CRUISE SHIPS ARE THE SCAPEGOATS OF TOURISM
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- CRUISE SHIPS ARE THE SCAPEGOATS OF TOURISM.
When cities and Countries talk about overcrowding in their city by tourists. the first thing they say is the main cause are cruise ships. they are like locusts swarming into out city. the city will be much less crowded if we could only get rid of the cruise ships. Well Venice was one of the first cities to ban cruise ships from the center. So does that mean tourism has gone down that nthat those nasty cruise ships are gone?
In a word No!
I don’t think I’ve heard anybody say the cruise ships are the entire problem. But we have to accept that cruise passengers are some of the least valuable tourists, and the easiest to regulate.
Yeah, he's being a bit dramatic . Cruise industry is making record profits.
But they took a big hit with Covid. @@andaisshadows5285
They see cruisers as not adding much to the economy of hotels, restaurants etc., just people causing crowding in their ports.
Thiss
Nothing else adds THOUSANDS of people at a time , day after day, and doesn’t use hotels or restaurants much, plus the cruise ships buying up small shops so not even souvenirs come from the local economy. And then the cruise ships getting bigger and huger doesn’t help
Venice is not the best city to pick as an example. One of the biggest objections to Cruise ships in Venice was not the number of passengers arriving into the city but the damage the huge ships were doing to their fragile lagoon. They obviously have a problem with over tourism and are trying to tackle that but in the specific case of cruise lines, it was the cruise ships themselves uniquely that were more the problem not the passengers.
Totally agree. I came here to say just this.
Cruise ships, especially mega ships are part of the problem, but hardly a ‘scapegoat’. Fact is, travel in general is booming since the end of the pandemic. That pent up desire to travel is resulting in overcrowding, and over-pricing, everywhere. European cities and Mediterranean destinations in particular are being swamped by tourists. The mega ships contribute to the problem in so far as many of them are floating cities. If several small cities drop anchor in a port at once, it is overwhelming for people living in the area. Mt Fuji just introduced a new tourist tax in an effort to dampen the number of tourists flocking to the mountain. I don’t believe the tax will act as much of a deterrent, but I do understand why certain tourist attractions want to control the numbers. As a tourist, I try to travel on the shoulder seasons to avoid the crowds.
I remember Venice and Key West want tourist that "stay locally" adding more $ to the local economy.
On cruise vs normal tourists. You need to consider the impact of dumping 5000 cruisers in a city for 4-5 hours versus how much they contribute to the local economy and how much it costs to handle that "peak" load of non-spending tourists.
For a city that is solely dependant on cruises and whose economy and infrastructure were built for it, it is a no brainer. (think caribeean port).
But for a city for whom hosting 5000 folks for a few hours distracts from its core economy or makes it less attractive to tourists who would otherwise plan a vacation to stay in the city ( hotel, meals , attractions), then the cruise industry doesn't contribute as much as it looks.
A nice clear and concise comment. You are on point, and multiply the 5000 by a few more floating city mega ships, and the welcome mat is going to be removed by the locals.
Land tourist dollars are much better
Sorry Don. I trust surgeons only when they say to not operate despite it being against their financial interests. Don your interests are...cruises. And not small ships, but visually disgusting behemoths. You said 18 story and I nearly choked.
The operational word is disgorge. Huge ships disgorge huge numbers of people at one place at one time. Don't hide behind the statement that not everyone gets off. They disgorge. I've seen it and I've run.
And let's talk economics. Other tourists use local transport, local hotels and eat 3 squares a day locally plus coffee breaks. Cruise passengers have everything on board. So they buy a few souvenirs. Okay, and maybe an ice cream. Well so do the other tourists.
Don...you sound frantic. Do you recognize how sick the big ship cruising has become? Why the locations are responding to the feeding frenzy?
Just saw a picture of the Symphony of the Seas. Sheer nausea. Like inviting Godzilla to town. Godzilla that disgorges
And it isn’t just the sheer number of people dumped into these often small, older cities. It is the pollution created by the big cruise ships themselves (ships keep their engines running while docked in most ports like Venice) as well as the displacement of water and the erosion of the lagoon (again, speaking of Venice); this also causes erosion in the very old foundations of the streets and buildings.
I can see why especially smaller and older cities like Venice and Amsterdam want to limit and restrict cruise ships. If they get enough tourism $$ from land-based visitors, why put up with the pollution and damage caused by cruise ships?
