Until today, the U.S. Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) mandates that foreign-flagged ships call at at least one foreign port on any U.S. itinerary, meaning any foreign-flagged cruise ships sailings in Alaska this summer must begin or call in Vancouver or Victoria, British Columbia.
CruiseIndustryNews.com is reporting, “U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law on Monday, which temporarily allows foreign-flagged cruise ships to sail in the region without having to dock in Canada first.
According to a statement from the White House, the law will be in effect until either Canada lifts restrictions on their cruise ship ban, or March 31, 2022.
The U.S. Senate passed the bill two weeks ago that was the work of Alaskan Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan. The bill then moved to Congress which approved it last week, with Biden quickly signing it on Monday evening.
The law paves the way for the majority of cruise ships to operate in Alaska this summer. Cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have already announced deployments.”
We all know that the locals in Alaska depend heavily on cruise tourists for their seasonal income. It’s great that our elected leaders were able to allow the Alaska cruise season to resume!
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