Passenger Vessel Services Act - Missed NY Port and Embark at Orlando

[arthurkma]

17 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

so glad everything worked out!

 

Yes, I was so glad and happy!

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, arthurkma said:

Hello everyone, just a little update for my situation:

I was able to check in at Orlando, FL with the $778 fines paid to the government. Luckily, I did not check in at the Bahamas as according to Captain Nicolas,  there was no planning to port over there at all. 

Anyway, it was a great cruise and my family and I enjoyed it very much! Thank you very much for all the information concerns and many pieces of advice provided here.  I felt all the love! 

Until the next cruise, take care and I will see you all around here!

 

Arthur 

 

There is one solution that I did not see discussed (although it is too late now)

 

Could you have embarked in New York with your family, and then left the ship ("I forgot something in the car") and missed the sailaway as you fly back to LA? Then you catch up in Orlando.

 

I wonder if this be a violation since you would have initially embarked in New York and then disembarked in New York. You wouldn't have completely missed the New York embarkation.

Edited December 10, 2018 by SeaShark

[arthurkma]

3 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

There is one solution that I did not see discussed (although it is too late now)

 

Could you have embarked in New York with your family, and then left the ship ("I forgot something in the car") and missed the sailaway as you fly back to LA? Then you catch up in Orlando.

 

I wonder if this be a violation since you would have initially embarked in New York and then disembarked in New York. You wouldn't have completely missed the New York embarkation.

 

I don't know.  But I would think it would be allowed as it was just like some guests come back late from sight-seeing and then catch up the ship from the next port?

[bonvoyagie]

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 12:21 AM, wolfie11 said:

Princess allows passengers who miss the ship in Vancouver to fly to Ketchikan and embark there.  Pretty sure that’s a violation of the PVSA.  On the other hand, if you have two US ports, you should be able to board at either port, since you will then be going to a foreign port before returning to the US.  My understanding is that you can’t transport passengers from a US port to a US port without a foreign port in there somewhere, which is why Alaska RTs out of Seattle stop at Victoria.

That is a fine line as technically Vancouver is a foreign port - however when you board the ship you pass through US C&I so technically you are now in the US. If the ship was on a one way trip to AK then boarding in Ketchikan would mean that the ship took you from one US port to another - a PVSA violation. But the boarder crossing at the ship complicates things. But if Princess allows it then it must not be a violation.

 

The PVSA is based on embarkation and debarkation point - if the points are the same then the ship must visit a foreign port - near or far. Near ports are defined as all North American ports including Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao (often called the ABC Islands)  are considered far foreign ports and can be used to allow travel between two different US ports.

 

So Seattle to AK to Seattle via Victoria - OK Seattle to AK to San Francisco via Victoria - not OK

Vancouver to AK to Seward - not part of the PVSA.

 

As for the OP I don't see anyway he can do this - even if he "boards" the ship in NY and then gets off and re-boards in Orlando he would have to swipe his card to get off and then he would be shown as offboard and than magically appear in Orlando- that would raise several flags.

 

His only chance would be to try and get a waiver

 

WAIVER AUTHORITY—46 U.S.C. § 501

National Defense

The PVSA can only be waived in the interest of national defense, pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 501. Under 46 U.S.C. § 501(a), the Secretary of Defense may request the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to waive the PVSA to the extent the Secretary of Defense considers such a waiver necessary in the interest of national defense. In this instance, CBP, pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Secretary of DHS shall grant the waiver. For all other waiver requests, the Secretary of DHS is authorized to grant the waiver request if the Secretary of DHS considers it necessary in the interest of national defense (46 U.S.C. § 501(b)). It should be noted that in this latter instance, P.L. 110-417, section 3510, (122 Stat. 4356, enacted on October 14, 2008), amended § 501(b), to require that the Maritime Administrator be consulted regarding the non-availability of qualified United States flag capacity to meet national defense requirements, before the Secretary of DHS grants the waiver request.

[abbydancer2003]

I was a bit surprised to read this - glad for the OP but surprised.  I thought that a willful violation of the PSVA (ie, not something unavoidable such as a mechanical problem -Grand Princess Hawaii 2016) could result in the cruiseline being denied entry to the US in the future.  I could be wrong on that.

 

In July, we were to board the Equinox in Miami.  Our flight the day before got cancelled, so we rebooked on another airline, and that fight was almost cancelled too.  The day was a mess, but we got there.  The first stop was Key West, and I was wondering if X would let us board there the next day.  Our case would have been weather.

Edited December 11, 2018 by abbydancer