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Canada Ports Closed Until July 1


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Just read on Friday that Canada is closing its ports until at least July 1. That means all cruises going through Canada will be canceled. I was going to fly to Seattle for a 7-day Alaskan cruise in June. It's not going to happen. I would not be surprised if the entire Alaska summer season is canceled. My final deposit to Royal Caribbean is due next week, and I will cancel it before then.

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10 minutes ago, ronsuz said:

Just read on Friday that Canada is closing its ports until at least July 1. That means all cruises going through Canada will be canceled. I was going to fly to Seattle for a 7-day Alaskan cruise in June. It's not going to happen. I would not be surprised if the entire Alaska summer season is canceled. My final deposit to Royal Caribbean is due next week, and I will cancel it before then.

You might want to consider waiting until Royal cancels rather than cancelling, yourself.  You would likely get a better “deal” by waiting and letting them cancel.

I understand you not wanting to make final payment, however, it is obvious that Royal is going to have to cancel your cruise.  It is scheduled during the Canadian port embargo.  By cancelling first, you may lose out on any cancellation bonuses they will probably offer.

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I agree. I'm holding out on my June cruise along the East Coast, including Halifax and St. John, and have even been working on cabin upgrades in the event it does go forward somehow.

What I'm curious to see is, if Royal goes ahead with cruises scheduled to pass through Canada in some form, whether they'll just try to work some itinerary magic so they can continue the cruise, even if they drastically change the ports.

Either way, I want to try and get the best deal from Royal if cancellation does happen, so the waiting game continues.

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1 hour ago, Chadster said:

I agree. I'm holding out on my June cruise along the East Coast, including Halifax and St. John, and have even been working on cabin upgrades in the event it does go forward somehow.

What I'm curious to see is, if Royal goes ahead with cruises scheduled to pass through Canada in some form, whether they'll just try to work some itinerary magic so they can continue the cruise, even if they drastically change the ports.

Either way, I want to try and get the best deal from Royal if cancellation does happen, so the waiting game continues.

The next alternate is Bermuda since they must have an international port of call to satisfy the PVSA.  If Bermuda berths are full it could become Bahamas if the cruise is long enough.  

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44 minutes ago, twangster said:

The next alternate is Bermuda since they must have an international port of call to satisfy the PVSA.  If Bermuda berths are full it could become Bahamas if the cruise is long enough.  

Couldn't St. Pierre-Miquelon also count? It's French territory and closer than the Bahamas or Bermuda.

Empress visits there on its round-trips to/from Montreal.

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20 minutes ago, Chadster said:

Couldn't St. Pierre-Miquelon also count? It's French territory and closer than the Bahamas or Bermuda.

Empress visits there on its round-trips to/from Montreal.

Empress is small and can visit ports that large ships cannot.  The largest ship I can find visiting is 85,000 GT.

I also question how a stop at St. Pierre-Miquelon would fit the itinerary.  It appears it may be a sea day away from the US, followed by a port followed by a sea day to get back to the US. 

If St. Pierre-Miquelon was capable of large ships I think we would see it on a frequent basis with so many ships competing for ports.

This is all assuming it too doesn't close itself off from ships due to the virus.

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Thanks for the insight, Twangster; this is why people much more knowledgeable than me create cruise itineraries! I've decided that while I'm keeping my June 4 booking on Adventure, I'm keeping a July version of the itinerary ready just in case. If my June cruise goes ahead including Canada, then I'll cancel the one in July. Otherwise, I'll just go a bit later than planned; I've already got a trip down south planned later this year, and I'm not sure I want to repeat the trip twice if Royal just sends the ship to Bermuda or the Bahamas..

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5 minutes ago, Chadster said:

Thanks for the insight, Twangster; this is why people much more knowledgeable than me create cruise itineraries! I've decided that while I'm keeping my June 4 booking on Adventure, I'm keeping a July version of the itinerary ready just in case. If my June cruise goes ahead including Canada, then I'll cancel the one in July. Otherwise, I'll just go a bit later than planned; I've already got a trip down south planned later this year, and I'm not sure I want to repeat the trip twice if Royal just sends the ship to Bermuda or the Bahamas..

NOW you’re thinking like a real addict !  Great job !

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On 3/15/2020 at 7:23 PM, Chadster said:

Thanks for the insight, Twangster; this is why people much more knowledgeable than me create cruise itineraries! I've decided that while I'm keeping my June 4 booking on Adventure, I'm keeping a July version of the itinerary ready just in case. If my June cruise goes ahead including Canada, then I'll cancel the one in July. Otherwise, I'll just go a bit later than planned; I've already got a trip down south planned later this year, and I'm not sure I want to repeat the trip twice if Royal just sends the ship to Bermuda or the Bahamas..

I’m on a 9 night on Adventure in July and it was practically sold out for the longest time, until this week. Lots opened up this week. Really looking forward to this so hopefully this mess clears up by then.

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I’m on a 9 night on Adventure in July and it was practically sold out for the longest time, until this week. Lots opened up this week. Really looking forward to this so hopefully this mess clears up by then.

This is the cruise I'm holding a reservation on just in case my June sailing on Adventure doesn't go forward. I really hope one way or another, I get to visit Canada!!

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2 minutes ago, Coach9 said:

What about the June 21 oasis sailing to Canada ?

Sadly, I think all Canadian sailings are just a "wait and see" at this point, which is really frustrating. I also feel for people who are booked on cruises to Alaska between May and July 1. ?

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Cruising from Seattle you say:  If the ships are still going to Alaska in June from Seattle. All Royal Caribbean would have to do is to skip Victoria the only Canadian port of call.  Then proceed on to Alaska. Even if you missed a day in a port, cruising the Inner Passage for more time would be wonderful in my opinion.  

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39 minutes ago, Phillip Diamond Plus said:

Cruising from Seattle you say:  If the ships are still going to Alaska in June from Seattle. All Royal Caribbean would have to do is to skip Victoria the only Canadian port of call.  Then proceed on to Alaska. Even if you missed a day in a port, cruising the Inner Passage for more time would be wonderful in my opinion.  

This is not an option due to the PVSA / Jones Act mentioned earlier by @twangster, which prohibits foreign-flagged vessels from leaving from one US port and returning to the same or another US port without first visiting at least one foreign port along the way. The stop in Canada is how these itineraries satisfy that requirement.

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1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

This is not an option due to the PVSA / Jones Act mentioned earlier by @twangster, which prohibits foreign-flagged vessels from leaving from one US port and returning to the same or another US port without first visiting at least one foreign port along the way. The stop in Canada is how these itineraries satisfy that requirement.

This might be a good time for President Trump to temporarily strike down the Jones Act. In a National Emergency, he can do it.  That would allow Alaska itineraries to home port in Seattle this year.

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Just heard on the Cruise Radio News podcast that the Bermuda Tourism Authority has announced that it's suspended cruise ship operations until April 14, but could go longer. So far, 9 sailings have been canceled because of this.

So that makes altering a CA/NE cruise to a Bermuda sailing a lot less likely. ? 

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On 3/16/2020 at 9:32 PM, Coach9 said:

What about the June 21 oasis sailing to Canada ?

Hi Coach, that's the one I'm on. I'm definitely in the wait and see. Think I will make the full payment (due on 3/23) and then hope for the cruise to go ahead, either with or without itinerary change, or get a full refund if Royal does end up canceling.

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