Canada again making things difficult for Alaska cruising

On an Alaska cruise last summer, the Serenade of the Seas departed Seattle. The photo is from the Royal Caribbean.

A new set of guidelines for cruise ships that require a 100% vaccination rate for all ships stopping at its ports could be problematic for the Alaska cruise season.

Transport Canada said there will be more announcements soon.

Transport Canada is focused on keeping Canadians safe. Transport Canada values the cruise industry and the economic contribution it makes to Canada.

Canada has guidelines that create a higher standard for cruising. The CDC graded ships based on their vaccination rates. The CDC will label ships with at least 98% of passengers and crew with two initial doses and a booster shot as standard of excellence. Those that don't meet these criteria are labeled not highly vaccineed.

Canada banned cruise ships in 2020 and 2021. Because foreign-flagged ships are required to stop at an international port for cruises departing from the United States, U.S. lawmakers passed a law to temporarily allow ships to skip the perfunctory stop in Canada on Alaska cruises. Without the waiver, the cruise lines wouldn't have been able to save the season.

Legislation is being worked on that would allow cruise ships to sail past Canada without stopping.

John Heald, a senior cruise director at Carnival, took to Facebook on Wednesday to say that Canada's regulations are a sticking point for Alaska cruises.

The issue at the moment is about Canadian requirements. If that can't be worked out quickly, the industry will seek to have government regulations suspended like what happened last year, and our itineraries will not visit Canada at all.

The Alaska cruise season runs from May to September.

Canada requires 100 percent of ships to bevaccinated.