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Cruise to Nowhere?


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Since I've read about so many peoples love of sea days, I was wondering.

Do they have such a thing as a cruise without any ports of call?

Simply out and back with all sea days?

If so, has anybody ever been on one, or willing to take one? And how long would you be willing to sail?

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2 hours ago, FManke said:

Since I've read about so many peoples love of sea days, I was wondering.

Do they have such a thing as a cruise without any ports of call?

Simply out and back with all sea days?

If so, has anybody ever been on one, or willing to take one? And how long would you be willing to sail?

I have seen a couple of "cruise to nowhere" type trips over the years, usually a one-off to get the ship on a new schedule, and mostly 1-3 nights. For example, there are 2-night Sampler Cruises right now out of Sydney.

I used to think I wouldn't like a trip like that because I'm still all about the ports of call, but as I age... um, get more experienced, I could see the draw ?  

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My friends sister in law is a travel agent and I know shes done a couple when new ships have come over to the UK.

Gets them on board so they can experience the ship and all it offers so they can go back to their clients with proper experiences. Not sure how often they do those kind of sailings after that though

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I have a 3 night cruise booked on Ovation out of Sydney that does not stop at any other ports. Celebrating my sons birthday on board and thought it would be something different to do. Also just filling in time before travelling to Miami for Symphony and Navigator next year.

There are quite a few 2-3 night cruises from Sydney at the moment on Voyager, Ovation and Radiance.

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21 minutes ago, mattymay said:

I have a 3 night cruise booked on Ovation out of Sydney that does not stop at any other ports. Celebrating my sons birthday on board and thought it would be something different to do. Also just filling in time before travelling to Miami for Symphony and Navigator next year.

There are quite a few 2-3 night cruises from Sydney at the moment on Voyager, Ovation and Radiance.

It would be like going to a hotel for a couple of days. Just different. I can see the appeal.

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1 hour ago, StayFrosty said:

You won’t see one of these in the US.  US laws do not allow cruises to nowhere from US ports on foreign-flagged vessels. 

We used to have them here in Virginia, Carnival would have a two day cruise to nowhere that left out of Norfolk but they were forced to stop a few years ago.  They cited the same law that @StayFrosty is talking about when they cancelled them, when they did that they broke hearts all over this area.  

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We sail for the ship over the ports.  But for us, the best is when you have a port of call but you decide to stay onboard (e.g. Nassau).  That way, it's like a sea day but with less people.  The only downside is that there are not quite as many activities going on and things may open a bit later.

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The law is the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.  It was designed to protect the US domestic passenger industry from foreign competition.  Of course, now there little left of the domestic passenger industry but the law still remains.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886

(Credit to @twangster for educating us on this topic earlier)

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4 hours ago, StayFrosty said:

The law is the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.  It was designed to protect the US domestic passenger industry from foreign competition.  Of course, now there little left of the domestic passenger industry but the law still remains.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Vessel_Services_Act_of_1886

(Credit to @twangster for educating us on this topic earlier)

Actually still a bit of industry.  Ferries come to mind.  Water taxis.  Etc. Imagine the foreign invasion if vessels didn’t need to be made in America and crewed by Americans. It creeps into daily life on a frequent basis. 

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50 minutes ago, twangster said:

Actually still a bit of industry.  Ferries come to mind.  Water taxis.  Etc. Imagine the foreign invasion if vessels didn’t need to be made in America and crewed by Americans. It creeps into daily life on a frequent basis. 

I agree.  Though, the long-distance coastal passenger trade is pretty much non-existent.

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32 minutes ago, StayFrosty said:

I agree.  Though, the long-distance coastal passenger trade is pretty much non-existent.

Problem is the law as written doesn’t distinguish between vessels very much.  A 50 passenger ferry is a vessel.  A 6,000 passenger cruise ship is a vessel.  Much of the law applies to both equally.  

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They often offer 3 day cruises out of Sydney. I have done a couple on Explorer.

Of course once you have done the 3 days you wish it was 4 days.

The crowd is different on a 3 day cruise as there is generally much more drinking and sitting around by the pool. Stag and Hen nights are popular down here. I hear they have stopped offering the drinks packages on these short cruises in Australia as I think too many people were getting their moneys worth.

It is quite good for going to the ice show as there are usually plenty of seats available. 

 

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On 5/13/2019 at 6:58 AM, mattymay said:

I have a 3 night cruise booked on Ovation out of Sydney that does not stop at any other ports. Celebrating my sons birthday on board and thought it would be something different to do. Also just filling in time before travelling to Miami for Symphony and Navigator next year.

There are quite a few 2-3 night cruises from Sydney at the moment on Voyager, Ovation and Radiance.

Our daughter and SIL just moved to Maryborough, QLD and we are looking at the possibility of doing one of those cruises when we come to visit them next summer for 3 weeks.

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23 hours ago, F1guynz said:

I hear they have stopped offering the drinks packages on these short cruises in Australia as I think too many people were getting their moneys worth.

 

Deluxe drink package is available for purchase in cruise planner!

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Think the discontinuity of the "Cruise to Nowhere" in the US has more to do with work visa requirements. In order for the particular visa used by workers to be valid it was determined that a ship had to visit a foreign port, not just reach international waters.

Ref: https://cruiseline.com/advice/how-to-book/choose-a-destination/cruise-to-nowhere

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