Cruising with Knowledge; Finding Your Way Around in the Ports

I HAVE made no secret of the fact that my wife and I love to cruise. We have a number of friends who have joined us and also enjoyed it, as well as numerous friends we have met on cruises (some whom we have cruised with again - and probably will in the future). Indeed, on our next booked cruise we will join friends we met a year or so back for the first time on a cruise ship. For many of us, there is truly some draw with this manner of traveling the world. We think the convenience of boarding our floating "hotel," with comfortable accommodations, restaurants, bars and entertainment, all in one place without packing and moving, is a great way to travel.

"Standard" sized balcony rooms on cruise ships are generously sized and comfortable

ONE OF the challenges of such travel, however, is the logistics of the onshore portion of the trip. Options can be limited. One option is to simply let the cruise line do it for you, participating in their excursions. In our view, that is normally the least attractive option. Negatives include expense, larger groups (often tour bus size - and often including multiple tour buses), and in our experience, lack of quality and expertise on the part of those working for (or contracting with) the cruise line. Keep in mind that none of the cruise lines actually operate most of these excursions. They contract them out, sometimes even to the very same purveyors that you can privately contract. On a Princess Cruise a few years back, after a great day for us on shore with our privately-arranged tour, the four of us joined another group of 4 in the main dining room. Discussion naturally covered the subject of "what did you do today?" They had taken an underwhelming ship-sponsored tour which covered many of the same places our privately-arranged tour had taken us to. Astoundingly, they related to us their tour guide's introduction of herself, including her admission that she had never done the tour (neither the local subject, nor the country) before and that they would be "learning" together today. Wow! And the kicker was that they paid nearly the same we did for our private, 4-person tour, with a local who was very good and very knowledgeable!

we think the positives of other alternatives usually outweigh the cruise line-based alternative

THERE ARE positives, of course, to a cruise-line sponsored excursion. If for some reason your cruise line-based tour is delayed, the ship will wait for their own excursions (their policy is that if you are on at third-party excursion, or on your own, they won't wait, and you will have to make your own arrangements to get to the next port - more on that issue later). The cruise line sponsored tours are organized so you meet on board and then all proceed as a group to your onshore mode of transportation, which avoids any potential difficulty in hooking up with your guide. For us, the positives (generally) end there. To us these are - all but one - minor points that just aren't persuasive. That one item is the "guarantee" that the ship will not leave without you if your excursion is late or delayed returning to port. Indeed, as I read (a lot of commentary) about this issue, that seems to be the only real reason people posit for cruise-based excursions. That's all they have, LOL.  We think the positives of other alternatives usually outweigh the cruise line-based alternative.

These Princess operated busses are a common sight at many ports around the world

THE OTHER options involve making arrangements on your own: Private tours, semi-private tours, and self-guided tours. We have done some of each of these. There may be a perception that these are "too expensive." That has not been our experience. They sometimes cost more and sometimes less than the cruise line-offered excursions. We think though, that the cost/benefit is where the privately arranged tours usually shine. Our groups have generally been limited to between 4 and 8 participants (occasionally 12). When you divide the overall cost among that many people, the cost is very competitive. It is a great ratio of participants to guide, and gives us more or less one-on-one interaction with our guide. Usually, the guides are licensed, experienced professionals, who do their excursions often. They know the "ropes." They are usually known by the officials at the various attractions. They more often than not get us "skip the line" privileges. And they are always friendly, fun and very informative.

realize that many port cities around the world have different, and sometimes multiple, cruise terminals (or even separate ports)

TOURS DO not always begin right at the gangway. The cruise-line sponsored tours will almost always pick you up and drop you off right at the ship. While many of the private tours do likewise (sometimes depending on the port), often they do not. If you join a local walking tour, or some other tour sponsored by local residents, sometimes you need to find your way to a central meeting point somewhere in the port city. The way you do this may vary, depending on the nature of the port you are in - and the type of tour you are taking. This is where having some knowledge of the particular port is useful. It is also important to realize that many port cities around the world have different, and sometimes multiple, cruise terminals (or even separate ports). As I mentioned in a recent blog, the first critical item is to never leave a port without knowing the specific name of the port. From there, knowing whether you are able to walk to a destination, or need to find alternative transportation like a taxi, uber, or public transportation, will be of additional importance. That is not always readily apparent, and cruise ship personnel are not always helpful (or particularly knowledgeable). There are several tips that might stand you in good stead if you are going to venture out of the port. Most cruise ships give you a printed itinerary - usually the night before - for the day (on board and off). On that itinerary there is always a section that has contact information for the port authority, and usually the ship. It might be a good idea to have someone write down telephone, port name, and similar information in the language of the country you are visiting, so you can show a taxi or Uber driver.

