Isn't this only for foreign-flagged vessels? And the same applies to foreign flagged cargo ships, as I recall.
I would imagine that this cruise ship is foreign flagged so you would be correct.
I remember in my youth growing up in the Detroit area that the Boblo Island ferries were Canadian flagged, and had to make a stop in Windsor, Ontario, between their stops in Detroit and Boblo Island. (Boblo was a huge amusement park, now gone.)
There's also a 'cruise casino' in New Port Richey, FL, that just goes out into the Gulf into international waters, floats around for a few hours, then returns to New Port Richey. It must be American flagged, however.
Yo-Yo wrote: “Isn’t this only for foreign-flagged vessels? And the same applies to foreign flagged cargo ships, as I recall. I would imagine that this cruise ship is foreign flagged so you would be correct.”
Royal Caribbean, like most cruise lines, are foreign flagged.
There is at least one line, American Cruise Lines, that is US Flagged.
US flagged ships must pay union scale which makes them very expensive. Plus US flagged ships must be built in US shipyards. There have also been complaints about the quality of service.
Norwegian has one ship that sails around Hawaii that is union scale which means it can sail between US ports exclusively.
Only US flagged lines may transport passengers between US ports without making a stop in a ‘distant’ foreign port.
For example, cruise lines sailing out of Seattle will make a stop in Victoria Canada. Usually just a short stop.
Lot’s of short cruises out of Florida will visit the Bahamas.
These rules were instituted to ‘protect’ the US maritime industry. The result of this ‘protection’ was the movement of the US maritime industry to foreign flags. It has also decimated US ship building.
Out and back cruises are against the law. A cruise ship leaving a port in the US must stop at least one foreign port before returning to a US port.
Isn’t this only for foreign-flagged vessels? And the same applies to foreign flagged cargo ships, as I recall.
It is only for foreign flagged ships, but every major cruise ship except the NCL Pride of America is foreign flagged. To be US flagged it must be built here and subject to US wage laws. As a result, a cruise on the Pride of America is almost twice as expensive as a cruise on any other similar ship. But it cruises around Hawaii where there really isn’t a foreign country to easily stop in.