Is the Dawn sailing empty?

[Karysa]

Must be an eerie feeling, quiet and empty. I hope that the crew were able to enjoy some down time.

 

 

The crew we spoke to last month were looking so forward to this. I think that it is great for morale.

[surfer54]

She sails empty because of the outdated Passenger Vessel Service Act. (Just do a search on CC for many threads with very detailed explanations of what is and isn't legal).

 

There are alternative ways to reposition ships from their winter home ports to their summer home ports, but they require either ending (or beginning) their cruise at a 'near' foreign port. Or, as mentioned, take a sojourn thru a 'distant' foreign port to legally begin in one US port and end in another. NCL does this as well, but there probably isn't sufficient market to make it profitable to repo all the fleet this way, and it is deemed better to rush empty in the shortest time, utilize it for some refurbishing, and get the ship onto its new seasonal run and earning revenue ASAP.

 

Some examples....The Star will repo from NYC to New Orleans in October at the end of her summer season. She will visit Curacao and Aruba enroute, considered 'distant foreign ports'. The Dawn will repo from Quebec City to Tampa around that time. Quebec City is a near foreign port. The Dawn is actually based in Boston, so she first is doing a oneway Boston to Quebec City cruise (7days). The PVSA law makes it illegal to do a back-to-back booking from Boston to QC to Tampa, and NCL will not knowingly sell it.

 

Those are lengthy 14 to 16 day cruises. Other ships will go empty, but only for a couple of days.....

 

 

It's also called the Jones Act from the 1900's to protect merchant marine ships in case of a future war.

A booking on a trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver (Pacific Costal or relocation) is OK but if you stay on board (B2B) for a cruise from Vancouver (Alaska cruise) to Seattle violates the Jones Act and is not allowed by federal law. You would have to get off in Vancouver. :confused:

Remember all NCL ships carry a foreign flag. NCLA POA is US flaged and crewed. Some foreign ports are accepted as noted above and this allows the Miami to Los Angeles cruise. :)

[bob brown]

It's also called the Jones Act from the 1900's to protect merchant marine ships in case of a future war.

A booking on a trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver (Pacific Costal or relocation) is OK but if you stay on board (B2B) for a cruise from Vancouver (Alaska cruise) to Seattle violates the Jones Act and is not allowed by federal law. You would have to get off in Vancouver. :confused:

Remember all NCL ships carry a foreign flag. NCLA POA is US flaged and crewed. Some foreign ports are accepted as noted above and this allows the Miami to Los Angeles cruise. :)

Good info, except the Jones Act only pertains to cargo ships....the PVSA law applies to passenger ships......:)

[alex12_3]

Under that law, the company couldn't knowingly violate the law. And if they do it accidentally (passenger has to disembark early or board late at a US port) it's a $250-$350 fine per violation (per passenger).

 

Much better idea to simply sail the two days empty and give the crew a break from passengers. It's a great time to make repairs and upgrades that aren't practical while passengers are aboard, and prepare passenger services, ship authorities, etc for the new itinerary and home port.