never leave a port without knowing the specific name of the port

WE HAVE found that often the cruise line is not very helpful in regard to exactly where you will be in a port (i.e., which berth, or even area - they can be big places), what transportation amenities are nearby, and whether the main attractions are "walkable," until the time they actually dock (and sometimes not even then). Some of this may be due to them not even knowing their specific berth before they enter the port. But other times, I think it is just a lack of communication on the part of the cruise line - something they could all certainly improve upon. There are some other resources out there that can be of assistance. One is the website: "whatsinport.com." That site has a number of tools to assist you with information about some 1200 ports worldwide. There is also a Google Maps section, and a printable (PDF) map for most ports. Many of them have lists of amenities (and some even have excursion information). There is also a section that lists virtually all current cruise ships including when they were built and passenger capacity. Cruise Mapper is another helpful site. One of the utilities on Cruise Mapper is the ability to search by ship and port. If you know the main port city on your itinerary, there is an excellent chance that you can pinpoint the terminal. 

I HAVE mentioned Cruise Critic here before. They have a section of their site that addresses cruise ports. Again, however, after acknowledging the 100's of ports over the world, they limit their coverage only to those they have done a specific "writeup" about - and they tend to be the largest and most popular ports. Unfortunately, they really don't cover many of the ports that even a somewhat frequent cruiser will encounter - many of which are the more difficult or obscure ports. During our first 10 years or so of crusing, we found Cruise Critic to be the most valuable resource for information-gathering, contacts and arrangements with other passengers for tours, and just overall cruise knowledge. Two factors have now diluted that resource. The first and most certainly most consequential has been so-called "social media," and in particular, Facebook. Facebook seems to be the place (ironically, given that it was never really targeted to us) that people in our generation (we are in our 60's as I write this) go to for information and online "gathering." As such, Cruise pages and groups have proliferated there. You can find a group for almost every major cruise line. There are also groups that are sorted by a particular ship. Perhaps most useful for purposes here, these days at least one cruiser starts a group for each particular cruise. We look for those when we sign up for a cruise, and there is a lot of the same useful knowledge that we found on Cruise Critic. There are some (in my view significant) differences, though. Cruise Critic is rather (generally) civilized, where Facebook can be akin to the "years ago western frontier." Cruise Critic members, by and large, tend to be "seasoned" cruisers, with experience and information that is often more relliable and focused. We find the quality of information on Cruise Critic to still be very good and very reliable. Just not as plentiful. Facebook, on the other hand, is all over the place. There is some very good information, an awful lot of uniformed opinion and volunteered information, annoyingly often repeated questions, lots of irrelevant discussion. Don't get me wrong. There is also good information. You just have to work harder to weed out the chaff. The second factor working against sites like Cruise Critic was the 2020 pandemic. As many know, cruising ran hard aground for at least a year during the pandemic with near catastrophic results for the cruise (and consequently tourist) industries. Sadly, Cruise Critic does not seem to have recovered to the extent it was pre-2020. Still, it is a resource I highly recommend for its depth and quality of information and the many seasoned and experienced cruisers there.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE have not found a single, comprehensive site that will give us the "on-the-ground" information you will need to have a successful off-ship excursion. You will have to check multiple sources and be somewhat resourceful with your research. The Whatsinport site it pretty good. But still, it is not comprehensive. For example, when we finally got back on the Celebrity Reflection in January of 2022, one of our stops was Roatan, Honduras. A little research revealed that Roatan is not mainland Honduras but is a small island of its eastern coast. This was a short, Western Caribbean Cruise, to "get our feet wet" again after the Pandemic of 2020 - 2021. We didn't make any comprehensive excursion plans. Probably a good thing in this case. The spot where our ship was docked would be best described as "sketchy." We had walked off our other 2 stops (Cozumel, and Nassau) and just done some general sightseeing. We made the on-the-spot decision to stay aboard in Roatan. I was, however, kind of disappointed. I had to wonder why a mainline ship like the Reflection would dock in a spot like this. But I had not done my personal research well. It turns out that the "main" cruise port is just a short way north up the coast but is pretty much locked up by Princess (and its subsidiary lines). It was a much more "developed" port, with the amenities we have learned to expect to see immediately on shore. We would certainly have walked off had we been in that port. We might also have taken an Uber or taxi up that way, had we known more (had I done a better job of researching). Moral of the story, do research the port(s) well prior to your cruise.

cruising ran hard aground for at least a year during the pandemic with near catastrophic results for the cruise (and consequently tourist) industries

