Photo: Cesar Bojorquez
Who would imagine that the impact of Hurricane Sandy could be felt as far away as Victoria, B.C., and Ensenada, Mexico, two cruise ports on the other side of the continent?
It could.
The U.S. Government temporarily waived the Jones Act on Friday. That's the law that prohibits the transfer of goods between American ports in ships that are not registered in the U.S. As everyone knows, or should know, major cruise ships are registered in other countries…the Norwegian's Pride of America is the exception.
So when a cruise ship goes from Seattle to Alaska, it must stop at a foreign port, like Victoria, to legitimize the transfer of any goods (does that mean passengers?). The Jones 
Act — it was created for cargo ships but cruise ships have to fall in line — is also responsible for using Ensenada as a port for cruises along the southern Pacific Coast, and to Hawaii and back. The only cruises to Hawaii that don't stop in Ensenada — Mexico's northernmost port — are ships going beyond the Hawaiian Islands, or cruises from Canada.
Waiving the Jones Act on Friday was designed to ease the delivery of fuel and supplies to the northeastern U.S. that was so devastated by last week's hurricane. It is temporary, yet there has long been a movement to repeal the Act fully, most recently two years ago by Sen. John McCain, who estimated the economic impact of doing so would be $1 billion.
The legislation is still pending.
Are Victoria and Ensenada (and others) ready?
Caribbean Princess
7 nights
December 8, 2012
Fort Lauderdale (return): Princess Cays, Curacao, Aruba
Inside: $499
Cost per day: $71
www.princesscruises.com