Trying to slice the problem as you did is not the entire explanation for what's going on. Let's face it an 18 story cruise ship in a small iconic village or city is butt ugly. Cruise passengers tend to be "hit and run" not staying or eating in the location. The shops selling tee shirts make all the money in short 4-6 hour windows while the rest of the economy doesn't benefit. This was the main gist of Key West and Bar Harbor argument against the mega ships. Imagine if half of a 6,000 passenger ship goes on a bus tour. That's 60 buses for just one portion of one ship. It causes chaos beyond imagination in some places when 4 ships arrive at the same time. Smaller ships of the past did not cause such a burden - the mega ships do.
I do not feel they are the ONLY reason however I firmly believe these mega ships are not making this situation better in any port they visit.
the big ships cause damage to Venice . use a different example they are even moving to the rail for importation of supplies
I think it's because cruisers don't spend as much as the tourists that fly in and stay at hotels and whatnot.
Cruise passengers will never spend as much. Those countries are looking for bang for the buck
Yeah, I think they just prefer people who travel and stay in their hotels, eat 3 meals at restaurants etc, to cruise passengers who, for the most part, spend way less per capita than other tourists. Those tourists they welcome with open arms.
Just came back from a 14 day Med. cruise in mid-May 2024. We visited 12 ports. It became alarming clear to me that many of these popular ports simply do not have the infrastructure to deal with the “whole tourist picture”: cruise ships, air flights, buses etc. It’s not just cruise ships - but all travel. Suffice to say, as a cruise traveler, you are going to have to “pick-your-time” - very carefully. What I learned is to stay away from cruising the Mediterranean in June, July or August. Not only too hot generally but way too many people from all sources. Simply - go elsewhere!
We live in the middle of mainland Europe... And have not visiting the tourist spots (also cruise spots) in the Mediterranean in decades!
When "whole Europe" is flooding the Beach Places, the cities for sightseeing etc in those months... it is a madhouse!
Travel at shoulder times - it is much more pleasant and calming your nerves.
Cruise ships are NOT scapegoats - they are a problem. Some communities are reacting reasonably, others may be over-reacting, but the reality is that the abrupt arrival of 10,000 people (2 large cruise ships) is something far larger than what a typical Caribbean island receives through their airport in a given day. We have a home on Curacao, and during the winter season, we may have two mega ships (4500+ pass.) and two smaller ships (600-2000 pass.) for as many as 5 or 6 days each week. Even though we are a larger island with 150,000 people or so, it is still very clear to see the strain put on our infrastructure by people from these ships. In a portion of these cases, the ships may use our port as embarkation/debarkation, and a few lucky people may spend a day or two with us on the island, but the vast majority will be day visitors only. Even though we are better equipped to support these guests than most other islands, it is difficult enough that many, many locals use the port authority's app to warn us of impending arrivals, and we adjust our plans to avoid the common excursion areas on days when large ships are in port. During the winter season, we have at most 10-12 flights carrying tourists totaling perhaps a peak of 3000 tourists per day - a fraction of the cruise ship number. Year to date, we have seen just under 300,000 overnight guests on our island - and almost 470,000 cruise passengers!
The PROOF that bigger is not better. Smaller ships, less people. No brainer.
I love the smaller ships
Bigger is DEFINITELY better. Those small ships are terrible
@@choco.es.unlimited I bet you also think a house should have wheels 😂😂😂
@Mari3nn your community lives in trailers, not mine. Nice try
where's your proof?
So true on Bar Harbor. We spent an entire summer there, and it was those traveling by car that were causing all the crowding in Acadia Nat'l Park. Now, downtown is another story. You could definitely tell when the cruise ships were in, but they weren't clogging the roads, just the sidewalks 😊
And Bar Harbor is an easy destination to get to by car, so a lot of people visit that way.
I've gotten to the point I won't book an itinerary that includes these ports that "blame the cruiselines" for everything. I also won't visit those cities that whine and complain about tourists. Sorry, but I will take my travel dollars and spend them where my visit is accepted.
Amen! If more would plan this way it would be a much nicer experience for all.
