The Passenger Vessel Services Act ~ AKA Basically One More Day At Sea (Day 7, Part 1 of 2)

In case you haven't read my blog in a while, we recently took a cruise to Alaska.  You can read the posts in order by going to this page right HERE!  If you're all caught up you may be wondering, "Didn't she say they were traveling with their friends, Lori and Doug?  Where are their pictures?"  We weren't always together, but when we were, we were just having too much fun to pull our phones out!  I asked Lori if she had any pictures of the four of us and she only had a couple as well.  Being present with those you love is still more important than pictures you can post.  You won't find a finer couple than these two right here:

 

Day 7 was another day mostly at sea.  I should have done more research on this particular route.  We ended up with almost a 1 to 1 ratio of port days versus sea days.  Day 7 was listed as "Victoria, B.C." but upon closer inspection we would not arrive in port until 7:00 p.m.  The real reason for this stop is known as the PVSA:

All cruises sailing from the U.S. must stop in Canada or another foreign port due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). Under this act, foreign-flagged ships must visit at least one foreign country during the cruise. A cruise line would face significant penalties for not complying.

 

PVSA came into force in 1886. At the time, U.S. ferries & passenger liners were feeling squeezed out of domestic shipping routes by foreign companies. 

We would definitely have preferred more time in ports like our 12 night trip to Europe.  We stopped in seven ports with only three full days at sea.  For me, the point of cruising is exploring new places!

 

We were well rested on this final day so Les headed to the Fitness Center. I joined Lori and Doug in the theater for two more presentations. The first was with the Head Chef and the Director of Restaurant Operations (formerly known as the Maitre d'hotel.)   The typical cruiser eats SEVEN meals a day!  With over 3,000 passengers, we're talking over 15,000 meals a day.  It's pretty amazing the quality of food that is produced in a floating restaurant.

This was one part cooking demonstration and one part comedy.  The head chef was definitely the serious one of the duo, who tried to keep the director of restaurant operations from making too big of a mess.  The meal they made included Caesar salad, a pasta dish, a main dish and a black forest cake.   

 

We stayed in the theater for the final presentation by our naturalist.  He talked about the native Alaskans.  When Les and I visited the Saxman Totem Park in Ketchikan we noticed many similarities between Alaskan and Hawaiian cultures. 

 

We were content to spend the afternoon visiting and relaxing.  We found a spot on the Lido deck a little ways from the pool and the sun felt wonderful.  Sadly, we had to return to our rooms to start packing so we could have our suitcases ready to go out that evening.

 

As with many cruise lines, Princess cruises has several "specialty" restaurants onboard.  These are typically an up charge, but our experience has been they are worth it.  We had credit for a meal in one of the restaurants and had made reservations for the Crown Grill prior to our trip.  This was an excellent meal and our waiter, Vlatko, was outstanding!  He started with us ladies and we both ordered Filet Mignon.  Les also ordered the filet.  When it was Doug's turn, he ordered "fried chicken," something that was not on the menu.  Vlatko immediately asked "KFC?  Spicy or extra crispy?"  Our entire meal was like that with Vlatko joking right back with us.  The salted caramel crème brulee cheesecake we had was also excellent.

 

Our ship was already in port when we finished our meal and we all decided we needed to walk off some of the deliciousness.  Part 2 of our final day coming soon!