Passenger Vessel Service Act

[cr8tiv1]

I am not going to chime in on violation of the PVSA since so much has been written.  Some comments on other issues:

 

Most countries have their own version of the American PVSA.  Japan has a version.  Someone above had a version for Canada.  

 

The ship will arrive in Quebec around 1 PM (Day 1).  It will overnight for those disembarking the next day and overnight for those embarking that same day (Day 2).  It will depart at 6 PM on Day 3 (making it a little over 2 full days/53 hours in Quebec.)  

 

There is NO customs to clear in Quebec (you do that on the way up/down).  You just walk off the ship, gather your bags, and walk out of the terminal.

 

I would conclude that you will have to prove that you left the ship upon arrival on the first day and then embarked 24 hours after that.  In my opinion, that seems rather iffy at best.  Could it be done?  Probably.  Would I risk it?  Not worth the effort.

Edited Saturday at 05:47 AM by cr8tiv1

[VibeGuy]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

The ship will arrive in Quebec around 1 PM (Day 1).  It will overnight for those disembarking the next day and overnight for those embarking that same day (Day 2).  It will depart at 6 PM on Day 3 (making it a little over 2 full days/53 hours in Quebec.)  

The timing on this final 2025 sequence is a little different than the norm for Quebec City turnarounds.  Specifically, there isn’t an optional operational overnight for embarking passengers on the Quebec City - FLL portion. 
 

Inbound to Quebec City (voyage code 8528)

Arrive 18OCT 9am

Disembark 19OCT 6am

 

Outbound to FLL (voyage code 8529) is sold as 

Embark 19OCT 

Depart 19OCT 5pm

 

So the route sector has to be taken on 8528.  
 

Honestly this is one of the best PVSA threads I’ve seen on my 20 years on here because it absolutely looks like it shouldn’t be possible but it’s so incredibly possible that I’m sorely tempted to book it just to have the arguments.  (Aside from the fact that I think Majestic is the absolutely perfect ship for this itinerary and I’m not objecting to Sapphire in 2026 either). 
 

If someone was exceptionally brave/foolhardy, it might be interesting to do an overland route sector starting in Saguenay on the 17th - the train trip from Jonquiere to Montreal is slow, prone to delay and absolutely stunningly beautiful, I hear.  

 

 

 

 

 

[ldtr1]

3 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

The timing on this final 2025 sequence is a little different than the norm for Quebec City turnarounds.  Specifically, there isn’t an optional operational overnight for embarking passengers on the Quebec City - FLL portion. 
 

Inbound to Quebec City (voyage code 8528)

Arrive 18OCT 9am

Disembark 19OCT 6am

 

Outbound to FLL (voyage code 8529) is sold as 

Embark 19OCT 

Depart 19OCT 5pm

 

So the route sector has to be taken on 8528.  
 

Honestly this is one of the best PVSA threads I’ve seen on my 20 years on here because it absolutely looks like it shouldn’t be possible but it’s so incredibly possible that I’m sorely tempted to book it just to have the arguments.  (Aside from the fact that I think Majestic is the absolutely perfect ship for this itinerary and I’m not objecting to Sapphire in 2026 either). 
 

If someone was exceptionally brave/foolhardy, it might be interesting to do an overland route sector starting in Saguenay on the 17th - the train trip from Jonquiere to Montreal is slow, prone to delay and absolutely stunningly beautiful, I hear.  

 

 

 

 

 

While technically it might be possible. I doubt the cruise line would accept it. 

 

If it was inline with the current interpretation of the law, then it would be easy for the cruise lines to sell 1 day shorter cruises with no overnight in each direction, with the passemgers getting their own hotel rooms and get a lot more people interested in the cruise. Yet they do not.

 

I suspect that even if one disembarks for 24 hours in the same city would not be acceptable to the cruise line. Maybe if one got off in an earlier port ( such as is accepted when one disembarks in Victoria, then reboards in Vancouver). But same port i suspect is a higher hurdle to climb.

 

Canadian immigration would also have to agree to staff for disembarkation the day before.

 

Go ahead book the cruise and have your arguement. Let us know how it works out for you.

Edited Saturday at 09:37 AM by ldtr1

[JLMcruise]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

Then how do they allow Vancouver -Whittier- Vancouver which we recently did. I do not believe this is a violation. And see my other post that I was able to book Boston-Wuebec-Boston for 2025

 

You are starting and ending in Canada. Not the US. 

[JLMcruise]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

The back to back has a2 day layover in Quebec how would they know where I  slept ?

