Jones Act/PVS worring me--tell me I am wrong.

[Toto2Kansas]

As I said Princess arranged the flights. I wish now that I had not used them.

 

Did Princess actually arrange the flights or were these the flights chosen through eZAir? Although in the past, before eZAir, I have read many times where Princess assigned flights that were so close, there would be no way to make the ship even with a 30 minute delay. Which in these times of flying, is GREAT, as usually delays are a lot longer than that on the flights we have flown on lately.

[Cruise Junky]

There are two things missing here...or has a post been deleted? OP has not said whether this is a R/T Vancouver on one way Vancouver to Whittier. If she is R/T Vancouver, joining ship at next port would be permitted. EM

 

There are no R/T Vancouver Princess cruises this year.

[Toto2Kansas]

There are no R/T Vancouver Princess cruises this year.

Princess shows several RT 14 day cruises from Vancouver summer 2011 on the Diamond.

I looked back on the OP's previous posts and have no idea which date or ship they are sailing on though. So, we have no idea if this is a 7 day, or 14 days and what the itineary is.

OP, if you could post that information, at least the ship and the length of sailing, that would definitely help on this one. ;)

[somethingdifferent]

Thanks to all who offered advice. I am not getting any firm answers from Princess or my insurance carrier right now. They say "yes" I suspect "no". Insurance is with Travel Companion sold by the travel agency. Will have to see whether I recommend them after the trip.

[cherylandtk]

I think OP is on Diamond Princess on Sep 3, or at least that is what I surmise from earlier posts in other threads.

[Toto2Kansas]

I think OP is on Diamond Princess on Sep 3, or at least that is what I surmise from earlier posts in other threads.

 

Well, that would make it a 7 day from Vancouver to Whittier...............:(

[emmieepoo]

Help! Here is what is worring me. We fly from Houston to Minneapolis and change planes then on to Vancouver. Flights were arranged through Princess. Flight is due to land at 1:18 with ship to depart at 4:30. I know Princess says it will transport you to the next port should their flights make you miss the ship BUT, doesn't this violate the PVS act as we would be skipping the foreigh port? All other ports are in Alaska.

If we do run into late flights, what should we do?

 

Last year we missed the ship because Princess booked our air! Had to fly home because Princess would not fly us to the next port which was Europe! Be careful! I would go the day before. We sure learned a valuable lesson

[Cuizer2]

Help! Here is what is worring me. We fly from Houston to Minneapolis and change planes then on to Vancouver. Flights were arranged through Princess. Flight is due to land at 1:18 with ship to depart at 4:30. I know Princess says it will transport you to the next port should their flights make you miss the ship BUT, doesn't this violate the PVS act as we would be skipping the foreigh port? All other ports are in Alaska.

If we do run into late flights, what should we do?

 

If you are on a one way cruise, then if you miss Vancouver you cannot board the ship in a US port as it will be a violation of the PVSA. However, if your cruise is round trip from/to Vancouver then you can board at any port without violating the PVSA.

[Cruise Junky]

Worst case scenario, you could book the return trip for around $700 pp right now in an inside - that would make it legal :). I wonder if Princess could give you this option if the flight doesn't make it?

[Cuizer2]

This subject about the Jones Act has been a hot topic always but more so in the last couple of days due to some CCers missing their flights and ships.

 

This may seem like a dumb question, but does this act only concern American citizens? That is, are we Canadians exempt and Brits and Aussies as well?

 

anyone know? :confused:

 

It is not the Jones Act - it is the PVSA (Passenger Vessel Services Act). It applies to EVERYONE, not just US citizens.

[somethingdifferent]

Princess shows several RT 14 day cruises from Vancouver summer 2011 on the Diamond.

I looked back on the OP's previous posts and have no idea which date or ship they are sailing on though. So, we have no idea if this is a 7 day, or 14 days and what the itineary is.

OP, if you could post that information, at least the ship and the length of sailing, that would definitely help on this one. ;)

We sail on the Diamond northbound Vancouver to Whittier.

Correction we hope to sail!!!

