Surprising reddit thread - Venture didn't use kayaks or zodiacs in Alaska

[markandjie]

Happened upon a reddit thread from a passenger who boarded in Nome and was informed they wouldn't be using kayaks or zodiacs. Thread is from late Sept and sounds like people were very surprised and angry. Read it here for yourself if you care to: 

 

 

Even more strange that the person says there were expedition staff on board who didn't seem to know what their role would be on the cruise...

 

Surprised this never came up here. Anyone hear about this?

[sfvoyage]

This has happened before and in fact just happened again last week on the Odyssey - the zodiacs were removed from the ship.  This is apparently due to some Alaskan regulations that zodiacs must be operated by certified American operators, and Seabourn expedition team members are of various nationalities, not only American.  Something like that.

 

That's why today someone reported on here that zodiacs (plus other items) were being loaded back onto Odyssey while she was docked in Vancouver.

[Ithikan]

Interesting.  I believe boating education is encouraged in Alaska (a card is issued if you pass the test), but certification is not required for operating a kayak or zodiac.  The reasoning behind removing the equipment from the ship and then returning it is indeed mysterious.  

We signed up for a mind-morning kayak excursion last month for our Odyssey cruise - check-in time 9:30am - and were disappointed to receive a 9pm call the night before from the excursion team, stating that there were only 3 of us on that tour and could we please switch to the 7am tour?  The sudden change to a 6:30 reveille was a deal-breaker for us.  And the last-minute notice was not appreciated.  

[DTtravelers]

On 10/14/2023 at 8:19 AM, Ithikan said:

The reasoning behind removing the equipment from the ship and then returning it is indeed mysterious. 

The reasoning is indeed mysterious, but the offloading and on-loading of zodiacs is probably not.

 

We did 14 days on the Odyssey last and this year, and were told that cruise lines were required to use zodiacs supplied by Alaskan companies for use in Alaska, even though Seabourn has it's own.  So the ones offloaded in Vancouver were probably being returned to the Alaska vendors, while the ones moved back on belonged to Seabourn, and were probably stored in Vancouver for the season.  All zodiacs pretty much look alike except for size variations, so removing them and then putting them back would have indeed appeared strange.

 

This would also explain why the Venture could not do zodiacs trips: they would have had to on-load Alaskan zodiacs in Nome then drop them off in Vancouver, even though they carry 24 zodiacs of their own!  Logistics of that would be problematic.

 

We were also told last year and this year by multiple Venturing team members that only US citizens were allowed to operate the zodiacs in Alaska.  Indeed, some highly qualified Canadian Venturing team members confirmed to me that they were not allowed to operate the zodiacs while in Alaska, but they could while in Canadian waters.

 

I tried to corroborate this stuff, but my internet searches came up empty (other than the normal endless list of unrelated stuff that searches always return).

 

Happy sailing!

 

btw: I really like the Odyssey and am very sad to see her go next year...

 

 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

Probably the Jones Act came into play.   
Since the ship is non US owned, they are not allowed to use the kayaks and zodiacs.  We got caught up in same while on another operators Great Lakes trip expedition.   The zodiacs and kayaks ONLY allowed whilst in Canadian waters.

 

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

kayaks and zodiacs are also covered by this ( none of the “toys” were allowed to be used in US waters, kayaks and zodiacs included).

interestingly, there were kayak trips available, but they were “extra” and did NOT use the onboard kayaks,  instead they were with US based outfitters/operators.

I am relatively sure this applies to your experience as well.

[markandjie]

Strange since we definitely used zodiacs and kayaks on our 2018 Alaska cruise on SB. Wonder why this seems to apply to some cruises and not others. 

[aliaschief]

We ran into this issue on another line about zodiacs. Really thought the bottom line issue was don’t interfere with our local zodiac and kayak related tours and rentals.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

This is a show-stopper for this class of ship to Alaska for us. It's designed to be used with these landing/exploration craft and if they are not used, the cruise is a fail. It's much better to just be on a larger / cheaper ship in that case, IMO.

[rallydave]

On 11/13/2023 at 9:02 AM, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Probably the Jones Act came into play.   
Since the ship is non US owned, they are not allowed to use the kayaks and zodiacs.  We got caught up in same while on another operators Great Lakes trip expedition.   The zodiacs and kayaks ONLY allowed whilst in Canadian waters.

 

Has absolutely NOTHING to do with Jones Act.   Jones Act does not include passenger ships.  That is the PVSA Passenger Vehicle Services Act.  And even if it did has nothing to do with cs or kayaks 

[Vineyard View]

I received an email from SB today advertising Alaska cruises next year. It spoke to the use of kayaks and zodiacs on excursions. Based on that, if we were to book a SB trip next year in Alaska, we would expect to be able to utilize these. In 2024 we are sailing in a different part of the world, so it does not impact us next year, but another Alaska trip is on the radar in the future. Hopefully this is more clearly defined in the near future. 

[curmudgeon98]

On our Odyssey cruise in 2022, kayaks and zodiacs were used extensively.  It's very possible that they were specifically onloaded for the season.  I could see the potential that boats used "for hire" in Alaska waters have to be registered there, or something similar.  Also the potential that there are state-specific training/certification requirements for operators.  It can be a harsh environment up there at times.  It's a bit like the New Zealand hull-scrubbing requirements that caught quite a few ships, including a P&O ship last week.

 

It's a bit tricky for Venture, making a one-way pass through Alaskan waters after doing the NorthWest Passage.  Hard to justify flying equipment into Nome and trying to get certified boat operators for a 10-day cruise.  Logically, of course, you might say that people and equipment capable of use in Greenland and Antarctica should be suitable for Alaska too, but states get to set their own rules.