Posted on 02/10/2021 11:39:47 AM PST by Capt. Tom
(Updated 11:20 a.m. EST) -- Following Transport Canada's ban on cruise activities that will dramatically affect the 2021 Alaska cruise season, many cruisers are wondering why their voyage to Alaska hasn't been officially canceled -- and whether or not they'll be getting a refund.
To date, no cruise line has outright canceled its 2021 Alaska voyages, nor its 2021 Canada & New England cruises, for that matter. Why?
On the face of things, the Canadian ban, which extends to February 28, 2022, seems straightforward. Not only are cruise ships carrying over 100 people not allowed in Canadian waters -- even for technical or so-called service calls -- but Transport Canada's ban also affects voyages sailing to Alaska from Seattle, as those sailings must stop in a Canadian port of call in order to satisfy U.S. cabotage laws like the Passenger Vessel Services Act.
While small, U.S-based and flagged operators like American Cruise Lines and UnCruise Adventures will still be able to operate in 2021, the writing is on the wall for the big-ship cruise lines. Or is it? Cruise Critic takes a look at why cruise lines haven't canceled voyages to Alaska yet -- and why you should wait until they do to change your own booking. Negotiations Are Still Ongoing
On both sides of the border, negotiations are reportedly ongoing. In Canada, cruise lines, the Cruise Lines International Association and other stakeholders are in conversations with Transport Canada regarding its cruise ban.
While Canada is unlikely to rescind the ban, wording in the order gives Canadian Minster of Transport Omar Alghabra the right to modify it to end earlier than it currently does.
In the United States, cruise lines and Alaskan officials are reportedly petitioning the federal government to revisit the Passenger Vessel Services Act in the hopes a temporary exemption could be made that would allow vessels to operate out of Seattle to Alaska, without needing to stop in a "distant foreign port" to satisfy the long-standing regulations.
Both options are thought to be unlikely to succeed, but lines and stakeholders are still attempting diplomatic negotiations to at least salvage some of the season. Lines are not yet throwing in the towel, though. Carnival Cruise Line has sent a letter to passengers booked on 2021 voyages to Alaska, stating it is aware of Transport Canada's cruise ban.
"We are in the midst of discussions with various relevant government authorities about this matter in the hopes that some alternatives might be identified," states the letter, signed by Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy. "We are committed to getting back to you quickly. We appreciate your patience and support."
Complicating this issue, though, are standing directives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization has dragged its collective feet for nearly a year on the restart of cruise operations within the United States, with no clear end in sight.
Wording in Transport Canada's order allows Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra to rescind its cruise ban earlier than its anticipated March 1, 2022 expiry date. Cruise lines may be hesitant to write off the entire season at this point, in the hopes that the ongoing roll-out of vaccines in both the United States and Canada could ease conditions by the summer that would allow even a limited restart of cruise operations.
This plan faces significant headwind from the direction of British Columbia. John Horgan, Premier of Canada's most western province, has stated he would prefer to not have any travelers into British Columbia until vaccines are readily available to all residents. Horgan and British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix have pushed back against even domestic travel from Canadians from other provinces. At a press conference held in January, Horgan said he would come down on travelers not respecting his Province's rules "like a ton of bricks," and re-iterated his preference for a complete halt to interprovincial travel within Canada. Overcoming that mentality may be a tough sell in British Columbia, even if global health conditions improve.
Still, the Business Council of British Columbia estimates the tourist industry in British Columbia has lost between $3.5 and $4 billion dollars in 2020, resulting in one of the largest losses of any economic driver in the Province. Losses of that magnitude could also play a role in potentially salvaging part of the West Coast cruise season.
Some Cruise Lines May Be Able to Offer Land-Based Trips to Alaska
Both Holland America Line and Princess Cruises -- two of the largest and longest-standing cruise operators in Alaska -- stated their commitment to operating their lodges throughout Alaska in 2021, raising the possibility that those booked on inoperable cruises may be offered the chance to explore Alaska overland instead, minus the cruise ship.
Cruise lines are uniquely positioned in Alaska to deliver this kind of experience. Both Holland America and Princess own and or operate their own hotels in places like Kenai, Anchorage, and Denali National Park (McKinley Chalet Resort and Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge). Both have fleets of dedicated motorcoaches and purpose-built rail cars that whisk passengers into the heart of Alaska.
While these land tours are typically only offered in conjunction with an associated cruise embarking in Whittier, Seward or Vancouver, both lines may find better luck operating on-land this year.
