Canadian Itineraries and Ports

[Sue from Canada]

33 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

And that queue at YVR immigration!!! No social distancing there. 

YVR immigration is a joke.  I will never fly into YVR from the US again.  Once was enough.

[atexsix]

18 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Since my European holiday was cancelled (sis is a healthcare professional and has been told to make no travel plans) John and I were discussing driving out east or west to hop on a north bound cruise.  Hoping for August or if they suspend Jones then Alaska is back in play.  I bet Alaska goes to congress to have it lifted or if not the state the cruise lines will.  In Dallas we had a similar situation with the Wright amendment.  Southwest asked congress to change it for certain flights then a few years later it was abolished - a happy day for Dallas residents.

 

Isn't it the airline industry that's deeply opposed to changes to the PVSA?  As these laws, considered somewhat outdated for cruising since nobody really uses them to go from point A to point B so much anymore.  I've heard politicians say as much, but yet the laws remain on the books, nobody wants to upset the powerful airline lobby.

 

Feel free to correct me, but I thought I had heard some years back that PVSA applied to all forms of transportation.

Edited March 13, 2020 by atexsix

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, atexsix said:

 

Isn't it the airline industry that's deeply opposed to changes to the PVSA?  As these laws, considered somewhat outdated for cruising since nobody really uses them to go from point A to point B so much anymore.  I've heard politicians say as much, but yet the laws remain on the books, nobody wants to upset the powerful airline lobby.

 

Feel free to correct me, but I thought I had heard some years back that PVSA applied to all forms of transportation.

The Wright amendment was a federal law prohibiting flights from Dallas to go directly anywhere except in Texas and adjoining states.   It was aimed at Southwest by American. It took years but finally By popular demand and a friendlier Congress it was overturned.  The cruise lines and or Alaska should now go to Congress and have the Jones rule overturned.  They are all special interest protectionism.  

[frankc98376]

Would be interesting if the Feds suspended the PVSA.  Would open up ports like Portland for Alaska cruises.  Also 7 night one way cruises from San Francisco and other west coast ports to Alaska and reverse,''

Would be interesting...

[yvrcruzer]

3 hours ago, billbunger said:

.

OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The federal government says overseas international flights entering Canada will be restricted to a smaller number of airports amid the pandemic.

It’s unclear which airports will be on the list.

 

Again this is purely for show. The 5 largest airports in Canada already handle probably 90% of non domestic flights coming into the country. One hopes they step up screening but Vancouver alone handles over 10,000 international travellers a day so how good is the screening going to be and how many travellers are really going to self isolate for 14 days?

[T8NCruise]

3 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

YVR immigration is a joke.  I will never fly into YVR from the US again.  Once was enough.

 

Really?  I only ever had a problem once (I fly internationally every year) when our flight from the UK was delayed and we landed at the same time as two from Hong Kong.  Just sheer volume.  Otherwise, it's been fine every time.

[AlanF65]

1 hour ago, frankc98376 said:

Would be interesting if the Feds suspended the PVSA.  Would open up ports like Portland for Alaska cruises.  Also 7 night one way cruises from San Francisco and other west coast ports to Alaska and reverse,''

Would be interesting...

I can't see a waiver to PVSA when CDC or NIH is saying cruise ships are the worse place to be right now

[NMTraveller]

6 hours ago, ej21 said:

I am so bummed. We are scheduled for Boston - Montreal in June. 

We were also going at the end of May.