There are Cities around the world that don't really need or rely on cruise passengers. For instance I've stayed in Venice for 4 days, it rammed. Add 6000 cruise passengers who walk around taking photo opportunities in the short time they have in port, you have an over populated area, Venice isn't very big. Then when you consider that the cruise passengers may stop to have a drink, probably not eat, why would you, plenty of food on the ship. They probably just think the negatives out way the positives. The same could be said off Barcelona. Places like Santorini as you know if visited by a cruise ship provide a spike in trading, so a bit more accommodating. London/New York etc don't rely on cruise passengers either, so could be considered more hassle than it's worth. Just a point off view. I only cruise nowadays so definitely not hating on cruise ships, just looking at the situation from all angles 🤷
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My experience is that with North American embarkation/disembarkation ports we stay a minimum of 1 night in hotels pre cruise. In European and Asian ports we stay at least 2 nights pre and 1 night post cruise hotel nights.
Exactly. I have 3 nights in Athens before my cruise. Hotel, transfers, food.
@@debbie8935 I have 2 nights in Barcelona in November and 1 night in Miami in December with a transatlantic cruise.
Hey Don, great Vlog. I think there is some validity to the fact that if you use Barcelona, for example, you have eight cruise ships that means 20+ thousand people suddenly descending on the city all at once. I think it’s the concentrated volume not the volume overall. Remember, there are no cruise ships in Barcelona in October but there are tourists, there are very few cruise ships in Rome in May but there are tourists. So when you have a busy sudden surge of 24,000 passengers all at once, that’s just too much for any sightseeing venue. If they were no such things as cruise ships, yes, it might be crowded, but it will be spread out over a greater period of time more diffuse. I’ll say this, my wife and I went to Bermuda in 1989. Bermuda is very expensive!. We returned in 2010 via cruise ship, and there were far fewer hotels, they were all gone. The cruise ship industry put the hotel business out of business. You had your meals, transportation, and hotel in one single shot, a.k.a. a cruise ship.
Visited with my brother in Juneau last month,it was crazy when the mega cruise ships showed up.I completely agree with the residents that are fed up with this.Capping the cruise ships to a certain level of visitors is a great idea.
But you have to look at the big picture and we are guilty. It isn't actually the number of cruise passengers visiting, but how we visit.
People who do a land trip will fly in a few hundred at a time, which naturally staggers them out. They will stay in a hotel or such not only spending money for room and board, but will sight see on their own schedule. Then comes a cruise ship, thousands of people all at once with very limited time to see the top spots, that we are attracted to like ants to a picnic. Traffic gets bad with all those tour vans, busses and taxis rushing us from place to place. Then all the sudden we are gone. These new overgrown amusement parks on water have done far more harm to cruising than most want to admit.
BTW Amsterdam also has plans to cut back on air travel as well! They are truly trying to cutback tourism a bit.
Venice was at risk of being destroyed by the wake from huge ships getting too close.
Yes, we cruisers are the problem. We arrive by the thousands, crowd the place and leave. We are beginning to be looked at as not worth the money we leave behind.
If the ports don’t want us, I won’t disembark! I won’t eat lunch there, I won’t visit a bar, I won’t go sightseeing.
And they won't care it seems
Ok that’d be great.
Good
Don Venice is trying more than just limiting cruise ships, they have also introduced a peak season tourist tax, to mixed results. I have been in Bar Harbor when the ships were and have followed the efforts to limit cruise passengers. The park was an issue but so was the surge of people coming off the tenders over whelming the small town.
Amsterdam is not tourist friendly. We were appalled at the lack of courtesy, kindness and rude behaviour from the Dutch.
The pp living and working in Amsterdam who were not Dutch, were significant in their courtesy and kindness. We thanked them and told them how rude pp had been and they told us they were not surprised.
And don’t even ask about Schipohl Airport….😩
If these pp don’t want us, I’m fine, I’ll either stay on the ship or not go there.
The airport is indeed a nightmare.
To be fair, locals traditionally hate the tourists. It's always been that way. Especially when big companies take over services and the locals aren't really profiting from the tourism.
I had a group of 30 on a land tour that included Venice, so my only experience with a cruise to Venice was on this trip. Cruise ships are simply too large to go "into" Venice. That's the real Cruise Ship problem. Yes, they can navigate some of the channels, but if you've seen one pass by from the dock, you'd wonder how the infrastructure of a relatively fragile environment could survive a single season. While it's less the number of passengers onboard, they're a high impact flock of day trippers - many of whom don't even buy a meal on the ground, because they have a dozen free choices onboard. Dock further away and shuttle them in... yes, it cuts down on their time in the city, but it would reduce the environmental impact and maybe increase the 'value' of the tourists because they'd buy a freaking panini while they were there.