Doing so not only benefits passengers and the cruise line's bottom line, but also local Alaskans and American workers who are employed as drivers, hotel staff members, or tour guides for the bulk of the season, which typically runs from May to September. Cruise Lines Are Mindful of the Number of Cancellations That Would Result
Another consideration: cruise lines are mindful of how many voyages would be shelved as a result of scrapping the entire season. Besides putting a strain on potential cash flow, a mass cancellation of the entire season would likely overwhelm call centers and travel agent partners, all of whom are working with minimal staffing at this time.
Should you pro-actively cancel your cruise to Alaska this year? Unless final payment is due, it's better to hold onto your reservation at this time. Cruise lines will likely sweeten the pot with a Future Cruise Credit (FCC bonus that will allow all monies paid, plus the bonus FCC, to be put towards a future cruise.
For those who just want a refund, it's also better to wait until an official cancellation has been announced. Many cruise lines have automated systems now to deal with such refunds that can be accessed online. Keep in mind that most, if not all, cruise lines are dealing with an enormous backlog of refunds to process. While the money will be refunded should you request it, it will be far from instantaneous. Be prepared to wait at least two to six months to get that deposit back.
The Bottom Line
While some cruise lines have pulled their 2021 Alaska voyages (and Canada and New England sailings) from active inventory on their websites, none have officially canceled their sailings yet.
With two months to go before the traditional start of the Alaska cruise season and Transport Canada's ruling less than a week old, there is more work remaining to be done before cruise lines can make a firm decision on what to do with their 2021 voyages.
Those set on visiting Alaska can look into options on smaller U.S.-flagged lines.
Cruses to Alaska either originate or terminate in Vancouver. But, it cost a lot more to fly to Vancouver than to Seattle. I paid expensive car rental, waited long way at the border, and drove from Vancouver to Seattle and still saved money.
Maybe they can just sail from Seattle and let passengers to pay that $800. That way they could sail, and, really, it would not cost that much more if you consider the cheaper travel to Seattle.
Or, even better, register the boat in US, hire US personnel and sail from Seattle with no fines. The US pride Hawaiian cruse is all US personnel, and it does not seems to be more expensive than the other cruises.
I personally think that saving on the Vancouver airfare would more than pay for the Seattle US flagged ship.
I’ll have to check and see if it’s addressed to us...or to “current resident”. Been years since we’ve been on Carnival...maybe they’re getting desperate.
Us too. And we’ve never done one.
The answer is simple: cash flow and float.
Cruise lines know that if you cancel before they do, then you forfeit non-refundable deposits.
If they wait until after the final payment date to cancel, then you either have to cancel and give up the deposit, or make your final payment and tie up the money.
Once the cruise line eventually cancels the cruise, it could take up to six weeks to get a refund.
Bottom line: they get an interest-free two month loan from you, the customer, by not canceling the cruise until after the final payment date.
-PJ
The “foreign port” requirement is superfluous, antiquated, protectionism, and must be canceled or at least suspended until the China virus is doing it’s naked dance.
LOL almost all Mexican ports and almost all Caribbean ports are sea days for me except St Martens’, St Thomas and some of the privately owned ports by cruise lines.
While cruising in Mediterranean, almost all ports on a 14 day voyage were extremely interesting. Cruising from Hong Kong to Singapore, Pattaya in Thailand was good because of the fabulous Tiger zoo there. We got to feed a live tiger cub from milk bottle which was amazing.
“Carnival has Just a couple of cruises in Aug and Nov 2021 and none out of Boston all the way to 2023...”
It is NORWEGIAN that will take a hit if Canada stays closed, as it will affect the New England cruises and more than likely the Bermuda cruises out of Boston becuse they can’t because of weather reroute the Bermuda cruises to Canada like they did in the past.-Tom
Cruises On Norwegian Gem 2021
Showing 33 cruise(s)
Day Dep. Ship Cruise Name From/To Price
May
Fri 7 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $685
Fri 14 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $685
Fri 21 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $741
Fri 28 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $741
June
Fri 4 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $741
Fri 11 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $741
Fri 18 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $839
Fri 25 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $839
July
Fri 2 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $909
Fri 9 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $909
Fri 16 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $909
Fri 23 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $909
Fri 30 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $909
August
Fri 6 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $937
Fri 13 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $860
Fri 20 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $839
Fri 27 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England: Portland & Bar Harbor Boston / Boston Inside $811
September
Fri 3 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Quebec City Boston / Quebec City Inside $825
Fri 10 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Boston Quebec City / Boston Inside $930
Fri 17 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Quebec City Boston / Quebec City Inside $825
Fri 24 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Boston Quebec City / Boston Inside $993
October
Fri 1 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Quebec City Boston / Quebec City Inside $825
Fri 8 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England To Boston Quebec City / Boston Inside $1,063
Fri 15 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England: Portland & Bar Harbor Boston / Boston Inside $748
Fri 22 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Canada & New England: Portland & Bar Harbor Boston / Boston Inside $748
Fri 29 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $720
November
Fri 5 Norwegian Gem 7 Night Bermuda Round-Trip Boston Boston / Boston Inside $664
Capt. Tom
Have you seen the results of this Cruise Critic survey? Seems like the majority of respondents are all-in on the COVID restrictions. “In general, the survey respondents embraced the safety measures that cruise lines have already put in place, with the majority saying there were no “deal breakers” for them to return to the seas.”