[Copper10-8]

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/news/holland-america-line-announces-a-voluntary-and-temporary-pause-of-its-global-ship-operations-for-30-days/

[Pee-ah]

There are a number of smaller options for those wanting to see Alaska or the Northwest. 
--Fly to Anchorage and take one of the boat glacier tours.
--Use the Alaska Maritime ferries, which go to most coastal cities. if you want the closest equivalent to a cruise, you can start out in Bellingham, where the ferry leaves the lower 48 (with cabins available and you can bring your own food to avoid shared facilities), and goes from there to Ketchikan and beyond. Bellingham airport has many direct flights on Allegiant, with most coming from Las Vegas, so if you fly to Vegas it's a cheap flight to Bellingham. You also get a more authentic experience on the Alaska ferry, since a lot of the passengers are residents and the ferry is small enough to get into smaller harbors you might never visit (like Haines). 
--Bellingham also gets you close to the WA state ferry in Anacortes which goes to Sydney on Vancouver Island, and also the ferry to explore the San Juans. The BC ferry system operates across the border, also beautiful cruise options with a rented car, particularly the Sunshine Coast, which has plenty of beautiful spots to explore by land and sea.
--You can cruise to Victoria from Seattle and from Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula. Whale watching day cruises are available in most places also, and you can explore places like Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, and Vashon Island from Seattle ferries.
 
The good thing about ferries is that it's easy to maintain social distance, especially if you stay in a car or stand outside where no droplets stay in the air. Since so many WA and BC residents are dependent on ferries, they're unlikely to be canceled.  WA also has smaller airports with fewer travelers and no international flights, such as Bellingham (BLI) and Everett/Paine Field (PAE). 

Even ferries carting 500+ passengers will be affected. Also while on the ferry you must (have to) leave your car. (Note that this is currently being challenged here in Bc)


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[Snowerin999]

3 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

We were also going at the end of May.

We were supposed to head out 5/16. Wonder how HAL is going to handle all these refunds?!?

[sevenseasnomad]

Agree with earlier post that closing the cruise ports without also limiting in-coming flights makes no sense if the idea is to protect Canadian citizens or to limit possible exposure to the virus.  

[npcl]

15 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The Wright amendment was a federal law prohibiting flights from Dallas to go directly anywhere except in Texas and adjoining states.   It was aimed at Southwest by American. It took years but finally By popular demand and a friendlier Congress it was overturned.  The cruise lines and or Alaska should now go to Congress and have the Jones rule overturned.  They are all special interest protectionism.  

it only applied to Love Field.

[cruiseing marly]

2 hours ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Agree with earlier post that closing the cruise ports without also limiting in-coming flights makes no sense if the idea is to protect Canadian citizens or to limit possible exposure to the virus.  

The planes will stop on there own who wants a two week Quarantine .Anyone arriving that is what is required .

[TexasBrit]

18 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The Wright amendment was a federal law prohibiting flights from Dallas to go directly anywhere except in Texas and adjoining states.   It was aimed at Southwest by American. It took years but finally By popular demand and a friendlier Congress it was overturned.  The cruise lines and or Alaska should now go to Congress and have the Jones rule overturned.  They are all special interest protectionism.  

Although beneficial to American and other major airlines, it was actually done initially to protect the new DFW Airport. The major airlines all agreed to depart Love Field and use DFW, so the Law was used to prevent them from continuing to use Love Field. Southwest Airlines was then formed and operated from Love Field because they were not in existence for the agreement to use DFW, but initially only stayed within Texas to avoid some FAA requirements. They later expanded to the adjoining states for many years until the Wright Amendment was repealed. But by then DFW airport didn't need the protection anymore. Some of the major airlines tried to have limited service at Love Field, but were not successful and gave up. Southwest still does not use DFW at all.

Edited March 14, 2020 by TexasBrit
correction typing

[iancal]

I cannot imagine why anyone would want to cruise at the moment, let alone travel.  Really what is the panic?  Why not simply postpone the cruise for several months or until next season.  Why bother with the work arounds until we know definitively where this issue is going.

 

We are out of the country at the moment.  When we return we will self quarantine for 14 days.  We have tentative travel plans to Europe later in the year but have put them on hold for now.  Not a big issue.  When we feel the coast is clear we will finalize them and move forward with our travel plans.