Don't take a Western Mediterranean cruise at all. We've travelled all over Europe for the best part of 30 years (live in the UK). You can't possibly enjoy the beauty of these Mediterranean cities by spending 4-5 hours in each one. Pick a place, take a flight and stay for a week in one city, or 2 weeks taking in 2 cities, and explore the back streets, discover little family run restaurants tucked away behind a piazza in an area not so heavily frequented by tourists. Visit local food and fish markets, sit down at a cafe, drink a coffee and people watch. Watch the sunsets walking on the beach promenade like the locals, try learn some of the language and just immerse yourself in the local culture and cuisines. Spend your money locally, stay in a hotel not an Airbnb (which contributes to the acute housing crisis faced by local people in these cities - the very people who serve you in cafes, restaurants, bars, shops and your hotel). You cannot possibly get a sense of a European city by spending nothing other a few hours in it. Also, don't travel mid June to End of August as it's hot and heaving. Southern Europe is pretty warm from April/May through to October. Cruises have their place, but I tend to use a cruise to sail to destinations that are more difficult to access (eg Norwegian Fjords and Alaska) in terms of physically getting around and where the cost of doing so would be prohibitive.
Thank you Don and HAPPY 4TH, I Totally agree with you I think some of it is with the new Mega ships being built that makes it easy to blame the cruise lines.
Actually they celebrated their own independence day several days ago. The 4th is just another day in Canada.
Excellent point. We went to Bar Harbor by cruise ship a few weeks ago, and felt we were fortunate to do so.
Well, if the cost of everyday living keeps going up, we are going to have less money to spend period. Eventually something has to give with all these rising costs of everyday living as well as travel expenses.
I have been wondering for a few years how so many people can afford to travel so much. How could there be so many rich people? I go to Disney World - something i could not afford to do much while i was working - and i see so many people in their 30’s buying expensive meals and staying in very pricey hotels. Are they going in the debt to travel?
@@birbluv9595 It's called, "put everything on credit card #1, then when you max it out, go to credit card #2" and so on and so on.
Unfortunately cities like Venice really do have a problem with large cruise ships. It’s not the overall number of visitors from ships but the fact that they arrive in huge numbers and they don’t spend much money on shore, maybe a coffee or a drink and small snack. It causes overcrowding in the city’s historical center while contributing little to its economy.
Most of the money from cruise ships money goes to port taxes and other services, such as laundry and refueling, rather than city-center businesses like restaurants and museums.
Venice had a policy of only allowing small ships into the lagoon as far back as the Middle Ages, but now there are deep trenches to accommodate big ships which come right into the centre causing erosion and pollution. UNESCO is trying to put pressure on the Italian government but its coalition government is divided and not coming up with working solutions.
Part of the issue is the actual ships and part is the huge number of people who arrive at once. It’s the same for Barcelona, Santorini etc.
There is also a general backlash against tourists as people see the problems generated by over tourism, it’s a problem that’s not going away any time soon
Personally I would be fine with less stops on a cruise. I enjoy all the things to do on the ship. Should also bring the price of the cruise down - less port fees!. All's good with me.
I would LOVE to have more "cruise to no where" options! Get on in Port Wherever, go out into international waters for a 7, 10, 14 days, return to Port Wherever. We are doing less and less in port.... they are so....... tourist trapy sameness. I'm not going to Diamonds International. I don't need a color changing t-shirt. All I want is someone to fix me my meals, make my bed, and bring me adult beverages.
Another reason they wanted the cruise ships out of Venies was because they said the big ships were destroying the Venies lagoon.
But people always hate cruise ships because they are the most visible.
Maybe it seems the reason cruise ships are making things crowded is because cruise ship passengers come a bunch at one time instead of arriving over a spread out period of time
Cruisers are less inclined to spend money than someone that is staying in a hotel.
5 to 6 thousand people on one cruise ship certainly doesn’t help the situation!
Well, to be fair..... Cruise ships are dumping more and more people into a small area for just a few hours. And GENERALLY speaking, we do "excursions" rather than "participate" in the local area. When I travel by not cruise ship, we use hotel rooms (unless we're camping), local restaurants, local attractions like museums and whatever the "thing" is for that town/area.
When you have cruise ships that carry 5000-7000 people....that's a LOT. And it's all at the same time of day. So even if people ate locally, that's for LUNCH.
