Great news on the Alaskan cruise front - House passes Alaska Tourism Restoration Act

[DCGuy64]

https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/05/20/us-house-passes-measure-allowing-large-cruise-ships-to-visit-alaska-this-summer/

 

This is great news for Alaska. Since the Senate already passed it, it looks like all that's needed is the President's signature at this point.

[JamieLogical]

Guess I will have to actually cancel my Princess sailing on 9/4 rather than just waiting for them to cancel it for me. I am all in on sailing on the Joy out of Jamaica that week now, because I had assumed Alaska would be canceled. But I am really really happy for all of the people who have been anxious to sail to Alaska this season and even more thrilled for the people of Alaska whose livelihood depends on cruising!

[DCGuy64]

We're booked on the Gem from the DR on September 19, but as you said, @JamieLogical, happy for the people of Alaska who depend on tourism. This is a wonderful reminder that sometimes, bipartisanship works!

[Jobeth66]

Don't they still have to meet CDC guidelines in order to sail?  And can they sail from Seattle to Alaska without entering Canadian waters (it's not just the ports that are closed to large ships, the waters are as well)?

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, Jobeth66 said:

Don't they still have to meet CDC guidelines in order to sail?  And can they sail from Seattle to Alaska without entering Canadian waters (it's not just the ports that are closed to large ships, the waters are as well)?

 

I am confident they can avoid Canadian waters. But yes, this is still all contingent on *any* cruises happening from US ports this summer. Momentum does seem to be on the side of summer sailings from the US. Maybe not in July, as some had hoped, but certainly in August and September.

[Jobeth66]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I am confident they can avoid Canadian waters. But yes, this is still all contingent on *any* cruises happening from US ports this summer. Momentum does seem to be on the side of summer sailings from the US. Maybe not in July, as some had hoped, but certainly in August and September.

And the other question is, of course, what will be open?  Without guarantees I am wondering if any of the regular tourist attractions will be manned, since it's the end of the season with no real revenue promised - I understand they want to do it (and I missed my Alaska cruise last June, I'd love to do it too!) but I just don't see the logistics of it working too well.

[ilovetotravel1977]

Wouldn't they be able to run their vaccinated cruises from Washington and not need to go through all of the hoops from the CDC?  I thought it was just Florida who wouldn't allow that to happen.

[JamieLogical]

8 minutes ago, ilovetotravel1977 said:

Wouldn't they be able to run their vaccinated cruises from Washington and not need to go through all of the hoops from the CDC?  I thought it was just Florida who wouldn't allow that to happen.

 

The full vaccination option from the CDC is only to bypass test sailings. It doesn't let them skip the rest of the policies in the conditional sail order.

[www3traveler]

49 minutes ago, Jobeth66 said:

Don't they still have to meet CDC guidelines in order to sail?  And can they sail from Seattle to Alaska without entering Canadian waters (it's not just the ports that are closed to large ships, the waters are as well)?

The bill allows cruise ships to sail from one US port to Alaska and return without making a stop in Canada.

 

Now the next issue would be the CDC allowing the cruises.

[mrlevin]

1 minute ago, www3traveler said:

The bill allows cruise ships to sail from one US port to Alaska and return without making a stop in Canada.

 

Now the next issue would be the CDC allowing the cruises.

And the State of Washington allowing cruises.

[CptBoatface]

Yes, we are under the thumb of an authoritarian governor who isn't fit to lead a cub scout den

[coastcat]

From the Official COVID-19 response page for the Port of Seattle, updated on May 13:

 

Port of Seattle Statement on the Passage of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act

We are excited to learn that the U.S. Senate has approved the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act, which makes a technical, temporary fix that would - once the CDC authorizes the safe resumption of cruise - allow cruise ships to visit Alaska this year while Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions remain in effect. We especially thank the leadership of U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and hope for the swift passage of this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

 

Without taking further legislative action, communities in Alaska face severe economic hardship even as cruises are allowed to resume in other parts of the country. In Seattle, cruise supports approximately 5,500 jobs and generates nearly $900 million in local business revenue. As this is one step closer to safely resuming Alaska cruises, ports, cruise lines, public health officials, and local leaders can now focus on the remaining work needed to restart cruise, including vaccinations, port agreements, and other enhanced safety measures.

 

- Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Maritime Director, Port of Seattle

 

Short version: They’re getting ready! Meanwhile, the statewide restrictions are set to be lifted on June 30. There will be no posturing about proof of vaccination here. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if both Washington and Alaska will require vaccinations for cruise passengers through the end of this brief season. 
 

And I see that prices are already rising on the Bliss cruises. My Sept 4 Studio is up $40 since I booked earlier this week.

[mianmike]

3 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/05/20/us-house-passes-measure-allowing-large-cruise-ships-to-visit-alaska-this-summer/

 

This is great news for Alaska. Since the Senate already passed it, it looks like all that's needed is the President's signature at this point.

 

Awesome news!  Just goes to show good things are happening and there's nothing wrong with a realistic and hopeful outlook on a return to cruising.  Some of our resident CC "experts" have been very negative and swore the PVSA exemption would never pass Congress.  Goodwill and perseverance won the day.  Come on Biden, we're counting on you!  

[drcarp4]

We've been booked on Bliss for the October cruise. It's sounds like it might happen. I'll be glad not to have to cancel everything again and rebook.

[BermudaBound2014]

I think Biden will sign off quickly. Then it’s in the hands of the CDC. Until just a few days ago I was not at all confident the Cdc would change anything before the end of October. I now feel the momentum turning quickly and see light at the end of the tunnel. For the first time since the shutdown I feel hopeful. 

