Back in March, Canada banned cruise ships that carried more than 500 passengers from making port calls. That action, due to the coronavirus pandemic, was going to continue until at least July 1.
In April, they tightened the restrictions such that any passenger ships with the capacity to hold more than 12 passengers would also be banned through at least early July (“essential passenger vessels” such as ferries, water taxis, medical-use vessel, cargo ships and fishing vessels didn’t count).
And now they’ve updated the rules again.
The Canadian Minister of Transport announced on May 29th that measures pertaining to cruise ships and passenger vessels in Canada would again be updated:
- Cruise ships with overnight accommodations allowed to carry more than 100 persons are prohibited from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020.
- As of July 1, 2020, all other passenger vessels must follow provincial, territorial, local and regional health authority requirements for timelines and processes to resume operations.
Prime Minister also Justin Trudeau announced the extension on Friday during his daily briefing, saying that, “COVID-19 is still a very serious threat.”
Princess Cruises and Holland America Line had already canceled their 2020 Alaska cruise seasons, so many thought the entire route might become a wash this year.
Small-ship lines that operate in Alaska with U.S.-flagged ships (i.e. Lindblad Expeditions, Alaska Dream Cruises, Uncruise Adventures and American Cruise Lines), won’t be impacted. However, the move is, essentially, a death knell to the Alaskan cruise industry that uses large ships.
U.S. cabotage laws require foreign-flagged ships (read: virtually every big name cruise ship you can think of) sailing from U.S. ports (in this case, Seattle) must call in a foreign port (i.e. Vancouver) before returning to the U.S.
More than 140 cruise ships from 10 countries docked in Canada last year, with the intent of continuing on to Alaska. Cruising is Alaska’s largest source of tourism, bringing in a little more than half of the state’s visitors.
But not this year.
Feature Photo: Royal Caribbean
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
Booked a flight up for 5 days in Juneau in July. Looking forward to the city not being overrun with cruise ships for one season.
It’s a magical time to travel without all the crowds.
I’m sure Juneau will appreciate your visit. Hopefully their quarantine will be done by then. It’s supposed to finish soon but nothing’s to say it won’t be extended.