Canada has extended its ban on cruise ships to February 2022 due to Covid-19, which actually reduces down common summer journeys to Alaska for another year.

The ban would allow authorities to concentrate on the upper reaches of the coronavirus vaccine and restrict the spread of new variants.

The decision is a setback for a sector that is returning to business after the Covid 19 pandemic in the dry dock for almost a year.

Alaska has drawn a record 1.33 million cruise passengers in 2019 as one of the industry's top destinations, and a ban will also impact cruises from New England to Montreal and further stages north of the capital.

“This extension, if not amended as pandemic conditions improve, or through action by US authorities, would potentially require our brands to cancel our Alaska and Canada/New England cruise vacation seasons this year,” Carnival Corp, the largest cruise operator, said.

Covid-19 outbreaks on cruise ships early in the pandemic resulted in the deaths of passengers and crew, stranding many ships when they were rejected from the port by port, leading inevitably to a shutdown.

The industry remains closed in the United States, but cruise companies plan to return to service steadily and return most of their fleets back to sea by the end of the year.

Foreign-flagged ships may be prohibited from carrying passengers directly between two US ports by maritime law, so Alaska trips normally end in Canada.

According to the Cruise Ships International Group(CLIA), Alaska is around 5% of the world's cruise ship use.