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Ocean Victory will not debut in Alaska, Victory reschedules to 2022

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Ocean Victory's debut Alaska season has been put back to 2022
New expedition ship Ocean Victory will not be debuting in Alaska this summer for Victory Cruise Lines; the season has been rescheduled to 2022.

This is due to current COVID-19 regulatory restrictions.

Cruising from the US for ships carrying 250 or more people (passengers and crew) is still not cleared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even if it were, Canada has banned cruise vessels until February 2022, so Ocean Victory would be unable to satisfy cabotage restrictions under the US Passenger Vessel Services Act.

Travelers invited to rebook in 2022

Travelers have been notified and invited to rebook for the 2022 program.

'We are no longer accepting reservations for 2021 departures of Ocean Victory,' company spokesman Michael Hicks told Seatrade Cruise News. 'We very much look forward to her Alaska debut in 2022 and encourage all prospective guests to secure their place on this extraordinary new ship.'

Antarctica for Albatros

Ocean Victory is the latest Infinity-class vessel commissioned by SunStone Ships at China Merchants Heavy Industry in Haimen. It is chartered to Victory for the summer Alaska seasons and to Albatros Expeditions for the Antarctica season starting in late 2021.

Still hopeful for Great Lakes program

For now, the Great Lakes summer schedule for coastal vessels Victory I and Victory II remains in place as the company continues discussions with the relevant authorities and travel partners.