Then you add in any kind of "cruise shopping". We, as cruisers, are encouraged with incentives to go to the cruise sponsored shops. While that still puts money into the taxing authority and the rents are paid for those spaces, the truly local places that benefit from not cruise tourism are left out of the equation.
While I understand your math, if you want to reduce your tourism, you can eliminate a number of them by eliminating cruise ships. Additionally, the localities can see ships getting bigger and bigger and they can see those numbers getting even bigger.
I'm annoyed too. Absolutely. But I'm MORE annoyed with the "Icon of the Seas" type of ships than with the localities. Stop with the mega ships. I'm finally able to afford and have the time to cruise and now my options are being narrowed to "Disney World level crowds" or "Yea....still can't afford a small boutique line".
Tourist and cruise passengers are not equal. They rather the land tourist
Cruise ships in the Venice lagoon are causing problems to the infrastructure, I can understand why they banned the ships from the city
They blame cruise ships because it's easier
Not really. Key West was truly ruined when they altered the port for cruise ships. Complete screwed it up. .
@@ShelleyinBoston Ha ha. Key West is doing just fine. It's the same it's always been.
@@ShelleyinBostonHow is it screwed up?
@@notinterested6343. Not really. You obviously weren’t there prior to the harbor change. Its now full of people that haven’t the courtesy or brains to do anything but mob around. Do a little research.
Any statement that there was "200% less" is nonsense: that means not did the past number disappeared but an equal number has disappeared as well.. You need to have someone explain math before speaking. It's embarrasing!
I have to disagree with you on the limiting of Cruise Tourists. Most of these destinations have a very lucrative Luxury experience for people who arrive by car. They stay in hotels that go for $500 to $700 per night during the short summer season and most all of them eat at very expensive restaurants. The town is guaranteed to be full in season, just with that business. Cruise ships that could discharge 12,000 day- trippers in a town of 5,000 population can overwhelm their facilities that mostly cater to the very high end clientele and cause overcrowding. Cruise people don't pay for Hotel rooms, buy a few baubles from gift shops and go back to Ship for Dinner and sail away. This can degrade the experience with overcrowding for those that are paying thousands a day who come by car. The Town is protecting their very short Seasonal Revenue stream so I can understand their desire to keep it from becoming a jam packed Atmosphere. In this case I can empathize with the town's people and understand their decision. The same can apply to Key West and to Venice.
Certainly several factors/issues going on. I personally feel sad about the mega ships going to ports not able to absorb that traffic.
Hi
They did not mention the loss of port fees. People coming in cars, busses, trains and plain’s do not pay the fees that cruise ships pay
Actually Venice is starting to charge a tourist tax for day trippers, of $5.00 a day on certain dates/times. And many cities already charge tourist taxes on people who stay in hotels, which is added into the price of your accommodations.
Check your airline ticket. There are airport taxes in an increasing number of cities. Not to mention the taxes on hotels (often 10% or more) and taxis. Port fee loss isn't a big deal if your port isn't getting used by cruise ships....less wear and tear.
It’s all about the $$$ Don. Tourists stay in hotels, spend more on food and drink and souvenirs. Cruisers, not so much.
its a large easy target to regulate, 2200 to 6600 passengers at a go..... easier to stop a few ships than thousands of individuals
Thank you Don and happy 4 of July to you to man
Cruiseshops only dump thousands at a time
We were in Bar Harbor in June and so glad our ship was small enough to go.
I remember being in a supermarket when the radio playing over the sound system interrupted the music playing with an announcement of the 3 cruise ships coming into Port and the times they'd be ported and there was a collective groan in the whole store. We had to laugh because we were off the first one.
It seems to me much easier to limit cruise tourism than land tourism (except maybe for Venice).
Cruise ships aren't the problem, Mega ships are. In 2006, I was on the Queen Mary 2 when it was the biggest ship in the world, it carried about 3,000 passengers. That was probably enough for most small ports. Also cruise ship passengers don't patronize restaurants and hotels in these cities.
I live near Barcelona. Over here cruiseships are also blamed for over tourism and on top of this is tourism that doesn't live money to the city because passengers just come and go. Considering many cruisers actually board the ships here, many stay over night I guess, but no one explains this to the general public.They also blame cruse ships for water pollution, ignoring merchant ships that are much bigger and likely weight a lot more. It's whatever.
