I know there are some combinations (or repositioning cruises) that are not allowed.
Specifically, curious about possibility of doing San Diego to Vancouver, then the Alaska Cruise. (or vice versa), but it might be nice to know about the rules for other itineraries as well.
U.S. Citizen, if that matters.
Thanks!
The biggest one would be the Passenger Vessel Services Act. It does not allow a foreign flagged ship to carry a passenger from one US port to a different US port without a stop in a DISTANT foreign port.
San Diego to Vancouver B2B with a Vancouver round trip is legal - no problem there.
The issue comes up when people book B2B cruises that reposition from, say, Los Angeles to Vancouver, followed by a Vancouver to Seattle cruise ON THE SAME SHIP.
Another violation would occur if there were a, say, Galveston to San Juan cruise, followed by a San Juan to Miami cruise.
While either one of those cruises are legal under the PVSA (cruises to/from Puerto Rico have a waiver), booking the two together makes it illegal.
The reason? When cruising the PVSA only looks at where a passenger got on a ship and where that same passenger got off the same ship. In the second instance, the passenger would be going from Galveston to Miami and there's no distant foreign port (usually) on those cruises.
The first instance, the passenger would be going from San Diego to Vancouver and would not fall under the PVSA laws.
For the record, a distant foreign port is any port NOT in North America, Central America, the Bermuda Islands, or the West Indies (including the Bahama Islands, but not including the Leeward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, i.e., Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) .
While the PVSA is only on those cruises out of US ports, there are other such laws in other countries.