Alaska cruises might not go in 2021--Is anyone else worried about FL Governor DeSantis' lawsuit against the CDC?

[P_M]

Hello, this is my first post to this forum.  I've read several articles saying if Gov DeSantis is successful in throwing out the Conditional Sail Order, then the Alaska cruises might not be able to go this year.  We booked our cruise 2 days before mediation broke down, having no idea any of this was going on.  We really want to go on this cruise but it's hard to get excited about a trip that might not happen. I called Princess and they acted like they had never heard of this so they had no information.  Is anyone else concerned about this issue?

 

CDC says Florida lawsuit could block summer cruises to Alaska (fox13news.com)

 

Thank you all.

[Tapi]

Unfortunately, the cancellation of the Alaska season could very well be a result of the CSO being canceled since the exemption provided on the Alaska Travel Restoration Act hinges on it. Some people have commented that if this happens, the Alaska act could be further amended to allow for the exemption with or without the CSO, but at the present time, everything is speculation. We truly won’t know until something happens.

 

I feel your pain. So many of us have been patiently waiting for cruising to restart, and holding our breath hoping that our travel plans aren’t derailed. Unfortunately we will be on this boat (no pun intended) until things truly get going from the US. Up until then, we need to continue being patient and flexible. I know it sucks, and we can speculate about what’s going to happen next, but at this point in time we have no choice but to wait.

 

I’d been very hesitant for most of this year to book ANY cruise because I first wanted to see the wheels truly starting to turn. I’m far from 100% certain that it will operate, but I finally pulled the trigger a few days ago (Celebrity Summit’s 1st US sailing in September). Although I feel pretty confident that it will sail (by then, Summit will be the 3rd Celebrity ship to start operations from the US, with the 1st one scheduled to begin on June 26th), but at the same time I’m bracing myself for changes that could derail my travel plans. 
 

Best of luck, and I hope that your Alaska cruise does go!

Edited June 15, 2021 by Tapi

[P_M]

Thank you for your reply Tapi.  I was a little surprised when I checked this forum and I nobody is talking about this lawsuit.  I hope your cruise will sail as well.

[CruiserBruce]

9 minutes ago, P_M said:

Thank you for your reply Tapi.  I was a little surprised when I checked this forum and I nobody is talking about this lawsuit.  I hope your cruise will sail as well.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

People are talking about it all over Cruise Critic. Cruise Critic is a very large website. For example, from the Alaska board:

 

From the Florida board:

 

 

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

The Port of Seattle, the companies that supply the pier staff, vendors and suppliers are all moving forward with the expectation that the cruise ships will begin their Alaska season the week of July 19th.  Have faith my friend!

[P_M]

Thanks for the encouragement Ferry Watcher, I will keep the faith.  

 

Cruiser Bruce, I am very new to this forum so thanks for showing me around on my first day.  

 

This has been very helpful, I'm glad I came to Cruise Critic.  🙂

[Hooked Already]

I'm not sure why the CSO would be tied to the Alaska cruises. I thought the main issue was Canada not allowing any cruise ships into their waters, which shouldn't have anything to do with the CDC.

[FredZiffle]

54 minutes ago, Hooked Already said:

I'm not sure why the CSO would be tied to the Alaska cruises. I thought the main issue was Canada not allowing any cruise ships into their waters, which shouldn't have anything to do with the CDC.

Unfortunately, the legislation suspending the PVSA was tied to the existence of the CSO.  It was to remain in effect only as long as the CSO was still in place.  If the lawsuit by DeSantis results in the CSO being eliminated, the PVSA suspension will also go away.

[CruiserBruce]

@P_M make this your home page as you come onto Cruise Critic:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/

 

That way you see the MANY options available to you when you use Cruise Critic.

[rkacruiser]

I thought the Judge in this case was to have made a ruling several days ago.  If that happened, I have seen nothing about that.

[CruiserBruce]

5 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I thought the Judge in this case was to have made a ruling several days ago.  If that happened, I have seen nothing about that.

Some people thought the judge was going to rule on the 10th. Not sure why they thought that.

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Some people thought the judge was going to rule on the 10th. Not sure why they thought that.

 

I thought that based on what I had read about this issue in another CC discussion.  

[P_M]

I believe it was June 3 when the judge said he would make a ruling "soon," but he gave no indication of what "soon" means. 

[P_M]

I believe it was June 3 when the judge said he would make a ruling "soon," but he gave no indication of what "soon" means. 

[P_M]

Correction, it was about a week later.

[P_M]

I just read that the ruling was in favor of DeSantis. 😞

[Cruiseaholic07]

Unless I missed something, I believe the judge gave the CDC until July 1, because they were looking to amend their position and brief.

[Cruiseaholic07]

I take that back, you are correct. A whole lot of lawyer speak 

[AKJonesy]

I talked to Holland America this morning, and they said the Alaska cruises will not be affected by the FL issue.  That is what they told me.  

[P_M]

AKJonesy, you are correct and thank you for posting this update.  Although the ruling was for DeSantis, it turns out it will not affect the AK cruises.  Finally I can start getting excited about this trip.  🙂

 

Thanks again to all who participated and provided such good info.

[CruiserBruce]

6 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

I talked to Holland America this morning, and they said the Alaska cruises will not be affected by the FL issue.  That is what they told me.  

Who is "they"? PCCs are far from the best sources. I agree...things seem to be going OK for the Alaska cruises...but, for anything other than the basics of booking a cabin, PCCs aren't the sources I would use.

[Ferry_Watcher]

Port of Seattle Commissioners (elected officials) held a public meeting (online) on June 22 during which there was a staff presentation about the upcoming 2021 cruise season.  During the meeting (which I watched) it was stated that the court decision in Florida doesn't impact Seattle.  Staff stated that the crews will be 100% fully vaccinated; all passengers will be fully vaccinated with the exception of children under 12 which will be no more than 5% of the number of passengers (on those cruise lines that will allow young children).  Cruise lines also have plans in place to handle any outbreaks including providing medical personnel, quarantine facilities and transportation for infected passengers.

 

Here is a link to the meeting:  June 22, 2021 Agenda item # 11  It may be worth your time to click on the Memo and Presentation links for a quick overview.

 

https://meetings.portseattle.org/

[AKJonesy]

12 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Who is "they"? PCCs are far from the best sources. I agree...things seem to be going OK for the Alaska cruises...but, for anything other than the basics of booking a cabin, PCCs aren't the sources I would use.

It really isn't up for debate.  No, I didn't get the information from Gus Antorcha.  I said it is what I was told.  If that HAL representative is wrong, then I guess we will find out.