Section 45.50.474. Required disclosures in promotions and shoreside sales on board cruise ships.

   (a) A person may not conduct a promotion on board a cruise ship that mentions or features a business in a state port that has paid something of value for the purpose of having the business mentioned, featured, or otherwise promoted, unless the person conducting the promotion clearly and fully discloses in all written materials used in the promotion that the featured businesses have paid to be included in the promotion. If the value paid by the business is more than 10 percent of any single sale, the disclosure must also state that more than a 10 percent commission is being retained by the person making the promotion and that other alternatives may be available at a port of call; and the disclosure must provide the address, Internet website address, and telephone number of any existing visitors bureaus at each future port of call.
   (b) A person or other entity aboard a cruise ship conducting or making a sale of tours, flightseeing operations, or other shoreside activities to be delivered by a vendor or other entity at a future port of call shall disclose, in writing at the point of sale,
        (1) that the onboard sale is a retail-wholesale relationship between the cruise ship and the shoreside vendor that results in a percentage of the sale being retained by the cruise ship;
        (2) that other alternatives at different prices and with different features may be available at a port of call;
        (3) the address, Internet website address, and telephone number of the existing visitors bureaus at each future port of call; and
        (4) if the amount of commission or percentage of the total sale retained or returned to the person or entity making or attempting to make the sale exceeds 20 percent of the total cost of the services or goods provided by a shoreside vendor, that more than 20 percent of the total sale price is being retained as a commission by the person or entity making the sale.
   (c) A written notice of disclosure under (a) or (b) of this section must be in a type that is not less than 14-point typeface and in a contrasting color calculated to draw attention to the disclosure.
   (d) Each violation of this section constitutes an unfair trade practice under AS 45.50.471.
   (e) In this section, "cruise ship" means a ship that operates at least 48 hours in length for ticketed passengers, provides overnight accommodations and meals for at least 250 passengers, is operated by an authorized cruise ship operator, and is certified under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea or otherwise certified by the United States Coast Guard.

Authorities

45.50.471

Notes

References

AS 45.50.471 Unlawful acts and practices.

History

(Sec. 5 ch 109 SLA 1994; am Sec. 10, 2006 Primary Election Ballot Measure No. 2; am Sec. 1 - 4 ch 19 SLA 2007)