“Only 24 percent said that a mask requirement would keep them from boarding. The vast majority of cruisers were fine with mandated vaccines, pre-boarding COVID testing, contact tracing and reduced-capacity sailings.”
https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5849/
Have you seen the results of this Cruise Critic survey? Seems like the majority of respondents are all-in on the COVID restrictions. “In general, the survey respondents embraced the safety measures that cruise lines have already put in place, with the majority saying there were no “deal breakers” for them to return to the seas.”
“Only 24 percent said that a mask requirement would keep them from boarding. The vast majority of cruisers were fine with mandated vaccines, pre-boarding COVID testing, contact tracing and reduced-capacity sailings.”
https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5849/
To me, reduced-capacity sailings is going to be the future of Cruise lines. They won’t fill all their present ships and the big 3, CARNIVAL-ROYAL- NORWEGIAN, will have to reduce the size of their fleets. Time will tell.
My personal experience with about a dozen cruisers isn’t as optimistic for the Cruise Lines as the Cruise Critic survey. -Tom
Capt. Tom
Reduced capacity means increased fares. They’re already complaining about fare increases on Cruise Critic.
“Reduced capacity means increased fares. They’re already complaining about fare increases on Cruise Critic.”
I wonder if they will complain about as of today needing a 2 layer mask. See link below. -Tom
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html
Your only worry at this point, is the communists running Anchorage.
I hope the stupid 2-week quarantine or negative test crap is over by then. Good luck!
I'm guessing a similar situation will be worked out in Canada.
Captain Tom: “I wonder if they will complain about as of today needing a 2 layer mask.”
I doubt they will complain. Or, even if they do, Cruise Critic will suppress those that do complain.
It’s been my experience that most on Cruise Critic support any and all attempts to suppress any deviation from the CDC narrative. (As I’ve mentioned before, I served a five week probation for ‘disrupting’ Cruise Critic for my critical comments.) My interaction with those that post on Cruise Critic indicates that many there are so afraid of the virus and so eager to cruise again that they will accept any restrictions. You may have noted that the only restriction that was panned was the requirement to only use Cruise Line excursions which do cost more.
BTW, the CDC published a report on their study of double masking. One of four conclusions is listed below:
“The findings of these simulations should neither be generalized to the effectiveness of all medical procedure masks or cloths masks nor interpreted as being representative of the effectiveness of these masks when worn in real-world settings.”
Or, IOW, wearing two masks may not be effective either.
I see this study says what many have stated that wearing a mask isn’t as effective as the CDC wants us to believe. Otherwise why should we double up? BTW, this means that it takes four masks to be even slightly effective. I must wear two and you must wear two, that’s four. Has the shark been jumped yet?
Something you might be interested in, if you were planning a 2021 Alaskan Cruise. Tom
https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-lines-remove-2021-alaska-sailings/
While living in Seattle area, we did half a dozen Alaska cruises, mainly because it was convenient. We even drove to Vancouver in Canada to board once.
The cruise early in the summer season was best because there was lot of beautiful glacial ice was present to view. Later in the season lot of ice was melted and gone. During one cruise it was in high 70’s and there was very little ice left.
Oh well, the fleeting hope that the Alaska cruises could be saved would appear to be dashed. The interest is there. 2 weeks ago we looked into going on a fall color cruise. between the 3 sailings we looked at there was only 8 Rooms available in the Suite/Jr Suite category. So RC will be refunding a bunch of deposits..again.
“Oh well, the fleeting hope that the Alaska cruises could be saved would appear to be dashed. “
But wait folks there is some hope. Read the recent article below on Alaskan cruises. -Tom
https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-not-to-cancel-any-canada-and-alaska-cruises/47061
Ensenada is our sea day port
It used to be years ago...I went from San Diego to Santa Catalina and Ensenada on a cruise...There were shore excursions at Ensenada...years later they shorted the Ensenada stop to 4 hours and the passengers didnt get off...
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