[DCGuy64]

4 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I think Biden will sign off quickly. Then it’s in the hands of the CDC. Until just a few days ago I was not at all confident the Cdc would change anything before the end of October. I now feel the momentum turning quickly and see light at the end of the tunnel. For the first time since the shutdown I feel hopeful. 

So do I, @BermudaBound2014. Given that the bill passed both houses of Congress with no opposition (which is pretty freakin' rare these days, BTW), and the expected signature by Pres. Biden, I'd be pretty darned surprised if the CDC tried to stop it.

[BermudaBound2014]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

So do I, @BermudaBound2014. Given that the bill passed both houses of Congress with no opposition (which is pretty freakin' rare these days, BTW), and the expected signature by Pres. Biden, I'd be pretty darned surprised if the CDC tried to stop it.

wait, what do you mean? Are you saying that ships are meeting the CDC conditional sailing framework guidelines now? I had not heard that. I thought only test cruises are sailing from the USA and those won’t start until June. 

 

In other words. Once Biden signs, cruise ships will still need to meet the conditions of the return to sail order. I think those conditions are still very difficult to meet, but they will be infinitely easier to meet without having to deal with foreign ports. So, the CDC won’t actively “try to stop them” other than what the cdc already has in place- What am I missing?

 

 

[CroozFanatic]

CDC blows with the wind.

[JamieLogical]

7 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Guess I will have to actually cancel my Princess sailing on 9/4 rather than just waiting for them to cancel it for me. I am all in on sailing on the Joy out of Jamaica that week now, because I had assumed Alaska would be canceled. But I am really really happy for all of the people who have been anxious to sail to Alaska this season and even more thrilled for the people of Alaska whose livelihood depends on cruising!

 

With the good news about Alaska, I actually received notification today that my Emerald Princess sailing to Alaska from Seattle on 9/4 has been canceled. Apparently, Princess will only be sailing the Majestic Princess to Alaska this season. My options were to change my booking to the Majestic Princess, receive a FCC plus 10%, or get a full refund. We only had put $200 down, so we opted for the refund, since we are now sailing on the NCL Joy out of Jamaica that same week.

Edited May 21, 2021 by JamieLogical

[DCGuy64]

22 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

wait, what do you mean? Are you saying that ships are meeting the CDC conditional sailing framework guidelines now? I had not heard that. I thought only test cruises are sailing from the USA and those won’t start until June. 

 

In other words. Once Biden signs, cruise ships will still need to meet the conditions of the return to sail order. I think those conditions are still very difficult to meet, but they will be infinitely easier to meet without having to deal with foreign ports. So, the CDC won’t actively “try to stop them” other than what the cdc already has in place- What am I missing?

 

 

In order to sail, they have to comply with the CSO (still), however, in the case of NCL, for instance, they plan to sail with 100% vaccinated passengers and crew, which means they can bypass simulated sailings and go straight to revenue-generating ones. After all the industry has been through, I don't see that being scuttled at this point. Compared to the typical glacial pace of legislation, this was very fast (first introduced on 2/24/21, I believe). Alaska is hailing the decision, and now three lines have announced sailings in July. (Princess, HAL and Carnival)

I think the other issue has to do with negotiating agreements with ports, but since all of them will be US, that would appear to be a piece of cake. We'll see what happens over the next month or so.

[BermudaBound2014]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

In order to sail, they have to comply with the CSO (still), however, in the case of NCL, for instance, they plan to sail with 100% vaccinated passengers and crew, which means they can bypass simulated sailings and go straight to revenue-generating ones. After all the industry has been through, I don't see that being scuttled at this point. Compared to the typical glacial pace of legislation, this was very fast (first introduced on 2/24/21, I believe). Alaska is hailing the decision, and now three lines have announced sailings in July. (Princess, HAL and Carnival)

Ty- I think we are on the same page with the exception of NcL- I thought ncl proposed sailing with 💯 vaccination in order to avoid the simulated cruises but I was unaware that the cdc is allowing this. Last I heard, the cdc didn’t even respond to ncls proposal- but Things are moving so fast It’s hard to keep up. Is the cdc allowing ncl to sail with 100 vaccination and this avoid simulated cruises?

[briangl]

Just started looking into an Alaskan Cruise.  We were scheduled on the Disney Wonder in August but already bumped to 2022 since I doubt they would sail out of Vancouver.  Now checking on Norwegian since we live in Seattle and have sailed them before.

[DCGuy64]

26 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Ty- I think we are on the same page with the exception of NcL- I thought ncl proposed sailing with 💯 vaccination in order to avoid the simulated cruises but I was unaware that the cdc is allowing this. Last I heard, the cdc didn’t even respond to ncls proposal- but Things are moving so fast It’s hard to keep up. Is the cdc allowing ncl to sail with 100 vaccination and this avoid simulated cruises?

That's my understanding, yes. I follow a number of cruise enthusiasts on YouTube and they confirmed that the CDC said cruise lines may move to actual sailings provided that 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are vaccinated. I guess NCL is playing it safe and demanding 100%.

And yes, things ARE moving fast. It seems there's a new story every day! 😂

[DCGuy64]

Just now, briangl said:

Just started looking into an Alaskan Cruise.  We were scheduled on the Disney Wonder in August but already bumped to 2022 since I doubt they would sail out of Vancouver.  Now checking on Norwegian since we live in Seattle and have sailed them before.

Yes, the Bliss starts sailing to Alaska in August, per the NCL website.

[J_Bronco34]

Question: If the Bliss is not going to be stopping in Victoria at the end of its itinerary, will they just return to Seattle a day earlier or add another Alaskan port of call??