Ever tried to book back-to-back cruises and the cruise company says you can’t book it because it invokes the Jones Act? The Acts (actually the act that covers cruise ships is The Passenger Transport Act and the Jones Act covers cargo) are 100-year-old regulatory relic instituted during the Wilson administration to protect our maritime industry. The short description says that you cannot transport cargo or passengers between two American ports unless you use ships built in American shipyards, flagged as an American ship and crewed by U.S. citizens. The problem for the cruise industry is America doesn’t build cruise ships any more, it is expensive to flag ships in the U.S. and even more difficult to staff ships with U.S. citizens.
While it is a nuisance for the cruise industry it is a disaster for American business and our economy. As of 2016 there are less than one hundred tankers in the world that meet the Jones Act requirements. Because of this it is cheaper to ship U.S. oil to Europe from Texas than to refineries in New Jersey. What that means is our oil companies import more expensive oil while at the same time we export our oil. While complicated the Jones Act is one of the things standing in the way of our energy distribution. One example is that several times more oil moves throughout the United States by train than more energy efficient tankers.
One of the more insane things that happened as a result of the Jones Act occurred during the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Norway dispatched three specialized oil clean-up ships to help with the disaster but the U.S. government wouldn’t allow them to help because of the Jones Act so they returned to Norway.
There have been a number of locations where the cruise industry has wanted to serve the American traveler by embarking in one port and disembarking in another. Hawaii is one of those locations, with inter-island cruises as well as cruises originating on the West Coast. New England cruises and Alaska are two other cruise destinations that would benefit by not having complications of the Jones Act. In the case of Alaska there are a number of popular week-long itineraries that go one way, but because of the Jones Act they depart out of Vancouver instead of the U.S. port of Seattle. Recently we wanted to take the last Alaska cruise of the year from Seattle and stay on for a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, but because we would embark in Seattle and disembark in Honolulu the Jones Act prevented it.
If you are a cruiser maybe it’s time you suggest to your congressman that the Jones Act has outlived its usefulness. Even if cruising isn’t your thing you should still consider contacting your congressman. The Jones Act costs you money at the gas pump by adding one or two billion dollars to fuel transportation costs each year and also prevents economical use of LNG in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Puerto Rico is the most negatively impacted by a number of elements in the act. There are still a number lobbies that fight to keep the Jones Act from being repealed and that includes labor unions, like the long shoremen and law firms that work injuries at sea cases. It has been suggested a number of times that the act could be eliminated for our island territories at least and new laws could be passed designed to cover American labor impacted by the health issues involved. Unfortunately even though there are very few union jobs being protected by the act it seems that special interests still take priority in Congress over the interests of an uninformed public.
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thru mid May and is serviced by buses from Amsterdam airport with entry included in the fare. If you are staying in Amsterdam you can take a bus or tram to the central station and catch a train directly to the airport. Once there it isn’t hard to figure out – just look for the crowds and the red buses. You can check with tour agencies or your hotel but that will probably cost you an extra $5 or $10 and you will end up traveling the same route (bus, train, bus and return).
along with gift shops and, if you enjoy gardens, do not miss this. We’ve spoken to a number of people that didn’t go because of the crowds and they had regrets. The best thing is to anticipate a lot of people, go early in the day and be patient.
and bring them back through U.S. Customs. The answer is yes and no. Some vendors sell bulbs with U.S. and Canada certificates that allow them through. These are a small selection and many of the same items are readily available back in North America and probably at a better prices. A majority of the bulbs will not have the certificate and are not allowed to be brought in.
cruise headed for northern Europe, there is a good chance you will end up in Amsterdam around tulip festival time. Besides the Keukenhof, Amsterdam also has a city wide tulip festival around the same time that features dozens of gardens and grounds to visit, so keep that in mind as well.
Canaveral year round. In addition to these two cruise lines there are a number of other lines in the market with many of them sailing only seasonally.
recommendation is to take a taxi to Chankanaab Beach Park and pay the admission. You’ll save a lot of money and can go and return when you want. There is a bar, food, snorkeling rental and beach chairs and the water is great. Reefs are a bit of a swim out though.
offers probably the better duty free shopping. It is a tender port so you have to take boats in from the ship which drop you off right in the center of Georgetown where there is great shopping. Grand Cayman is dotted with beautiful beaches (one called Seven Mile Beach), terrific snorkeling and diving and many American chain restaurants.
admission fee to enjoy the facilities and most cruise ships offer tours there as well. In addition you can walk through town and shop for souvenirs, duty free watches, jewelry, clothes and liquor (see customs rules below).
Getting ready for a trip can be very stressful. There are endless things to remember to do before you leave home and lots of things to remember to pack. The latter can be particularly important because sometimes, when traveling, you cannot find the items you need or they are very expensive. This is where lists become helpful.
The Intentional Travelers 