CRUISE PORTS tend to fit into one of 3 patterns. There are ports that are very cruise friendly (a few of them built specifically to accommodate the cruise industry (think: Nassau, Bahamas). They will generally have good docking facilities for ships of all sizes, a generous terminal, and a robust tourist shopping area right at the port - within short walking distance from (if not directly on) the pier. The second type of port is more of an industrial setting, often in ports where a robust tourist infrastructure is not present yet (or maybe never will be), where the commercial aspects of the port take precedence. Toulon, France and La Spezia, Italy come to mind in my own experience. In some of the places there are multiple ports (like Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, and one of the ports in St. Thomas, USVI). The third type is a situation where the port is very remote from any attractions. The best examples in my experience were found on our cruise to South Africa. Only Cape Town and Durban had any "attractions" near the port. Every other stop was pretty heavily industrial, and separate transportation to any area of interest - often hours away - was a necessity. Some of the ports are combinations. The Port of Naples, for example (I understand the city itself is an attraction worth spending some time in - we haven't and don''t think most cruise passengers do, either), is a stepping-off place for many more remote attractions, like the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In each of these cases, some familiarity with the port and how it works is a good thing. The terminal in Naples has some - mostly tourist "knick-knack" and luggage - shopping facilities. Nearby on the pier near the ferry terminals, there are more touristy shops and eating establishments. Another factor is the amenability of the host port to cruise ship traffic. La Spezia has virtually nothing. It is an industrial port and requires a shuttle from the ship to the port exit/entrance. It is short, but there are none of the tourist shops anywhere near the port (yet). In many senses, to me, the lack of the "cookie-cutter" shops, etc. that we find in many of the more cruise-oriented and developed ports is refreshing. It is my belief that a very large factor in selection of ports by cruise lines is tied to economics. No judgement there. Just pointing it out. And that is not a bad thing. We have docked in La Spezia multiple times and really enjoy the walk around the harbor, as well as the fact that we are in a somewhat "normal" city, rather than a cruise ship amusement park.

More recently, some ports and cruise destinations have become less "cruise-ship-friendly"

IN RECENT years we have seen another development. Some ports and cruise destinations have become less "cruise ship friendly." My first indication of that was the city of Venice. In 2013, we made our first cruise to the Mediterranean. That cruise was on the tnen newest and largest Princess ship, which was docked right in Venice. Since then, these large ships are no longer allowed in Venice. We next saw the issue in Santorini. More recently, Amsterdam, and the Norwegian Fjords, and now even in Barcelona. I posted a blog entry more specifically devoted to this subject on back in March.

Roatan, Honduras - Celebrity Reflection 2022

OVER THE years that we have cruised, we have been involved in a few conversations with other “seasoned” cruisers over the advisability of using third party purveyors for onshore excursions. Online, and on some of the organized sites (like CruiseCritic.com, and FB group pages) there is – understandably – some trepidation expressed about third party excursions and tours. Are they safe? Will they guarantee to get you back to the ship, and if not, will the ship wait for you? Are they more expensive than the cruise-sponsored tours?

ALL GOOD questions. Among those of us that have done many of them the general consensus is the most of these worries are unfounded. Perhaps the biggest worry we see expressed is that the tour operator won’t make it back to the ship on time and you will get left behind. And that is certainly a risk you take. But in our view, a calculated risk. You are never going to get a cruise line to guarantee that they will wait for you. But our experience is that there is some latitude there, especially if the ship is aware of extenuating circumstances. Not a lot. But some (and not always - see "Somebody Missed The Boat," an incident which we believe was well outside the "norm," and one which spoke badly about the cruise line. One would have thought they would have swiftly addessed and remediated that situation, just as a process of good marketing and customer-relations. Alas, they weren't yet quite finished. Just in the past few months, the left a large family stranded in Juneau, Alaska - this time on one of their own sponsored excursions! These incidents naturally garner attention, but we are confident that the vast majority of these independent operators are very cognizant of the consequences of not following the ship’s timetables. In all but one instance for us, the operators have been conservative, planning (and succeeding) to get us back to our ship at least 30-60 minutes before final boarding. It also often the case that our operators are local professionals who know their way around the area, are up to the minute with traffic conditions, transportation strikes, and other occurrences. During our 2019 stop in Barcelona, there was a massive march into the city from out in the country of Catalonian separatists, which ultimately massively clogged the streets of the city, particularly in the old city near the port. Our guide was concerned about getting us back to the ship and cut our tour short in that endeavor (refunding part of our costs of course). It turned out to be a good call on his part, though because of the magnitude of it, I believe it may have been one of those cases where the cruise line would have exercised some latitude. I know we left port a couple hours late that afternoon/evening. In the end, you and you only, are responsible to be sure there is a complete understanding with the tour operator. We have one very close experience - ironically, very recently - in all of our years of touring (see box below).

