Jones Act - Celebrity Edge B2Bs

[Col_G]

I have a booking on Celebrity Edge, Sydney - Seattle.

Which involves 2 Back to Backs.

B2B 18 night Tahitian Treasures & 9 night Hawaii 

B2B 9 night Hawaii & 7 nights Alaska Dawes Glacier.

B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

B2B Honolulu - Vancouver - Seattle

Can someone (who knows how it works) explain how this is possible and does not breach the Jones act.

[cruisestitch]

Well first, it isn’t the Jones act. The Jones act has to do with cargo.
 

The act in  question is called the PVSA passenger vessel services act.

 

When you look at the PVSA, you have to ask first, are you traveling between two US ports, that is, are you embarking at one US port and disembarking at a different one?  You are not.  You will board the ship in Sydney. And leave the ship and Seattle.
 

so the PVSA is not violated.

 

to expand, if you tried to board the ship in Honolulu and disembark in Seattle, that would be a violation. But because you are boarding in Sydney , the violation disappears.

Edited Sunday at 09:08 PM by cruisestitch

[Purplsmurf]

We are taking the first B2B. I wondered the same, but was told that it’s not between 2 US ports so it’s ok.

Edited Sunday at 09:08 PM by Purplsmurf

[Brews'n'Cruise]

27 minutes ago, Col_G said:

 

I have a booking on Celebrity Edge, Sydney - Seattle.

Which involves 2 Back to Backs.

B2B 18 night Tahitian Treasures & 9 night Hawaii 

B2B 9 night Hawaii & 7 nights Alaska Dawes Glacier.

B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

B2B Honolulu - Vancouver - Seattle

Can someone (who knows how it works) explain how this is possible and does not breach the Jones act.

 

If you are doing the above 4 cruises in a row with no breaks then, as cruisestitch says, there is no violation of the PVSA. If you were just doing the last line you mention (Honolulu-Vancouver-Seattle) then that would not be allowed as you would be boarding and disembarking in US cities.

 

Andy.

[Alakegirl]

Your trip is Sydney to Seattle.  The PVSA only regulates travel between US ports.

[justcrusn]

I think it also matters that they are b2b cruises, not one cruise, each stands alone.

[markeb]

17 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

I think it also matters that they are b2b cruises, not one cruise, each stands alone.

No, they do not. 
 

It’s where you board and where you disembark. In fact B2B and combinations of B2B is about the only way to create a PVSA violation for regularly scheduled cruises. 
 

As already stated, embark in Sydney and disembark in Seattle. Thats perfectly legal. 

[Col_G]

53 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Well first, it isn’t the Jones act. The Jones act has to do with cargo.
 

The act in  question is called the PVSA passenger vessel services act.

 

When you look at the PVSA, you have to ask first, are you traveling between two US ports, that is, are you embarking at one US port and disembarking at a different one?  You are not.  You will board the ship in Sydney. And leave the ship and Seattle.
 

so the PVSA is not violated.

 

to expand, if you tried to board the ship in Honolulu and disembark in Seattle, that would be a violation. But because you are boarding in Sydney , the violation disappears.

Thank You. I understand now. I had tried to make a future HAL B2B booking Fort Lauderdale - Quebec then Quebec - Boston and received notification that this was not permitted, so that made me wonder about my Celebrity booking (I then saw a post on cruise critic mentioning the Jones Act).

So, it’s starting in Sydney that makes the difference re: PVSA.

Thank you for you kind help.

[1025cruise]

Yes. But expect to hear about it from Celebrity as the computer system might only see Honolulu to Seattle and give you a headache. Just remind them you are boarding in Sydney.

[cruise_lover_2309]

Why would the Honolulu to Seattle portion be a problem?  They are stopping in a foreign port, Vancouver.

 

[Essiesmom]

22 minutes ago, cruise_lover_2309 said:

Why would the Honolulu to Seattle portion be a problem?  They are stopping in a foreign port, Vancouver.

