is ending in Vancouver.  

We are getting on in Vancouver and sailing to Hawaii..... Maybe.  😆

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, screwsmcernst said:

We are getting on in Vancouver and sailing to Hawaii..... Maybe.  😆

 

Sorry, not sure how I missed that in your first post. I hope to do that cruise some day once my DH retires. 🙂 

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, screwsmcernst said:

It is one way, with a planned stop in Victoria, BC.  If they sail from Seattle, and still stopped their, wouldn't that satisfy the PVSA rule?

 

21 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

No, Victoria is not a "distant" foreign port.

As noted, for a "closed loop" cruise (starts and ends at the same US port), a port call at any foreign port will do (so, for Seattle/Hawaii/Seattle, Victoria would suffice).  For an "open jaw" cruise (starts at one US port and ends at a different US port), the ship needs to call at a "distant" foreign port, which is defined as "any port outside: North or Central America, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda".  This is why East/West Coast repo cruises cannot use the Panama Canal as their "distant" foreign port, it is in Central America.  The closest "distant" foreign port to Seattle is Cartagena, Colombia.

[screwsmcernst]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

The closest "distant" foreign port to Seattle is Cartagena, Colombia.

 Wouldn't Ensenada count?  Other cruise lines have used it as the foreign port when sailing Hawaii to SanFran or LA.

 

No matter what, that would add a few more days to the cruise.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but not great either.  😉

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, screwsmcernst said:

 Wouldn't Ensenada count?  Other cruise lines have used it as the foreign port when sailing Hawaii to SanFran or LA.

 

No matter what, that would add a few more days to the cruise.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but not great either.  😉

Again, just like Vancouver or Victoria, Ensenada only counts for a closed loop cruise.  Yes, many lines use it for round trips to Hawaii from the West Coast.  You cannot cruise one way from Hawaii to the West Coast with a stop in Ensenada, this is a violation of PVSA.  The reason your cruise was originally slated to start in Vancouver was to take the one-way cruise outside the PVSA (any voyage that starts or ends in a foreign port is outside the PVSA).

[screwsmcernst]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Again, just like Vancouver or Victoria, Ensenada only counts for a closed loop cruise.  Yes, many lines use it for round trips to Hawaii from the West Coast.  You cannot cruise one way from Hawaii to the West Coast with a stop in Ensenada, this is a violation of PVSA.  The reason your cruise was originally slated to start in Vancouver was to take the one-way cruise outside the PVSA (any voyage that starts or ends in a foreign port is outside the PVSA).

Thanks for clearing that up for me.  I appreciate it.  😃

 

[SparklyPinkCruiser]

As of November 1st 2021, Canada is allowing cruise ships in. You can see it at the Canada website here: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

 

However, as a Canadian living in this dystopian forever lockdown, I wouldn't bet on it actually happening!

[Blizzard54]

20 hours ago, twangster said:

I am booked on two in May that were originally a side to side with a night in between.  Serenade first then Quantum on the original repo cruise that was supposed to be Vancouver to Seattle.  My airfare was booked to Vancouver and returning from Seattle after Quantum.

 

When Royal moved Quantum to Seattle it required a new flight from Vancouver to Seattle.  That day in between is proving to be valuable now.  Royal has promised to reimburse me for the new flight, Vancouver to Seattle.  

 

So I've got two riding on Canada opening this year and if Canada stays closed then I'm hoping for another ATRA exemption for Seattle based cruises.  

 

I'm also facing a lot of potential testing if both countries still require testing for flights into each country.

 

However I'm not sweating it at this point.  If they cancel and I lose both I'll be disappointed but will book them another year.  The PCR test for Canada should be easy enough, I've already entered Canada three times recently.  If Royal can't give me a test for the flight into the US hopefully antigen still works and I'll use an eMed proctored test kit to fly into the US.

 

A lot of unanswered questions and a lot of potential things to get stressed over but I am not going to stress about it.  It is what it is, it will sort itself out.  More refunds if they cancel, more FCC if I need to back out. 

 

It will all sort itself out.

It is a lot easier to take a bus between Vancouver and Seattle as I believe no test is required. 

[A&L_Ont]

21 hours ago, SparklyPinkCruiser said:

As of November 1st 2021, Canada is allowing cruise ships in. You can see it at the Canada website here: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

 

However, as a Canadian living in this dystopian forever lockdown, I wouldn't bet on it actually happening!

I hear you loud and clear, as we head into Omicron.

[J0Y0US]

2 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

It is a lot easier to take a bus between Vancouver and Seattle as I believe no test is required. 

 

Ya I was reading the Canada (current rules) and they require testing for land based crossing now. I had the same thought.

 

We have decided to at this point cross off leaving from Vancouver for any cruise.

 

Looking at possibly the Ovation out of Seattle or possibly just driving somewhere. I might even just book a refundable room and then see how things pan out. Maybe they shift additional cruises to Seattle and maybe we get a final vaccination date for under 5 year olds.