WE DON'T think the other expressed concerns are really much to worry about. Our experience, when we share the costs of a private excursion with others, has been that if it is more than the ship-sponsored tours, it is only marginally so. And the quality of the excursion is just so much better. As for safety and reliability, most of these companies are licensed and professional, and most of them are on sites like Viator and Travelocity. We have generally booked them after reading others' reviews. In all, we have found them to be much superior to any of the cruise tours we have participated in. Do your homework. Look for tours through legitimate sources (like Viator), where the purveyors have been vetted, and are generally reliable. Some of them will even guarantee timely return to the ship or reimbursement of expenses in the event they do not. Plan your excursion to give yourself plenty of time to return to the ship (I often see a cushion of at least 2 hours suggested). To us, that depends on the length of the shore time, and the nature of the tour.

WHEN YOU do leave the ship, there are a few items of preparation you need to consider. Do get the information (from the daily piece delivered the night before on most cruise lines) about the port authorities including the number to call for your ship, your cruise line, the ship's port agent and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In the very unlikely event that you get stuck in port and your ship leaves without you, those contacts will be invaluable. You won't be able to leave the ship without your cruise card, nor will you be able to return to the ship without it, so keep it close to you at all times. In most ports, you won't need your passport. But it is good information to have before leaving the ship. There will be announcements if a passport will be necessary to re-board, but that is rare, so we generally leave it locked up in our room's safe (though I will confess that on my last couple cruises, I have taken to carrying mine with me). We do carry a photo or a photocopy of our passport with us, though, in the event of an emergency, as well as photo I.D., (in some cases photo I.D. will be required to re-enter the boarding area of the port - the ship generally will make an announcement about that). We also carry a small amount of cash (what we think we may need for that day), at least one credit card, and our ATM card. Perhaps needless to say, but I will say it anyway. It is pretty important that you have devised a method of "safe carry." We hear a lot about pickpockets in many of these places around the world. Make sure any valuable items are on your person, where you can be constantly aware of them. Unzippered pockets and back flaps and pockets of backpacks and purses are not a very safe place for them.

IF I had to sum it up in one word, it would be research. Do as much research as you can about each port, in addition to excursions, even if you are on a private excursion that picks you up directly from the ship. Preparation will ward off most anxiety about returning to the ship. And make sure you and your tour guide have a very clear understanding about when you must be back to the ship. Above all, enjoy!

[We are off again on travel for the next couple weeks in Switzerland, Germany and the Czech Republic. Will be back in 2 weeks. Stay tuned]

Cruise Port Restrictions - A Harbinger of Things to Come for Cruisers?

Celebrity Cruise Port Terminal -Barcelona - Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

IN THE last post, I addressed knowledge of, and getting around in cruise ports. In previous recent blogs, I have touched on the changing landscape of cruise ports, and destinations that appear to have become less "cruise-friendly." I want to follow that up with some more specific information about what has been happening in the new, more restricted, world of cruise ports.

Technology and Social Media have vastly shrunk what once seemed like in interminably huge world

LATELY, I am seeing more and more attention being focused on the cruising sector of tourism and travel. In fact, to an extent, it sometimes feels like there is an unfair concentration on that one sector of tourism. Perhaps it is simply because I spend a lot of time reading, watching, writing, and participating. I also think it is a function of the fact that the industry tends to create the most concentrated, large-number influxes of tourists into a destination of any tourist industry sector.

Cruise Port Wharf - Liverpool - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THERE IS no question that the Cruise sector contributes uniquely to some of the problems that world tourism and travel create. Each of the modern cruise ships concentrates 2500 - 7,000 people in one place at one time. They are transported in a relatively small vessel for such a high concentration of people, meaning that things like waste, on-shore infrastructure, and the like, tend to be significantly taxed by them. As the industry expands (and it certainly appears to be experiencing a post-covid boom), there is constant pressure for new cruise destinations, sometimes opening cruising to parts of the world that have not experienced it, and often ships porting in locations that are new to the industry. In these cases, infrastructure can be a huge issue. At the same time, the current popularity of cruising has certainly begun to overtax a number of the traditional cruise ports. At the same time, the facts don't lie. In many, if not most, of these places, the actual influx of people from cruises make up less than 10% of the overall tourist visits (less than 4%,for example, in Barcelona, where there has been recent protest against cruisers). The Cruise Line International Association asserts that cruising only accounts for about 2% of tourism, world-wide. Given who they are, however, I am skeptical of such a low figure. But I do think it is well below my suggested 10%. With that, perhaps you can understand my feeling that the negative sentiment is unfairly targeted to the cruise ship.