The US doesn't consider the b2b as 2 different cruises - they consider it as one cruise.  The cruise line will have to pay a hefty fine if they permit it. Passengers will get notified that they will have to cancel one of their cruises or maybe add a 3rd leg if that doesn't break the act. This can be very expensive to the passenger trying to rebook travel arrangements. Passengers may only get a couple of weeks notification. Trying to beat the system could end up in a very expensive mistake.

[chrysalis]

we did it this summer without an issues.....Boston to Greenland, Boston to Quebec and Quebec to Boston. There were others that did the 2 legs of Boston to Boston, too.

 

We  have it booked for next summer, too.

[ldtr1]

59 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

we did it this summer without an issues.....Boston to Greenland, Boston to Quebec and Quebec to Boston. There were others that did the 2 legs of Boston to Boston, too.

 

We  have it booked for next summer, too.

You basically did a closed loop cruise that started and ended in Boston which is allowed.

 

Totally different than Boston to Fll.

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

17 hours ago, pedirn said:

Can someone please refresh me on the passenger vessel service act?   I know we had to change a cruise a few years ago when we booked B2B cruises that were in violation of this act.   What we are looking at is a cruise from Boston to Quebec City then staying on for next cruise Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale.   I think this might be another violation and wouldn’t be allowed.  Yes I know I can call Princess but have little faith in what they say as on previous B2B they booked it even thought it was in violation so I am relying on my cruise buddies to set me straight. TIA.

As an alternative, have you considered doing a Princess cruise tour? We did this in 2023 (see Live From below) and had a great time!

 

19-Day Maple Explorer Cruise Tour

 

Edited Saturday at 03:07 PM by Ken the cruiser

[peety3]

14 hours ago, OccasionalSanta said:

Option 1 can be modified to "Start and/or end in a non-U.S. port" 

That's exactly why I wrote it with ", or vice versa."

[reedprincess]

4 hours ago, chrysalis said:

we did it this summer without an issues.....Boston to Greenland, Boston to Quebec and Quebec to Boston. There were others that did the 2 legs of Boston to Boston, too.

 

We  have it booked for next summer, too.

You did not do what the OP is asking about.

You did a closed loop, essentially.

You boarded and disembarked in the same US part 

Again The OP is asking about boarding is Boston and disembarking in Fort Lauderdale.  Two different US ports - and not visiting a DISTANT foreign port in between, which Canadian ports do not qualify as....

[chrysalis]

1 minute ago, reedprincess said:

You did not do what the OP is asking about.

You did a closed loop, essentially.

You boarded and disembarked in the same US part 

Again The OP is asking about boarding is Boston and disembarking in Fort Lauderdale.  Two different US ports - and not visiting a DISTANT foreign port in between, which Canadian ports do not qualify as....

I was pointing it out because various people on our sailing had tried to book Boston to Quebec return, and their TAs had said that it was not allowed.

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, chrysalis said:

I was pointing it out because various people on our sailing had tried to book Boston to Quebec return, and their TAs had said that it was not allowed.

The TAs need additional training.  That is a permissible B2B under PVSA.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

The TAs need additional training.  That is a permissible B2B under PVSA.

Yes we are booked on that B2B in September next year shows as one cruise in the app. Love the fact that we get 2 full days in Quebec City with the ship as our hotel

[pedirn]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As an alternative, have you considered doing a Princess cruise tour? We did this in 2023 (see Live From below) and had a great time!

 

19-Day Maple Explorer Cruise Tour

 

This looks interesting but we have found that many of airports do not take large planes.  Not a problem for me but DH is extremely claustrophobic and cannot do a small plane.   This is also why we don’t often book tours as we can’t count on them being a full size bus.   We have found our fellow passengers have not been that understanding when on smaller vehicles and he requests to sit next to door.  

 

But I digress….Thanks  everyone for the information.   I basically knew this wouldn’t be feasible but was hoping there was a loop hole I wasn’t aware of.    The whole idea was to only have to fly in one direction.   I think we need to look at how we did this previously and fly into Boston, rent a car and drive to Quebec City.   I won’t get as long of a cruise that way but we could do some touring of New England before we go to Quebec City.  

 

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

Yes we are booked on that B2B in September next year shows as one cruise in the app. Love the fact that we get 2 full days in Quebec City with the ship as our hotel

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time... enjoy.

 

Your mention of the app showing these two cruises as one cruise reminds me of something else not related specifically tomyour situation:

 

If a person were to book (on their own) Boston to Quebec then Quebec to Fort Lauderdale (without a detour to Greenland!), they'd be able to do that and the app would show this as one cruise.  Unfortunately, this misrepresents the situation and eventually Princess compliance would catch up with the happy prospective passenger(s) and explain that this combination is not permissible under the PVSA.

