Senate passes invoice to elevate restrictions on Seattle-to-Alaska cruises | Enterprise

WASHINGTON, DC – A U.S. Senate bill allowing cruise lines to bypass a Canadian cruise ban was passed unanimously on Thursday, paving the way for the first major cruise lines in more than a year to sail between Seattle and Driving Alaska.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, halts enforcement of a provision that penalizes most foreign flag ships for transporting passengers directly between US ports.

Since almost every ship of the seven cruise lines between Seattle and Alaska is under a foreign flag – meaning it is registered outside the United States – most cruise lines make a stopover in Canada en route to Alaska.

After a series of high-profile coronavirus outbreaks aboard cruise lines, Canada last spring banned ships carrying more than 100 passengers from entering its ports and extended the ban until early 2022.

For much of 2020, Canada’s move was a footnote to other coronavirus-related restrictions on Alaskan cruises, including a cruise ban put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March. Many cruise ships have canceled or postponed their crossings until well into this year.

The CDC relaxed its rules for cruising in October – too late to save the 2020 Alaska cruise season, which typically runs from May to September. But in places like Florida and Southern California, cruising has slowly started again.

Seattle could benefit greatly from a resumption of travel to Alaska. Prior to the pandemic, the city was forecasting cruises by Port of Seattle to generate nearly $ 900 million in economic activity annually.

However, the passage of the Senate Bill is only the first step to resume Alaskan cruises. The bill must also be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Joe Biden. Large cruise lines would then follow a CDC-monitored return program that included sea trials to test the ships’ readiness to adhere to public health precautions. And cruise companies would have to continue to market trips, sell berths and staff, and position their ships.

All of that legwork means that even if Murkowski’s bill goes into effect, it will likely be at least two more months for the first Alaskan cruises to set sail, the Anchorage Daily News reported last month.

However, the passage of the bill in the Senate means cruise companies and communities are “one step closer to the safe resumption of Alaskan cruises,” said Stephanie Jones Stebbins, sea director for the Port of Seattle, in a statement. “Ports, cruise lines, public health officials and local executives can now focus on the remaining work needed to restart the cruise, including vaccinations, port agreements and other improved security measures.”