Alaska Cruises to Begin in July, 2021!

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After months of negotiations, the Senate and House managed to pass a new law exempting ships from the requirement for non-US flagged vessels to visit a foreign port (in this case Vancouver, Canada).  Yesterday, President Biden signed the bill into law, and now the last obstacle is CDC approval. 

Presumably, the CDC must go along with the President's will or be replaced, but last year after supposedly accepting a dictate to allow cruising to resume, the CDC managed to stick in enough conditions, including "test cruises" for which special guidelines have never materialized, to crush optimistic hopes.

To overcome this test cruise requirement, cruise lines in Alaska will carry a vaccine mandate for all crew and passengers.  That is essentially that mysterious "vaccine passport" that has been debated widely by Constitutional experts and internet trolls.

So, if you refuse to be vaccinated, then you will not be allowed to board when those Alaska cruises resume in late July.  It is neither my nor the cruise line's intention to disparage you personally if you have concerns about President Trump's vaccines or the utmost confidence in your immune system, but a vaccine is the golden ticket to cruise roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska without stopping in Canada, which has a cruise ship ban in place until February of 2022.

You sill have to fork out a few thousand dollars for a cruise room, just as always, but I have to say the mainstream cruise lines have not spiked their prices.  There aren't bargain basement last minute deals which you may hope to find once you're within 60 days of embarkation in normal times, but prices are in line with what I have frequently seen in the past for similar cruises.

Cruise lines have shaken off old itinerarles that had been on the books, so there will be something of a scramble for rooms.  Keep in mind that Covid-19 precautions will be in place throughout your cruise, including old favorites like social distancing and masks when social distancing isn't possible.  However, you're probably used to that, so why not be annoyed or pleased to comply while cruising through Alaska?

Wes

P.S. New cruises keep opening, including adventures in Greece, Iceland, the Caribbean and rivers of Europe!