[memoak]

1 minute ago, d9704011 said:

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time... enjoy.

 

Your mention of the app showing these two cruises as one cruise reminds me of something else not related specifically tomyour situation:

 

If a person were to book (on their own) Boston to Quebec then Quebec to Fort Lauderdale (without a detour to Greenland!), they'd be able to do that and the app would show this as one cruise.  Unfortunately, this misrepresents the situation and eventually Princess compliance would catch up with the happy prospective passenger(s) and explain that this combination is not permissible under the PVSA.

What is really strange is that the app always shows B2B cruises as one but the personalizer shows them as 2 cruises

[broberts]

Several cruise lines service Quebec city. Can you use a different line for one of the legs?

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, pedirn said:

This looks interesting but we have found that many of airports do not take large planes.  Not a problem for me but DH is extremely claustrophobic and cannot do a small plane.   This is also why we don’t often book tours as we can’t count on them being a full size bus.   We have found our fellow passengers have not been that understanding when on smaller vehicles and he requests to sit next to door.  

 

But I digress….Thanks  everyone for the information.   I basically knew this wouldn’t be feasible but was hoping there was a loop hole I wasn’t aware of.    The whole idea was to only have to fly in one direction.   I think we need to look at how we did this previously and fly into Boston, rent a car and drive to Quebec City.   I won’t get as long of a cruise that way but we could do some touring of New England before we go to Quebec City.  

 

Just for the record, the PCL land cruise starts in Toronto where I'm sure the airport there can handle large aircraft like the Delta aircraft we flew in on. Also, the tour bus we were in for 5 days from Toronto to Quebec City was a full size 54 passenger bus.

[ldtr1]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time... enjoy.

 

Your mention of the app showing these two cruises as one cruise reminds me of something else not related specifically tomyour situation:

 

If a person were to book (on their own) Boston to Quebec then Quebec to Fort Lauderdale (without a detour to Greenland!), they'd be able to do that and the app would show this as one cruise.  Unfortunately, this misrepresents the situation and eventually Princess compliance would catch up with the happy prospective passenger(s) and explain that this combination is not permissible under the PVSA.

I believe compliance checks about 4 to 8 weeks before a cruise for b2b pvsa violations

[Cruise Raider]

13 minutes ago, ldtr1 said:

I believe compliance checks about 4 to 8 weeks before a cruise for b2b pvsa violations

This ^^^^

if they even allow you to book it in the first place. 

[memoak]

13 minutes ago, ldtr1 said:

I believe compliance checks about 4 to 8 weeks before a cruise for b2b pvsa violations

So how would they handle the lawsuit that would filed for monies spent to get to and from the embarkation port and associated hotels ?   If your CVP says the cruise is not in violation then that explicitly puts the onus on Princess. For the record my cruise is Boston-Quebec-Boston. There is no violation there

[memoak]

31 minutes ago, memoak said:

What is really strange is that the app always shows B2B cruises as one but the personalizer shows them as 2 cruises

Answered my own question. I have different amounts of casino play on different legs

[broberts]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

So how would they handle the lawsuit that would filed for monies spent to get to and from the embarkation port and associated hotels ?   If your CVP says the cruise is not in violation then that explicitly puts the onus on Princess. For the record my cruise is Boston-Quebec-Boston. There is no violation there

 

There is no basis for a suit. Customers are expected to know and comply with the law. 

[ldtr1]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

So how would they handle the lawsuit that would filed for monies spent to get to and from the embarkation port and associated hotels ?   If your CVP says the cruise is not in violation then that explicitly puts the onus on Princess. For the record my cruise is Boston-Quebec-Boston. There is no violation there

I believe that the cruise contract overrides that in case of violations. Mostly paragraph 4 since it would be a violation of law. It also indicates a full refund of monies paid for the disallowed cruise would occur. 

 

It also states in a more general clause that the Cruiselines are only liable for monies paid to them if you booked travel and hotels independently it is the responsibility of the passenger.

 

Your cruise is legal, boston quebec fll is not. If it slips past customer service, or your ta, then the booking might be accepted, but then will get caught when compliance does its checks. 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 07:22 PM by ldtr1

[Cruise Raider]

And if you somehow you violate the PVSA, you will also incur a fine.  The ship is unlikely to allow you to do so by booking cruises in violation but let’s say I start in one US port and get off in at another one by your own choice, I’ve heard people state that the cruise line just had that fine added to their folio.  It’s not cheap, either.