[Cuizer2]

We sail on the Diamond northbound Vancouver to Whittier.

 

Then if you miss the ship in Vancouver you will miss the entire cruise. This is just another reason NOT to book cruise air.

[Cruise Junky]

Princess shows several RT 14 day cruises from Vancouver summer 2011 on the Diamond.

I looked back on the OP's previous posts and have no idea which date or ship they are sailing on though. So, we have no idea if this is a 7 day, or 14 days and what the itineary is.

OP, if you could post that information, at least the ship and the length of sailing, that would definitely help on this one. ;)

 

They're just packaging the same 7 day portion in reverse. Same ports unfortunately. Next year though, we get the 7 day return back :)

[Cuizer2]

All other ports are in Alaska.

If we do run into late flights, what should we do?

 

Book the next flight home - you are going to miss your entire cruise if you don't make the ship in Vancouver.

[somethingdifferent]

This has given me a headache. I am gone for today. Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

[Pam in CA]

[quote name='Cuizer2']It is not the Jones Act - it is the PVSA (Passenger Vessel Services Act). It applies to EVERYONE, not just US citizens.[/QUOTE]Right. Not sure why people refer to it as the Jones Act, which is Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 and applies to cabotage (coastal shipping.) The Jones Act requires ships transporting goods between two US ports to be built in the US, owned by US citizens, and manned by US permanent residents. The Jones Act comes into play only when a cruiseline is building a ship and if the ship sails under a US flag. The only major cruiseline ship that I'm aware of that complies sails for NCL America, and that was only because of a Federal waiver since the ship's hull was started in the US but the ship was actually built in Europe. The ship is the "Pride of America" and sails around HI.

[Cruzman]

Bottom line; do not book air thru the cruise line. Book it on your own and fly in at least a day prior to sailing. This is my policy, and we have never had a problem!

[epixx]

[quote name='cab519']I would suggest getting that in writing from your Travel Agent! Many agents don't know or understand the Passenger Vessel Services Act and how it works. If they were to transport you to Ketchican (as said above I doubt they would), who would pay the $300 per person fine for the Ketchican to Anchorage/Whittier trip?
* Princess
* Insurance
* You?
If your itinerary was to return to Vancouver, Canada you would be OK (there's a great reason to make it a longer cruise!).[/quote]

You have just about zero chance of having insurance pay the fine for PVSA violation, even if the cruise line did allow boarding, which is unlikely. Almost all travel insurance has a clause stating that claims are not payable when the situation arises due to violation of a law.

[sultan_sfo]

This is included in Personalizer Flights Section:

En Route Delay on Day of Sailing
If you encounter unforeseen flight delays, immediately advise an airline representative at the airport that you are a cruise passenger destined to sail that day. It is the airline’s responsibility to make alternate flight arrangement resulting from a delay or cancellation. Contact the Princess En Route Desk for coordination in joining in the next port of call and to advise of new flights. Note that if your delay involves missing the ship in the port of embarkation, you must immediately contact the Princess En Route Desk to confirm that you will be permitted to join the ship in the next port of call. [B]In certain instances, you will not be permitted to join the ship if the late embarkation will result in a violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act(PVSPA).[/B] The En Route Desk may be reached at 1-800-545-0008 or 661-284-4410 outside the U.S and Canada. [IMG]https://book.princess.com/images/global/spacer.gif[/IMG]

[Lynniepoo]

Something...

I had a TA recommend using Princess (before EZ Air) flights on our first trip to Sydney. After being very hesitant, I finally agreed.

Sure enough, she delivered me the most jacked up impossible tickets! From Charlotte to Atlanta, a 55 minute layover (impossible in most airports, an automatic miss your flight in Atlanta), from Atlanta to LAX, another layover, and from LAX to Sydney, and we paid more for the tickets than what I could have purchased on my own with one connection.

I called her and told her they had to be changed, and that her agency would have to pick up the fee. Well, she got right on the phone with Princess and got them to change the flights at no charge.