Copenhagen Harbor - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THERE ARE certainly other factors that have contributed to a world-wide problem. Technology and Social Media have vastly shrunk what once seemed like in interminably huge world. Today we can see things through Social Media (and these days, particularly video) that in prior centuries could only be imagined. Travel modes (particularly jet air travel) has made this vast world hugely more accessible to 100,000's of people. At the same time the world is experiencing unprecedented travel and tourism, there has been an increasing influx of money coming into housing for many thought-to-be desirable areas in the world. Places like Portugal and Spain are really feeling this. When we were in Portugal in 2022, we often heard this from local residents. Wealth from other parts of Europe is fingding its way into purchase of residential housing both by non-residents who are making second home purchased, and by expats, moving there for a more desirable living environment. The effect, though, has been exlcusive to residents who can no longer afford to live in these places because of the increasingly high real estate costs (and consequential infrasture/tax burden). Also, new methods of  packaging and preservation of foods and other consumer goods - often with non-biodegradable (and sometimes even toxic) materials has caused a massive solid waste disposal problem. Much of this phenomena has driven movements like "global warming," "climate change," and so-called "green" technology and approaches. In turn, much of the world has turned to a more "green" outlook.

perhaps you can understand my feeling that the negative sentiment is unfairly targeted to the cruise ship

PERHAPS FIRST to the plate on the "green" agenda, has been Norway. In a sense, they are far ahead of the curve. A small, but technologically advanced country, Norway has just a couple densely populated areas, and the rest is relatively rural, and mostly unscathed by the issues found in the world's largest, most developed places. As such, they are perhaps one of the first to step up and pro-actively try to preserve the natural environment there. In terms of their approach to cruising, in 2018, the Norwegian parliament voted for zero emissions requirements for cruise ships by 2026. This was recently pushed back to 2035. But LNG and electric only starting in 2026. In practical terms that means that after 2025, any ship that isn’t electric wouldn’t be allowed in. There are no "mega-ships" as we write this that will fit those specifications. Essentially, that will mean that large cruise ships will cease to operate in the Norwegian Fjords, for the most part. Visits there will now be directed to much smaller ships. While that has a salient effect on Norway's environment and its "green" goals, it is certainly a change (to some, disappointing) for the cruise industry. We recently booked a cruise on Celebrity's Apex for August 2025, knowing it would no-doubt be our last opportunity to do the fjords on a conventional cruise ship. There have also been a series of demonstrations in popular ports and cities in Norway, protesting the mega-ships and their effects on Norway's environment.

Santorini, Greece - Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved

WHILE THE Norway phenom was developing and ongoing, but some years before, in 2021, Venice closed off its main lagoon to ships exceeding 25,000 tons. A major driving force there was the damage that the large screw, large displacement vessels were doing the silt in the lagoon - which in fairness - was never built or intended for ships of the magnitude most modern cruise ships entail. In 2013, we sailed on our very first Mediterranean Cruise, on the Princess Royal Princess. First of its class and carrying over 3,500 passengers, it was the newest and greatest ship Princess had in its fleet at the time, weighing in at over 140,000 tons. Today, that is moderate by many newer ship standards, and clearly far exceeds the current tonnage restrictions. Today, only some small ships  are allowed to dock on the mainland side, west of the islands, at Marghera (e.g. Azamara). Venice, of course, continues to be one of the worlds' most popular destinations (for good reason - it is pretty spectacular), and thus, continues to remain on most cruise line's "ports." I use quotes here because it really is kind of disingenous for them to consider it part of a cruise itinerary (at least without some significant disclaimer). Today, cruise ships mainly port at Ravenna, some 80 plus miles south of Venice, or at Trieste, across the Adriatic, and nearly 100 miles by land - at this point the only mode I am aware. It is one of those places I would consider visiting pre-cruise, flying into Marco Polo (or post, flying out), and planning to stay a few days. It is not a true port stop, in my view.

Amsterdam Cruise Port - Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

ANOTHER PORT city that has been feeling the pinch from tourism overcrowding is Amsterdam. We have been in and out of there several times over the years, as it has been a very popular port both for port-stops and for origination and termination of cruises. In addition to some robust ocean cruise traffic, it is also a major hub for river cruises in the region. With Schipol being the major airport in the Netherlands, and its proximity to The Hague, among other things, Amsterdam already has more of its share of tourists, without adding in the thousands of cruise passengers that drop in there daily. Apparently, the local authorities have had enough. In 2019, we completed a cruise that began in Dublin and finished in Amsterdam. In 2022, we round-trip cruise on a Baltic Cruise, out of, and back into Amsterdam. Amsterdam is one of those cities that offers so much to do, and we used the cruise stops as an opportunity to spend some days in the city before getting on board. We looked forward to doing the same on our scheduled Iceland Cruise in 2023. About 2-3 months prior to departure, we received a notification from Celebrity of a change in itinerary. Our departure and return port had been changed from Amsterdam to nearby Rotterdam. Fortunately for us, transport from the airport take just about the same time to Rotterdam as it does to the main station near the cruise port in Amsterdam. So in our case, we made it an adventure and decided to instead see Rotterdam for a couple days before embarking. We didn't regret it. It was a great city and I can't wait to go back.