I think its the big ships that affected Venice more. So many people at one time and also the damage that these ships do to the lagoon.
I think the huge ships overwhelm small ports. Perhaps the cruise industry should consider this aspect and have smaller ships for smaller ports. Bar Harbor used to be empty and wonderful to visit, but tourism from buses and RV’s in the small streets totally ruined the ambiance when I visited a few years back. They block views and so do the ships. That’s today’s vacation though. People expect what they see in the pictures, not overcrowding. In fact, I’m going to Nova Scotia and so a video of a huge cruise ship and it kind of surprised me, and made me readjust my picture of my not so remote destination.
Back in the 1980s, when I first started cruising, a large cruise ship carried under a 1,000 passengers.
New England cruising happened in the Fall to see the trees changing colors. Coastal cruises were the norm, with ships carrying less than 500 passengers. Now ships are much bigger and they cruise for many more months in the year.
Do you really think cruisers aren’t going to Venice? They are docking in other cities but still all going into Venice.
Bingo!
Greed is the reason check airlines and hotels and airb&b Air b & b should be ban every where😎
It's not totally the cruise lines fault but whatever criticism they get, they brought it on themselves. In a city like Key West two large cruise ships dock on the same day that could add potentially 7000-10000 extra bodies into a rather small defined space. Sure they dump some money buying lunch, drinks, sight-seeing, docking fees etc. Weigh that against noise pollution, trash left behind, traffic congestion (vehicle and foot), stress on city services, environmental pollution...-when you cruise you come in spend a few hours, see the pretty parts then you leave. The residents are left behind to clean up. I've seen video of some Bahamian ports with multiple large ships at dock. When that many bodies come to town it must resemble a plague of locusts come to strip everything bare The larger the cruise ship the fewer ports that can handle them. To get indignant when a city wishes to slow down the daytripper invasion or to suggest they shoulld build a newer bigger port is just another form of entitlement and hubris. I imagine due to the greed of cruise lines and some tourist bureaus there are beautiful and fragile places in the world that are almost unrecognizable. A town, city, state wants to limit the amount of cruise ships, more power to them.
I wonder what if any conversations occur between the cruise ships and the ports regarding cruise tourism, particularly as the cruise ships have gotten larger.
We went to Venice by train. There are a lot of people who arrive by train
Good points!
I don't think they are looking at the long term. They are making money off of those people on the ships as well as the people who stay there. Cruise ships are not the the problem at all. This also provides jobs as well.
It’s a complete change of ambiance for some of these places, not just from cruise ships though. Money might not be worth it.
Thank you
Maybe not in bar Harbor that's the case but in in those Caribbean islands. That is the cruise ships. And the prices all go up when the ships are there. Different menus also ⚓️
Happy 4th of July Don 🎉
Banning cruise ships must have had an effect on the economy of theses cities and countries.
You keep saying it's only the cruise ships, but that's what you're focused on. I've heard plenty about issues with tourism of all kinds. But with cruises bringing in more people for less dollars spent, it's a logical place to make changes.
I was in Venice in 1994. It wasn’t that crowded since there was flooding and was November and was cold. That said, we had to stay in a hotel outside Venice because the hotels were full. So we were probably not “counted” as tourists. I bet the same thing is still happening.
Hi Don, I agree with your point about the cruise ships. We have cruised a fair bit, but now it also seems when you mention to people you are going on a "cruise" holiday, a lot of them get disgusted probably because of the bad press (pollution, overcrowded tourists, etc.). Other than family, we seldom mention we are going on a cruise. It used to be a great way to travel and visit different places, but it is getting a bad reputation (among people who don't cruise, obviously!). 😆
it's all about money. They want tourists that spend money in town instead of cruise ship guests that may only spend on an excursion
Well, some cruise ships are docking elsewhere reportedly as far as Trieste but passengers are still ending up in Venice.
Politicians are so smart they are stupid!!!
Whether it’s tourism or cruise ships, certain people, in certain places don’t want them. I get it. I hate when the snowbirds come down every winter. I’m trying to be respectful and not go to those places.
My daughter went to Hawaii and loved it. Went back to a different island and they didn’t want her there and it was made obvious. Now she spends that $10,000 in other places that want tourists.
I was in Cozumel with t other cruise ships, and it was hard to move around near the port. I imagine locals not associated with selling their wares find much frustration.
