I just got word that Disney is contacting passengers who have booked a particular back-to-back cruise combination and having them decide which (or both) of the cruises they want to cancel.
Turns out Disney "just discovered" this cruise combination fails to meet the "distant, foreign port" requirement, and passengers who are booked back-to-back would be in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which prohibits passengers from cruising from one US city to another without visiting a "distant, foreign port."
The cruise combination is the 9/17/15 Honolulu to Vancouver paired with the 9/27/15 Vancouver to San Diego. Folks booked back-to-back would essentially sail from Hawaii to San Diego without visiting a "distant, foreign port," which is a big no-no and results in a fines of $300 per passenger. So Disney is calling people, or having their travel agents do so, and ask them if they want to cancel the Hawaii-Vancouver leg and/or the Vancouver-San Diego let.
I have to say this really ticks me off. As a consumer, I expect Disney to already know that certain cruise combinations are in violation of the PVSA (see, even *I* know what the rule is called!), and NOT SELL THEM. To let people book cruises, potentially make non-refundable hotel and airfare reservations, and THEN make then change their plans sucks.
What is even more frustrating is that this is not the first, or even second, time this has happened. Disney seems to have a strange learning curve when it comes to operations out of Canada / Alaska, and something like this happens almost every year.
Attention Disney Cruise Line:
Vancouver is not a "distant, foreign port."
Please remember that when you release the 2016 itineraries, ok?
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