My point is, I think you need to have a long talk with your TA. They should be advocating for you and not putting you on a flight that could potentially (or even probably) ruin your ability to join the cruise! :(

[4cats4me]

to the OP: What is your date of sail? For the first couple of cruises, I let the cruise line book the air, since we'd been lead to believe that they would take care of you if you miss your ship. Well, needless to say we ALWAYS book our own air since we are in control of flight times, et cet, and we always fly in a day before now to avoid the problems you have listed.
The reason we do that is because a cruise line, which shall remain nameless that is not Princess, booked our air and they gave us awful returning flight time, so bad in fact, that we raised the roof over the scheduling. If we'd booked on our own we could have gotten prime times at a LOWER cost, in fact, but the airline booked us on flights like amonth before sailing, and then the docs came in and we were upset, so they upgraded us to a balcony cabin from a non-balcony -- but that still left us with a terrible flight dilemma, so we basically bit the bullet and paid $500 out of our own pocket to purchase our own airline tickets -- it was one-way tickets home -- so if you are outside of final payment, maybe you can cancel the whole thing and rebook as somebody else mentioned, but if you're not outside of final payment, then maybe you can just bite the bullet and purchase your own airline tickets or pay a penalty per ticket to try to get better flight times. That 1:18 flight is cutting it way to close for comfort and that is no way to start a vacation.
Good luck to you.:)

[Cruisin' Chick]

[quote name='Pam in CA']Right. Not sure why people refer to it as the Jones Act, which is Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 and applies to cabotage (coastal shipping.) The Jones Act requires ships transporting goods between two US ports to be built in the US, owned by US citizens, and manned by US permanent residents. The Jones Act comes into play only when a cruiseline is building a ship and if the ship sails under a US flag. The only major cruiseline ship that I'm aware of that complies sails for NCL America, and that was only because of a Federal waiver since the ship's hull was started in the US but the ship was actually built in Europe. The ship is the "Pride of America" and sails around HI.[/quote]


Even Princess will sometimes use the wrong wording. On our first Hawaiian cruise, there were notices in the Patter for each port warning all passengers that they had to be back onboard before sailing; else one would be in violation of the Jones Act. I was shaking my head over that.

For my second cruise, we booked our air/hotel through Carnival air. When the packet from the TA arrived at my workplace, I was reading off the info to my bf (now hubby) and then realized we had a red eye flight getting us into Miami early in the morning. Got off the phone with him and immediately called the agency and said that was unacceptable. Got it changed to a flight getting us into Miami around 8pm. The next morning when we were getting into the elevator at the hotel to go downstairs for breakfast, we ran into some people all bleary eyed. Apparently they just took whatever flight they were given.

From that time on, I made all of our travel arrangements for our cruises.

[Putterdude]

[quote name='Cruise Junky']They're just packaging the same 7 day portion in reverse. Same ports unfortunately. Next year though, we get the 7 day return back :)[/quote]

[SIZE=4]Wish it were true...but it is only going to be the 4 ships doing the 7 day "Voyage of the Glaciers" itinerary ... unless of course you know something that I don't. :)[/SIZE]

[Cruise Junky]

[quote name='Putterdude'][SIZE=4]Wish it were true...but it is only going to be the 4 ships doing the 7 day "Voyage of the Glaciers" itinerary ... unless of course you know something that I don't. :)[/SIZE][/quote]

May and September there are three voyages 7 day Vancouver return. I think Diamond is one of them. Can't remember the other ship but there's definitely 3 sailings.

Updated...Found them: Island May 16th, Diamond May 19th and Sapphire Sept. 22

[Putterdude]

[quote name='Cruise Junky']May and September there are three voyages 7 day Vancouver return. I think Diamond is one of them. Can't remember the other ship but there's definitely 3 sailings.

Updated...Found them: Island May 16th, Diamond May 19th and Sapphire Sept. 22[/quote]

[SIZE=4]Good call, I didn't know that there were the 3 offs but we don't have a regular schedule of 7 day returns which I interpreted you post to indicate...wish we did though, they are so convenient and a nice break for we wet coasters.[/SIZE]