Cruise Lines Are Officially Allowed To Sail To Alaska Without Stopping In Canada

By: Alana DeRose

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (H.R. 1318) to allow cruise lines to sail to Alaska without stopping in Canada on Thursday May, 20.

H.R. 1318 allows cruise ships to sail from Washington to Alaska without the need to stop in Canada.

Canada still has cruising banned in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic until 2022 or whenever they decide to lift the prohibition.

"The bill was introduced by Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in February 2021 as a way for cruise ships to be able to sail to Alaska in 2021,"

according to Royal Caribbean Blog.

Republic, Don Young celebrated the bill's passing as Alaska desperately needed the activity of the cruise industry for the economy.

"We lost billions of dollars last year because of Covid in the tourist industry, and this bill that we just passed by this House unanimously will give us an opportunity to recover that, not the money, but the ability to take and serve the people of America and the tourist industry in and southeast Alaska and the rest of the state of Alaska."

This bill would find a way around the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) restrictions in order for ships to carry passengers sailing from the Pacific Northwest, this bill does not apply to ships sailing from New England.

However, the U.S. still needs the CDC to lift their ban on cruises in the U.S. and this act will only be in place until 2022.

Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity are planning to start their Alaska sailings this summer.