 

For a cruise starting in one US port and ending in a different US port, you have to visit a distant foreign port…read southern hemisphere/South America.   Vancouver/Victoria is not a distant foreign port.  EM

Edited Monday at 12:47 AM by Essiesmom

[justcrusn]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

No, they do not. 
 

It’s where you board and where you disembark. In fact B2B and combinations of B2B is about the only way to create a PVSA violation for regularly scheduled cruises. 
 

As already stated, embark in Sydney and disembark in Seattle. Thats perfectly legal. 

I stand corrected 

at least in the USA you must disembark and embark fresh each leg.

[cruisestitch]

54 minutes ago, cruise_lover_2309 said:

Why would the Honolulu to Seattle portion be a problem?  They are stopping in a foreign port, Vancouver.

 

If you do a closed loop cruise, leaving and returning from the same US port, any foreign port visit will do. But on a cruise that starts in one US port and ends in a different one, you must visit a DISTANT foreign port as defined in the act, and no port in Canada qualifies 

[cruisestitch]

3 hours ago, justcrusn said:

I think it also matters that they are b2b cruises, not one cruise, each stands alone.

Each stands alone as far as your shipboard account goes, but they do not stand alone as far as the PVSA.
 

all the PVSA asks is where do you board that ship and where do you disembark.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guppy99]

5 hours ago, Col_G said:

 

I have a booking on Celebrity Edge, Sydney - Seattle.

Which involves 2 Back to Backs.

B2B 18 night Tahitian Treasures & 9 night Hawaii 

B2B 9 night Hawaii & 7 nights Alaska Dawes Glacier.

B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

B2B Honolulu - Vancouver - Seattle

Can someone (who knows how it works) explain how this is possible and does not breach the Jones act.

No issues. You have to get off the ship at the end of each segnenbt and then recheck in and reboard.

[Alakegirl]

Getting on and off the ship on the turnaround days is not sufficient for adhering to PVSA.

 

 

[justcrusn]

We cruised hawaii to California last year, our “distant foreign port” must have been mexico. Not arguing, but how is that different than vancouver canada?

[hrhdhd]

5 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

We cruised hawaii to California last year, our “distant foreign port” must have been mexico. Not arguing, but how is that different than vancouver canada?

What was the specific itinerary? Mexico is not a distant foreign port, either.

[cruisestitch]

22 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

We cruised hawaii to California last year, our “distant foreign port” must have been mexico. Not arguing, but how is that different than vancouver canada?

Can you give more details—what cruise line, what itinerary?  Did you disembark in Ensenada and then travel by bus to San Diego by any chance?

[justcrusn]

No, we did not. Los Angeles (or Long Beach) then to Hawaii and back to long beach California on princess.

i believe our one foreign stop was Ensenada on the return, with no bus ride. We did a day excursion, then back on the ship.

[justcrusn]

I guess no DISTANT foreign port required because we started and ended in 

L.A.

[markeb]

1 minute ago, justcrusn said:

No, we did not. Los Angeles (or Long Beach) then to Hawaii and back to long beach California on princess.

i believe our one foreign stop was Ensenada on the return, with no bus ride. We did a day excursion, then back on the ship.

That’s a closed loop cruise with the same embarkation and disembarkation port. The PVSA doesn’t apply. The stop in Ensenada makes it a foreign cruise for customs and immigration purposes. 

[cruisestitch]

53 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

We cruised hawaii to California last year, our “distant foreign port” must have been mexico. Not arguing, but how is that different than vancouver canada?

You cruised California-Hawaii-California, right?  Closed loop with a foreign port.  

[Alakegirl]

1 hour ago, justcrusn said:

We cruised hawaii to California last year, our “distant foreign port” must have been mexico. Not arguing, but how is that different than vancouver canada?

It’s different because you did NOT cruise from Hawaii to California. You cruised from California and back to California via Hawaii and Mexico.  
 

 

[RichYak]

11 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

No issues. You have to get off the ship at the end of each segnenbt and then recheck in and reboard.

As mentioned above, the B2B process of getting off the ship and reboarding is not a factor in satisfying PVSA requirements.