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by iancal

[Copper10-8]

23 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Hi Cat! Since the Italian government extended the mandatory lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 virus to include the region of Veneto (where Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard is located) and, effective yesterday, the Italian PM announced a tightening of the lockdown, with "all commercial and retail businesses except those providing essential services, like grocery stores and pharmacies, closed down", a delay in the building/completion of the new Ryndam is a strong possibility 

 

You be safe also!

 

Updated article re: Fincantieri halting production at their shipyards for two weeks, for now

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22602-fincantieri-suspends-production-for-two-weeks.html

[1ANGELCAT]

14 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Updated article re: Fincantieri halting production at their shipyards for two weeks, for now

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22602-fincantieri-suspends-production-for-two-weeks.html

Thanks John 

[sail7seas]

On 3/13/2020 at 12:09 PM, ger_77 said:

The Government of Canada has just announced that any cruise ships with capacity over 500 (including passengers and crew) will not be allowed to stop at Canadian ports from now through to the beginning of July, 2020.

 

There goes my hope of doing a Montreal-Boston sweep this spring!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

 

I have my usual great neptune booked for this  summer,  well,passed May.   I think most sailings later than may are possibly sold out but, who knows if there may Be a  'virus'  sale?    MAY is quite early for that itinerary, anyway.     Tends to be  cool and wet weather  until a little later in the season.

 

[sapper1]

Saint John, New Brunswick was expecting 200,000 cruise visitors this season, starting in April.  
I love going uptown on cruise ship days as you can sense there is a ship in port before you see it.  The air seems alive with excitement and I never tire of it.  

 

Having said that, I was dreading the cruise ship season this year. The thought of so many people from all over the world descending on our small city at this time was quite scary. That seemed to be the general sentiment among people I know as well.  We welcomed the PM's announcement that the season would be postponed. 

 

The local economy will suffer but these are extreme times we are living in.
 

 

[sail7seas]

Just now, sapper1 said:

Saint John, New Brunswick was expecting 200,000 cruise visitors this season, starting in April.  
I love going uptown on cruise ship days as you can sense there is a ship in port before you see it.  The air seems alive with excitement and I never tire of it.  

 

Having said that, I was dreading the cruise ship season this year. The thought of so many people from all over the world descending on our small city at this time was quite scary. That seemed to be the general sentiment among people I know as well.  We welcomed the PM's announcement that the season would be postponed. 

 

The local economy will suffer but these are extreme times we are living in.
I have found it to be too   cold in St. John until a number of weeks into 

summer. Saint john does not offer

 

 

[CRUZBUDS]

How about some Alaska cruises from San Diego and hitting Ensenada coming or going?  --- thinking  outside the box.  Princess already does Alaska from LA.     

[kennystwin]

Maybe there will be a way to do a technical stop. I remember doing the circle Hawaii cruise from San Diego about 15 years ago on the Statendam and we did a technical stop in Ensenada to fulfill PVSA requirements. On the return segment, we docked in Ensenada at 11 PM the last night and left at 11:30. No one was allowed off or on. All they needed was a sign off on the logs to make the cruise "legal". Perhaps we could negotiate such technical stops in Victoria, Vancouver, or even Prince Rupert and salvage part of the Alaska cruise season. It would probably require some sort of waivers from both countries, but these are unique times and we are all deviating from normal procedures.

 

This won't help my southbound Noordam cruise in May which terminates in Vancouver unless they add a technical stop and let us disembark in Seattle, Portland, or another West Coast port. The logistics may make it impractical (dock space, supply, air changes, etc.), but it would keep the ships generating revenue and support Alaska's economy as well. 

 

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, kennystwin said:

The logistics may make it impractical (dock space, supply, air changes, etc.), but it would keep the ships generating revenue and support Alaska's economy as well. 

 

that sounds workable - Assuming that Alaska wants the ships to visit. Many ports are turning away ships.  It will depend on how the virus develops, I suspect.  
 

[BRWolf]

18 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

We were also going at the end of May.

23-30 May.  Very disappointed.