Well it looks like the hopes of an Alaska or Canada/New England cruise this summer has come to an end. Canadian authorities have officially cancelled the rest of the 2020 cruise season in Canadian waters due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are banning any ships with overnight accommodations that carry more than 100 passengers from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020.
The ban of cruise ships in Canadian waters makes Alaska itineraries impossible due to the law stating any foreign flagged ship that sails from the a US port must make a stop at a foreign port before returning to the US.
This announcement came from Minister of Transport Marc Gareau as he stated “Our Government is committed to protecting Canadians, particularly during these challenging times. It is for that reason I am announcing updated measures for cruise ships and other passenger vessels in Canada, which includes prohibiting larger cruise ships from operating in Canadian waters until October 31, 2020”.
Canada is taking the suspensions very seriously in hopes that the Covid-19 virus does not continue to spread.
So what does this mean for all the cruise lines….
It looks like Princess & Holland America have already made the decision before the announcement came out. Princess had cancelled all Alaska and New England/Canada sailings through summer of 2020.
Holland America went a little further with cancelling all Alaska, Canada/New England and even Europe itineraries through the rest of the year in 2020. Now this does not surprise me due to facts showing that the Covid-19 tends to take a little more of a toll on the elderly and Holland Ameria is known for having an older demographic crowd.
Carnival has also taken down all of their Alaska sailings through the rest of the summer.
So it looks like Royal and NCL were holding out until the end and even booking cruises for July when it was announced prior to this that the Canadian authorities had closed the borders through July 31st. So now with this announcement extending the border closure in Canada through Oct 31st 2020, hopefully we will be seeing some more cancellations with Royal, Celebrity and NCL possibly sometime this coming week.
This has obviously taken a big hit on the Canadian and Alaskan economies for 2020 as the summer and fall seasons are their high tourist seasons. Many people have re-booked for 2021, and I’m sure their economy is looking forward to all the tourists that will be visiting Canada and Aalaska next year in 2021.