That’s probably exactly what they want. They want all the money for themselves when people have to stay in their hotels, etc.
The cruises got so packed & expensive as well as limited their port time, so many are going on land tours! Land is much better. In ability to see much more and enjoy!
The mega ships are like floating towns actually see no real reason to stop in the tourist trap cities. Private cruise ship islands, ports etc. the way to go if they want to provide on shore time. Arrive in some of these ports because the cruise lines have basically the same itinerary 4 or 5 mega ships stacked up, most of time wife and I just hang out on the ship more relaxing and we have seen most of these places anyway. If I want to visit a specific city I will fly in not take a cruise!
Hey Don. I feel the 🛳️ ships are just getting too big. They shouldn’t be blamed alone. If they don’t want our money then don’t go.
Hi Don Happy 4th of July.
Think it’s more about how the cruise ships affect the shore line and erosion as opposed to
To the passengers. We were lucky enough to experience Venice before the bans. Of course staying away from St Marks and Rialto make it a lot less crowded.
Thanks Don- do upbeat and yes, ships are going crazy to make up the pandemic loss!
My thoughts exactly
Good one Don in Venice, vaperetos water turbulence is way worse, they cause oxygen degeneration of the oak stantion s that holds up. VENESIA . VENIS TO THOSE WHO DONT KNOW.
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Keep up the good work!
In my opinion, the city wanted more overnight tourists to get money into their hotels. Plus the bus companies will get business to transport cruise passengers from the fartger out port. People who want to see Venice will travel there one way or the other.
I wish I knew the average time cruise ships spent in a popular small town port. If an excursion is costly and far away best to stay in the town, therefore more crowds😢
It would be great to see the number of cruise ships visiting Alaskan cruise ports reduced. Too many at each port effects an enjoyable 'uncrowded' experience.
Happy 4th. I agree with you. What next????
We do need to think though of what these mega ships are doing. Ive just watched a Ben and David video, they showed 2 RCI ships on their private island and made the comment "thats 10,000 people on Little Stirrup Cay"
Consider that for a moment 10,000 from just 2. Ok not too bad in a big city but on a small Caribbean island? Not only that but cruise passengers want instant gratification if its just a day port of call. They want to go on tours, they want to go on boat trips, they want to hire bikes etc, and that is something that cant always be accommodated on a one day basis because the area is often incapable of providing it.
They are not making enough money on the cruise passenger so they don't care if they stop there. I'm the type of person that dosen't go where I am not wanted. The best thing for the cruise lines to do is not stop there at all on the way out wave with the big finger.
Interesting 🤔
They have to blame someone and now there are just so many people wanted to visit these countries. You either want tourism or not that's the question.
Be careful for you ask for? Venice built the impressive Marittima Cruise Terminal adjacent to the main island which could accommodate up to 8 cruise ships. The ships were banned in 2021. For our port-of-call in April 2022 we were bussed from Fusina to the massive but ship-less terminal to board a tender that dropped us off not too far from St. Mark’s Square. Note that as of last September they plan to allow ships below 60 thousand gross tons and 820 in length to use the Marittima Terminal starting in 2027. That essentially says that cruise ships with over 1000 passengers will still not be allowed.
The banning of large cruise ships from the sailing though the scenic Guidecca Canal due environmental issues is a separate topic. No changes there.
Prefer smaller ships
Cruise ship passengers are easily identifiable but may not be the majority of tourists. You have to look at local resorts and what they are doing to disperse the tourists, not just cruise passengers but all tourists amongst a wider area about the port. There are typically areas a way back from the port and cruise line excursions often take cruisers much deeper into the hinterland. If you look at the Mediterranean there are huge numbers of passengers visiting the north coast however if you look at the south coast the locals there have made it very unattractive to all tourists and are comparatively poorer areas. Those countries have made this disparity much greater.
You’re right that ships are only part of the overall volume problem these high demand ports are seeing. I’m still trying to understand how travel/tourism (land snd sea based) is at record highs (all demographics represented) and at the same time regular folks are saying they are struggling to pay their rent/mortgage and groceries. I can understand the post Covid travel spike and the misuse of “stimulus” checks for that in the US but we’re past that now. The affluent 1% will always be able to travel no matter the economic forces. Just not sure about how the rest are not either unable to go altogether or ratcheting back on discretionary spending.
I think they are just putting it all on their credit cards and accumulating the debt. It will stop once people are maxed out.