Rotterdam, Netherlands - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THE CHANGE, though, seems to be largely in response to the posture Amsterdam has recently taken. The city council has voted to essentially ban large cruise ships from Amsterdam cruise port moving forward. I think they feel that they have enough other tourism to sustain, even if there is a decrease in the current situation which they think is overboard. Rotterdam, for the moment at least, seems to welcome the influx of new traffic (and revenue, of course). It is interesting. Sadly, though, Amsterdam has one of the most modern, efficient and convenient cruise ports we have ever traveled through, Rotterdam's cruise port seems equally large,modern, and capable of handling the passenger boarding and de-boarding process. Rotterdam has an excellent tram system within the city, and the trains between Rotterdam and Amsterdam are frequent. It is a relatively short hop as well. We would have no qualms about booking hotel accomodations in Rotterdam and then simply taking the train to Amsterdamn for the day. Or to The Hague. Or to one of the numerous other nearby historical cities. Unlike Venice, the existence of a nearby, very good, alternative makes this one less of an issue for cruise passengers - in our view.

In my view, it is - and will continue to be - a somewhat delicate balance between the economic benefits of and the detriments of tourism

BARCELONA IS another city in the Mediterranean that has made recent news regarding the local attitudes toward cruising. Earlier this year, cruise passengers faced large - scale protests by residents, which in some cases included being squirted by squirtguns. Placards, and grafiti are more and more prevalent with the  message being: "Tourists go home." I grew up in a "tourist town" in northern Michigan. It was a summer resort right on Lake Michigan with some very nice amenities. My city of maybe 10,000 residents in the city and maybe 40,000 in the area experienced a summer influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. That was in the 1970s. I looked recently and the city now boasts almost 20,000 city residents and about 150,000 in the surrounding affected area. In 2022, that area experienced over 7 million tourist visits! At the same time, it is estimated (though I wonder just how practically accurate these stats are sometimes, as I am not sure they fairly measure the long-term effects on infrastructure and environment) that the area was positively impacted in the amount about about $1.4 billion.

Venice - Grand Canal - Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

HAVING GROWN up in a similar situation, I can readily understand a certain resentment held by local residents. The unprecedented influx of tourism - ironically usually for the very reason locals live there - often negates the draw of the region. Some of the places we have visited would surely seem more fun and amazing if there were less people and crowds there. In my view, it is - and will continue to be - a somewhat delicate balance between the economic benefits of and the detriments of tourism. The effects will be seen by cruisers. Many cities - like Barcelona, nearby Palma de Mallorca (another popular Spanish cruise stop) and Valencia - are considering limiting cruise ship size (no "mega-ships") and numbers (or are already doing it). There have also been demonstrations in the Canary Islands, but at this point there is no information that they are considering restrictions. How this shakes out in Barcelona is uncertain. At the time of this writing, There are 5 cruise ports (berths?) in Barcelona and it is my understanding that there are 2 more planned or already in construction.

Sadly, though, Amsterdam has one of the most modern, efficient and convenient cruise ports we have ever traveled through

WHEN WE visited Santorini, Greece in 2017, the evidence was already there of "overtourism" We were there in September and we fortunately experienced lesser crowds than are prevalent today. We also came into port relatively early, and our waiting line for the funicular to the top. We may have waited in line 10 minutes. Nothing like the hours-long wait I read about these days. Nor do I recal a particularly long line coming back. Our guide did take us on the most popular route - but we went backwards, which made for a pleasant morning. But the time we made it to the middle portion though, we were in elbow-to-elbow crowds. With that, I understand it is much worse today. Even back then, I was reading about how there were more tourists visiting Santorini annually than they could comfortably accommodate, and how they were considering measures to limit overall annual tourist numbers. More recently, Greece's Prime Minister has discussed plans to limit size and number of cruise ships in many of the islands and particular two of the most popular (and small): Santorini and Mykonos.

Port of La Spezia, Italy - Copyright Andy Richards 2021 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAVE not been there, but have heard and read that for years, Dubrovnik was one of the coolest places to go, with its medieval walled city. They have, however, since 2018 limited tourism both in numbers of visitors and numbers of cruise ships (2 per day). I have read that a nubmer of cruise lines have moved up the coast to Split, Croatia into their lineup in lieu of Dubrovnik. Who knows how long before they begin to react to the pressure of tourism.

