Understanding the Passenger Vessel Services Act
If you love to cruise, the world is yours: 70% of the earth is covered by water, much of it navigable by cruise ship. But if you’re interested in a cruise that visits only U.S. ports, you may be surprised by how few U.S.-only itineraries are available. The reason? The Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886. The PVSA, created to help promote U.S. shipping interests, prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying passengers from one U.S. port to another, unless they also stop at a foreign port. Today, most cruise ships are built and flagged in countries other than the U.S., which means the PVSA applies to most cruises that depart from and return to a U.S. port. You may hear or read that the Jones Act is the reason cruises that depart from and return to U.S. ports must call on a foreign port, but t...