1 Day cruise

[albingirl]

When I saw this post, I  got so tired thinking of packing for one day. Seriously, might as well be a week with all the sundries you pack. I needed a nap just thinking about it 😴 

[Ferry_Watcher]

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

That was actually someone who wanted to get off EARLY, on a sailing from Whittier to Vancouver. They wanted off in Juneau, so a violation by sailing from one US port to another without a distant foreign port stop. IIRC, it was a $700pp fine charged to the credit on file, as the people just left.

 

Here is the story - 

 

https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Here is the story - 

 

https://www.adn.com/opinions/2023/08/18/opinion-i-decided-to-give-an-alaska-cruise-a-try-then-i-got-fined/

Wow. Apparently she really didn’t think it through, having had foreknowledge about it.
 

“We slept in when the ship docked in Juneau. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast with a totally new view of our hometown, 12 stories above the water. Our friends on Douglas Island texted us a photo of our ship and said they were waving to us from their balcony. And then we walked off the ship to head home.

 

“Why do you want to end your trip early?” the guest services manager asked me when I told her we were disembarking.

 

“Because I live here!” I said proudly. “My kid’s first day of first grade is tomorrow and my husband is parked outside waiting to pick us up. "

She asked me this before she told me that the minute we got off the ship, I would be fined $941 per person (there is no child price) for violating the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886, or PVSA.

 

The PVSA says simply that a foreign-flagged ship cannot transport people between two U.S. ports. That privilege is reserved for “U.S.- built, owned, and documented vessels.” Its original purpose was to protect the American ship-building and shipping industries. It’s why we have Alaska-built ferries that take people between Alaska ports, abiding by U.S. labor and safety laws.

 

Even though many of the cruise lines are based in the U.S., the ships sail under “flags of convenience” – they’re registered in other countries so they can operate under the laxest labor laws and most advantageous tax schemes they can find. The way they get around the PVSA is by stopping in Canada.

 

I was stunned. Because I know about the PVSA. I helped report on the ins and outs of the law during the pandemic when Alaska’s delegation spurred Congress to waive the requirement that cruise ships stop in Canada when Canada’s ports were closed to keep the virus out.

I just didn’t know it applied to me. And technically, it doesn’t apply to me. The cruise line actually violated the PVSA by transporting me and my son from Seward to Juneau on a foreign-flagged ship. But it decided to pass the fine onto me by instantly charging the credit card I had on file.

We were escorted off the ship by a port agent, who shook his head at the sight of us. ”The self-inflicted wounds hurt the most, don’t they?” he said. “Tell your husband he can pick you up at the Customs and Border Control office in about 30 minutes.”

 

I felt like a criminal. We jumped ship and were now in a category with stowaways. ”

[Blackduck59]

Thanks @TiogaCruiser for posting that. It's an interesting read. I knew about the rule but it doesn't apply to me. Where have we heard that before? The cruise line entered into a contract with the passenger to transport them to Vancouver. At no time did they force the passenger to disembark the ship before they reached Vancouver. Too bad so sad, I guess the person learned the rules do apply to them.

[rj59]

Just enjoy a day in Vancouver and catch the evening train to Seattle. I booked the San Diego-Vancouver leg and they sent me a notice specifically saying I couldn't continue on to Seattle. From what others told me on Eurodam when I left Vancouver last fall, it was just full of partiers trying to scarf down as much booze and food as possible on their day on board. 

[Menocchio]

9 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks @TiogaCruiser for posting that. It's an interesting read. I knew about the rule but it doesn't apply to me. Where have we heard that before? The cruise line entered into a contract with the passenger to transport them to Vancouver. At no time did they force the passenger to disembark the ship before they reached Vancouver. Too bad so sad, I guess the person learned the rules do apply to them.

She even cites that the law protects Alaska's own system of ferries, and seems to agree that it's beneficial. 

 

I think she sees the cruise industry as parasitic, and thought she had found a way to get one up on them, since the government would be fining the cruise line. I think that excitement led her to not consider that of course the cruise line would pass along the expense to her. I can respect the opinion that cruises can be a net negative for communities that visit them, but not so much the idea that this gives you the moral right to enjoy them as long as you also find a way to screw them over and then be offended when that backfires.

 

"It’s pretty clear that Alaska cruises are not for Alaskans." Well... In the sense that the Duck Tours through the streets and waters of Boston aren't for Bostonians, sure. I wouldn't want to pay a cruise fare to visit my own hometown, so this sounds pretty inconvenient for a Juneau resident. (You might find me someday on a cruise from Boston to Canada, but probably never on one from New York stopping in Boston- what would the point of that be?) But if someone lived in Seward or Anchorage and only needed to fly back from Vancouver... That doesn't sound like a terrible vacation. Like, I could also understand if Alaskans would rather go someplace more exotic to them like Hawaii or Nebraska, but a cruise is a cruise, the residential discount is a real thing, and there's something to be said for avoiding flying both ways. 

 

"None of what I paid is going to go back into my community and make it a better place to raise my kid." Except for those port fees and head taxes she was complaining about earlier. Or the wages to port workers. Or what she paid to local businesses on port visits. Sure the feds get the fine she paid, but that's something she entirely brought on herself. 

Edited April 7 by Menocchio

[Blackduck59]

@Menocchio further to your point, the person involved could probably book passage on an Alaskan ferry. Of course that would probably be a little more basic than a cruise ship.

I also seem to recall the angst from cruise dependent communities in Alaska about the nasty Canadians closing our ports so the cruise industry couldn't comply with their own protectionist law.

[RuthC]

Like others who know about cruising and the PVSA, I have no sympathy for the woman. 
What I don't like is that she published her rant, and people who don't know about cruising, or the law, will feel some sympathy for her. She is misleading people who don't know any better---which amounts to a lie. 
I can't tolerate lying. 

[TiogaCruiser]

@RuthC

Well said.