Port of Naples, Italy - Copyright Andy Richards 2013- All Rights Reserved

IN A substantial number of instances, it is just sheer lack of both size and infrastructure.The city of Bruges in Belgium has also reduced the number of cruise ships docking at Zeebrugge, which is the port to get to Bruges, from five to two. Think about that for a minute. Let's say average 3,500 passengers. 5 ships. Nearly 20,000 people in a day. If you have not been, Bruges it is really a small city. I would much rather have more limited opportunities to visit it than have it cut off from the cruise circuit altogether. Probably the way of things going forward.

Akureyri, Iceland - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

ICELAND IS another cruise destination with only very small ports (other than Reykjavik). Two of our stops on our Iceland Cruise were Akureyri, with a population of just 20,000 and Isafjordur with only about 2,500 people. Isafjordur is the third-biggest cruise port after Reykjavik and Akureyri, and they have now limited the number of cruise passengers to 5,000 a day. In 2023, our Celebrity Apex (3500 passengers) was the only ship in port. But those limits are only recent. The Isafjordur Council, said that the reason is they don’t have the infrastructure, and the town was being too swamped. We are booked on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords in August 2025 (trying to beat the ban). Interestingly (to me anyway) Other than the iconic, Flam, the ports we stop at are not what I would have though of as mainstream. Many of them are very small. I wonder though, if as the more popular ports have begun to impose restrictions, the cruise lines look for some of these lesser known ports who probably welcome the revenue at first, and then soon realize they do not have the infrastructure to support a ship (or 3) bringing 10,000 tourists into their community on a daily basis.

I would much rather have more limited opportunities to visit it than have it cut off from the cruise circuit altogether

OUR OWN United States are certainly not immune to these concerns. In recent times, the port of Juneau, Alaska has now restricted the number of daily cruise ships/passengers. Key West has long been overrun with tourists and the mega-ships have added to their burden. Know in extreme southern Florida as "The Conch Republic," the powers that be in Key West have passed at least two measures to control and restrict cruise ship visits. Unfortunatley, it is becoming a bit of a battleground as (pro-business/free enterprise) Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, has overruled both restrictive measures passed by The Conch Republic as being unconstitutional. Time will tell on this.

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Copyright Andy Richards 2023 - All Rights Reserved

THE CRUISE Line International Association (CLIA) warns that the protests and what they deem undue restrictions and taxes may have a backlash for places like Barcelona and Mallorca, as cruise passengers develop a negative perspective for these places, electing cruises that do not stop there. In what is surely "saber-rattling," I have read that the CLIA, referring to is as "tourism-phobia," has warned places like Barcelona that their hostility toward cruise ships might well result in ports all over Spain being boycotted. I see a lot of the talk from both sides being unfortunate hyperbole. I have little doubt that authorities all recognize the mutual benefit in continued tourism. I am again reminded of my little tourist town growing up. One of Michigan's top 2 tourist attractions is Mackinac Island, and one of its famous specialties is - for whatever reason - fudge. A couple of the purveyors were actually originally from my town (Traverse City), and fudge was one of the things local makers and merchants could count on good sales of to tourists. We locals (and especially some of us younger ones, who had a pretty parochial life view at that time) had a pejorative nickname for tourists. We called them "Fudgies." And we didn't mean it as a nice (as in "thank your for buying our fudge and other products) moniker, either. 😏I never forgot, however some of my more reasonable and adult influences reminding me that we were a pretty quiet little community for most of 9 months, with not much revenue in many cases and that for that busy 3 months, those "fudgies" more or less sustained the city throughout the year. It becomes a bit of a "love-hate" relationship, but you realize that if properly managed, there are mutual benefits.

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico - Copyright Andy Richards 2013 - All Rights Reserved

THE ONE significant cruising region that does not yet seem to have shown any negative reaction to cruise ships is the Caribbean. Indeed, probably just the opposite is true, as more and more new destinations vie for the almighty tourist dollar. Everywhere we go there - even in the face of very crowded conditions - we have seen (and I have read) little evidence of them feeling the pinch. The last time we were in St. Maarten, there were 7 cruise ships docked. They seem to find room, though, for the ships and the people. I will watch that part of the world as we go foward. For us, it is the least exciting, as we live in the "almost Caribbean" here in Florida. We still cruise there - because we like to cruise - but usually only if we have friends from cold weather climates who are going and we can join.

Nassau, Bahamas - Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

IN THE meantime, we, as cruisers, can and should continue to practice being good visitors, embracing and respecting local cultures and people, and spending our money where we can on real local establishments and products (for some of us, that may mean moving away from the areas immediately surrounding the cruise port). This will continue to be a problem that will not go away for the forseeable future. I hope that the powers-that-be can see their way to meaningful compromise and we can continue to see and experience the world through the cruise ship!

