Booking Alaska 2021

[deliver42]

Anyone know when Alaska will be open for booking?

[cruisestitch]

Tuesday the 25th according to email from LLP

[deliver42]

Thank you.

[patty1955]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

Tuesday the 25th according to email from LLP

Any idea what time?

[cruisestitch]

The email didn’t say.

[patty1955]

29 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

The email didn’t say.

I know. That's why I asked if anyone knew

Edited May 22, 2021 by patty1955

[iamaqt2]

Apparently they're rebooking all the Solstice passengers on the Summit.  Ought to be interesting to see what inventory is left over.

[nunuc2000]

I'm curious as to what the Alaskan itinerary will look like... Canadian ports and Canadian waters are closed to all passenger ships until at least February of 2022... which means the Passenger services Act will need to be suspended or violated in order to start up Alaskan cruises without stopping in Canadian ports. Hmmmm...

 

[cruisestitch]

You are a little behind. An exception to PVSA is in progress, Canada is being bypassed, the itineraries have been posted in two or three threads but here it is again. The new Summit itineraries versus the old solstice itineraries

Edited May 22, 2021 by cruisestitch

[phoenix_dream]

IMHO it's unfortunate that Celebrity is not first offering a window of opportunity for those of us who have had Alaska cruises cancelled (in my case the same cruise not once but twice!) to book these cruises before opening to the general public.  I know that would be difficult technologically and Celebrity is not known for strong technology, but it only seems fair to me.

[Bill Miller]

I would love to sail Alaska with Celebrity this September. Most Awesome.

[nunuc2000]

35 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

You are a little behind. An exception to PVSA is in progress, Canada is being bypassed, the itineraries have been posted in two or three threads but here it is again. The new Summit itineraries versus the old solstice itineraries

 

Ahhhh... thank you for the updated info, I figured that would have to happen, but didn't know it already had.  Any word on Canada/New England itineraries?

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, nunuc2000 said:

Ahhhh... thank you for the updated info, I figured that would have to happen, but didn't know it already had.  Any word on Canada/New England itineraries?

You'll have to wait until next year for that. The temporary PVSA exemption enables ships to bypass Canada, not to sail to Canada, so until the Canadian ban is finished in February 2022, there'll be no Canada/New England cruises.

[phoenix_dream]

22 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

You'll have to wait until next year for that. The temporary PVSA exemption enables ships to bypass Canada, not to sail to Canada, so until the Canadian ban is finished in February 2022, there'll be no Canada/New England cruises.

But couldn't there conceivably be New England only cruises?  Perhaps adding a port or two (or extra sea days)?  I'd do one of those!

[wrk2cruise]

Not the way the PVSA workaround law was worded.   It has to be a Washington to Alaska sailing only.

 

Here is the full text of the bill

 

To restrict the imposition by the Secretary of Homeland
Security of fines, penalties, duties, or tariffs applicable
only to coastwise voyages, or prohibit otherwise qualified
non-United States citizens from serving as crew, on specified
vessels transporting passengers between the State
of Washington and the State of Alaska, to address a
Canadian cruise ship ban and the extraordinary impacts
of the COVID–19 pandemic on Alaskan communities,
and for other purposes.

[Fouremco]

37 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

But couldn't there conceivably be New England only cruises?  Perhaps adding a port or two (or extra sea days)?  I'd do one of those!

As @wrk2cruise explained, the exemption is limited in scope. It doesn't allow for Seattle - Hawaii cruises, for example, or any other US port(s) to US port(s) only cruises, other than Alaska.

[Redtravel]

Before you get excited, check out air arrangements.  We thought about a cruise from Barbados.  2 years ago we took a cruise out of Barbados and could get a nonstop from where we live. Now, those direct flights aren’t there.  The air arrangements are horrible. Not only is it expensive, but with fewer flights, there are more connecting flights with very tight time allotments.  Didn’t book.   

[patty1955]

Since the cruises will only go to the US, I wonder if a passport will be required. I just sent mine in for renewal and who knows how long it will take. I'm not even sure Celebrity's software will allow check-in without a passport. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, patty1955 said:

Since the cruises will only go to the US, I wonder if a passport will be required. I just sent mine in for renewal and who knows how long it will take. I'm not even sure Celebrity's software will allow check-in without a passport. 

 

I actually don't think a passport was required for this sailing, even when it included Canada.  Although, before everyone jumps on that statement, it is most definitely recommended.  It wasn't required as of a few years ago for US closed looped cruises that visited Canada or Mexico as their foreign port ... may have been others included as well.  Again, not recommended but it was doable in the past.  

I know people that have sailed using their Nexus Card (for Canada) or a certified copy of the birth certificate and government ID.  

 

I'm wondering, though, now that you bring that up, will we have to go through Customs and Border Control at the end of the cruise?  Probably not???  

Edited May 23, 2021 by Cruise Raider

[Fouremco]

20 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I actually don't think a passport was required for this sailing, even when it included Canada.  Although, before everyone jumps on that statement, it is most definitely recommended.  It wasn't required as of a few years ago for US closed looped cruises that visited Canada or Mexico as their foreign port ... may have been others included as well.  Again, not recommended but it was doable in the past.  

I know people that have sailed using their Nexus Card (for Canada) or a certified copy of the birth certificate and government ID.  

 

I'm wondering, though, now that you bring that up, will we have to go through Customs and Border Control at the end of the cruise?  Probably not???  

I don't know enough about the related US policy to do more than hazard a guess, but would the fact that you would be departing US waters and entering international waters trigger the requirement to go through CBP upon your return? You would also need to take into account non-US residents on the cruise and how they would be viewed reentering the US. From a practical perspective, it could be treated in the same manner as a domestic flight from one US state to another, but policies aren't always based solely on practical issues, and departing the US into international waters might be the fly in the ointment.

[iamaqt2]

Wow.. now that you all mention it, without a foreign port visit, can the duty free shops even open?

[verizon]

22 hours ago, nunuc2000 said:

Ahhhh... thank you for the updated info, I figured that would have to happen, but didn't know it already had.  Any word on Canada/New England itineraries?

Would be nice to see ships sail from NY to Miami and bypass Canada.

[verizon]

28 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

Wow.. now that you all mention it, without a foreign port visit, can the duty free shops even open?

Yes on international water

[Alakegirl]

5 minutes ago, verizon said:

Would be nice to see ships sail from NY to Miami and bypass Canada.

There are ships that sail from New York to Miami with her of Canada. They go all the way south to Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao

[wrk2cruise]

14 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

There are ships that sail from New York to Miami with her of Canada. They go all the way south to Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao

 

Yes because it's not a closed loop (embark/debark ports the same) these must visit a distant foreign port.  ABC islands are the closest to the east coast.  Summit repo between FL and Bos or NJ do this route.