Alaska official eyes direct cruise ship routes, skipping B.C. stops due to trade war | Daily Hive

Canada Place cruise ship terminal in downtown Vancouver. (dvlcom/Shutterstock)

There are renewed threats by officials in Alaska to call on the United States federal government to remove a 139-year-old law that requires passenger ships travelling between U.S. ports to call at a foreign port between the stops at U.S. ports.

Known as the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886, this law is the reason cruise ships that begin their itinerary in Seattle, for instance, stopover in Victoria on Vancouver Island on their way to Alaska.

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, representing Alaska, is now urging the U.S. Congress to change legislation or request President Donald Trump to make an executive order to abolish the PVSA, allowing cruise ships departing from the U.S. to stop at more destinations in Alaska.

This proposal comes in response to the Government of British Columbia’s decision to introduce new legislation establishing road tolls for U.S. commercial vehicles travelling through B.C., including freight trucks passing through the province to reach Alaska. It is one of the retaliatory moves made by the province against Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods.

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“Canada, you don’t want to mess with Alaska,” said Sullivan during a radio show on Alaska’s 650-KENI. “If you do, we’re going to work hard on having our cruise ships bypass your ports. That’ll help our economy tremendously, it’ll help our tourism industry tremendously, and it’ll really hurt their tourism. They’re playing a dangerous game; I hope they back down.”

If the push to change the PVSA gains traction and is realized, it could potentially have a substantial impact on Victoria’s cruise ship port business, which overwhelmingly relies on stopovers for itineraries between Seattle and Alaska.

Vancouver’s cruise ship port business would be far less impacted by a PVSA repeal, as nearly all of its cruise ship visits are based on its designation as a homeport — the start/end point of cruise ship itineraries reaching Alaska.

It would also impact the cruise ship industry in Eastern Canada, with the cruise ship business being a small fraction of the size of B.C.’s, largely based on stopovers like Victoria.

However, it is important to note that changes to the PVSA would only remove the legal requirement, not mandate a shift in cruise itineraries. In the past, cruise lines have highlighted the value and appeal of using Vancouver’s Canada Place terminal as a homeport and Victoria as a stopover, based on the feedback of their passengers.

For example, this is why Disney Cruise Line (DCL) brought the Disney Wonder back to Vancouver every year since 2013, after a one-year stint in Seattle in 2012. Starting in 2026, DCL will also add a second ship for its Alaska itineraries, the Disney Magic sailing from Vancouver — not Seattle.

disney wonder cruise ship vancouver canada place

Disney Wonder cruise ship at Canada Place in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

This marks the second time in recent years that Alaskan officials have proposed repealing the PVSA.

In 2021, when the Canadian government refused to restart the cruise ship industry in time for that year’s operating season due to the pandemic, some elected leaders in Alaska pushed for changes to the PVSA to allow cruise itineraries to reach the state without the required Canadian port stopover. This would effectively enable a restart of Alaska’s cruise ship industry without B.C.

At the time, Alaskan officials were primarily concerned about the economic impact of the cruise industry shutdown on tourism-dependent coastal communities and argued that the PVSA is outdated, as cruise ships could otherwise spend more time at American destinations, benefiting the businesses in those cities and their port workers.

In May 2021, in response to the proposal by Alaskan officials, then-president Joe Biden signed an executive order exempting Alaska and Hawaii from the PVSA, with stipulations in the legislation making this only a temporary shift — until Canada ends its pandemic-time cruise ship ban.

However, with Biden’s executive order coming halfway through the year — not enough lead time for cruise operations planning and passenger bookings for the 2021 season — along with depressed demand due to the ongoing pandemic and the logistical challenge of nearly half of the Inside Passage being owned by Canada, the 2021 season saw only a tiny fraction of the usual cruise traffic in Alaskan communities.

In July 2021, Canada’s federal government announced its pandemic-time cruise ship ban would end in November 2021, enabling a restart of the cruise ship industry in time for the 2022 season.

However, more recently, some of Alaska’s most popular cruise ship stopover ports have taken issue with overcrowding in their communities due to the influx of cruise ship passengers, specifically Juneau.

Concerns raised by some residents in Juneau led to an October 2024 referendum that ultimately saw nearly 60 per cent of Juneau voters opposing a proposed ban of large cruise ships docking in their community on Saturdays and Independence Day, starting in 2025. But businesses fought the proposed ban over the resulting economic impacts and job losses; in 2023, the cruise ship industry provided Juneau with US$375 million in direct spending, supported 3,850 jobs, and US$40 million in municipal revenue.

This ban in Juneau would have been in addition to a June 2024 voluntary agreement reached between local authorities and five major cruise lines to limit 16,000 passengers per day between Sunday and Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays. These daily caps will come into effect in 2026.

A community of about 35,000 residents, Juneau saw consecutive records of 1.64 million cruise ship passengers in 2023 and 1.68 million in 2024. For the 2025 season, 1.73 million are expected. This is up from 1.33 million in pre-pandemic 2019.

victoria cruise ship terminal ogden point

Victoria Cruise Ship Terminal at Ogden Point. (Greater Victoria Harbour Authority)

In 2024, Victoria’s Ogden Point terminal saw 970,000 cruise ship passengers on 316 cruise ship visits. This passenger figure was on par with 2023 but down from the record of one million in 2019. For the 2025 season, 980,000 passengers on 320 visits are expected.

According to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, for the 2023 season, cruise ship activities spent C$214 million in Victoria, contributed C$109 million to GDP, and supported about 1,400 jobs. The average cruise passenger spent C$100 per visit, while the average cruise crew member spent C$140 per visit.

Vancouver’s Canada Place terminal experienced consecutive record volumes in recent years, with 1.25 million cruise ship passengers on 332 cruise ship visits in 2023 and 1.32 million on 327 visits in 2024.

According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the passenger records of 2023 and 2024 were driven by pent-up demand following the pandemic. It expects lower volumes at Canada Place for the 2025 season, with 301 cruise ship visits bringing 1.2 million passengers. Although the 2025 forecast is a strong figure, it is lower than in previous years due to waning pent-up demand and economic headwinds, which are now particularly exacerbated by the trade war.

Overall visitation across the Canada-U.S. border could decline starting this year, driven by growing calls for Canadians to boycott American destinations and the possibility that some American travellers and operators will, in turn, reduce capacity or even avoid Canadian destinations due to lower travel demand. However, some of the potential decline in American visitors may be offset by the appeal of the low Canadian dollar.

As opposed to Victoria’s cruise ship industry based on stopover visits, Vancouver sees far more economic benefits from being a homeport.

An economic impact study released in 2024 found that cruise lines and their passengers and crew spend about C$1.1 billion in Metro Vancouver annually, including C$660 million per year on services and resupplying their ships with goods before each next voyage. As well, passengers spend an average of C$450 each on hotels, restaurants, shopping, tours, and local attractions. Much of this impact is seen in downtown Vancouver.

Local tourism bureau Destination Vancouver’s data shows Americans account for 23 per cent of Vancouver’s overall number of visitors and 28 per cent of visitor spending, which includes visitation generated by the cruise ship industry.

Cruise ships docked at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal in downtown Vancouver. (Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock)

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