When Things Go Wrong

I DEVOTED a couple different blog posts a few weeks back to some of the potential "negatives" of cruises, including why they sometimes come up, and who may be responsible. Following up on that theme, and from our own personal experience, I wanted to talk about some things that might go wrong and how to address them.

I THINK the most important thought here is to keep it all in perspective. To be sure, there have been some pretty horrible things that have happened to cruise passengers, including sinking ships, passengers (wrongfully) left behind by a ship, and some of the more nefarious things that happen to people aboard some cruise ships. I will mostly leave that coverage to the 100's of vloggers and bloggers on cruising in general. The majority of mishaps are probably less earth-shattering and that is what I am addressing here, when I talk about perspective. We have had a few things happen to us, or to people who were traveling with us or on our ship. The most significant thing I took away from all of those incidents was that in the end - we were on vacation. Often something many of us don't get to do often - if ever, and so the key is to make the best of it. Put it in perspective, knowing that, in most cases, it probably could be worse.

the most important thought here is to keep it all in perspective

FOR THE most part, we are probably not going to be able to remedy a lot of things that could go wrong on a trip after they occur. We can, however, address some pro-active measures.

WHEN YOU think about it, there is actually a pretty long list of things that could go wrong. Just a few include: lost luggage (including it being dropped into the sea), missed and cancelled airline connections, health issues and personal family emergencies. With a little forethought, contingency plans can be in place for all of these.

INSURANCE

ONE OF the most common proactive measures is to purchase travel insurance. Obviously, insurance is not going to stave off any of the things noted above. But it can economically compensate you for losses if something does happen. And when you know you have that contingency, it makes the occurence - if it does happen -much less stressful. Whether or not to purchase travel insurance will probably depend upon your personal circumstances. There are some, for example, who are able to personally economically absorb any imaginable emergency situation. For them, insurance probably isn't necessary. The rest of us will vary. Some people will always purchase it. Some of us will take "calculated" risks and insure for some instances and not for others. We have personally gone both ways.

AT THE same time, it is advisable to consider just what kinds of losses the insurance will cover (and perhaps whether some other coverage you may already have in place - like personal accident and health insurance, homeowner insurance or personal articles/inland marine endorsements would already provide coverage).

WHEN CONSIDERING insurance, it is also pretty important to know whether your personal health insurance will cover health emergencies - and where they will be covered. For example, some policies will cover you in countries you are visiting, but may not cover medical care and/expenses on board the ship. It would be useful to know that before embarkation. If not, it may be important to consider some kind of additional, supplemental health insurance.

CONTINGENCY PACKING

ON A more practical level, there are things you can and should do as part of your cruise preparation. Most cruise lines have a facility for loading and unloading luggage onto the ship. In every case we have left larger bags in the hands of porters along side, and carried just smaller items personally on board. In more recent years, I have personally deviated from that, and generally take a small rollaboard on board personally. I make certain I have my necessities in that bag. The includes all my medications for the trip, at least one change of clothes, and any valuable items (watches, jewelry, cameras, etc.). I have seen passengers personally carry larger bags aboard. At the very least, though, carrying on at least one small bag with those things in it that could not live without for the remainder of the cruise is a good practice. I get that most of us didn't pack very many things we couldn't live without. Clothing maybe being among the most important. But in most instances (especially knowing you have that insurance policy) you should be able to purchase clothing enough to get by.

CARRYING EVERYTHING on is not a completely bad idea, but could create logistics issues, depending on the circumstances. In the old days, it was not uncommon to have to board the ship and then wait for several hours for your stateroom to be available. in that case it would be very inconvenient to drag all those bags around the ship and find a place to keep them out of the way. As well, they tend to clog elevators at a time when boarding is in full swing. I suspect those would be reasons for the cruise line to discourage this practice. In our experience (with Celebrity, Princess, HAL  and Oceania at least) the ship lines have gotten much more efficient about that part of the boarding process. Today (at least on the mentioned lines) we board and proceed to our cabin immediately, where our ship card is waiting for us. This means that any carry-on baggage can be deposited in the room, making the process more convenient. We generally do that, check in with our muster station, and head to our favorite bar onboard. 😁 It has also been our recent experience that our bags arrive very soon after we board. The other logistical issue, though, may be that the boarding scanner system has physical limits for how large a bag you carry on.

EITHER WAY, it has been my personal practice to carry all my bags off the ship when disembarking. My main motivation there is that I don't like having to have any of my bags put out into the hallway the night before. It always seemed like something didn't work well with that, and often I had to engage in "re-packing" once of the ship. Sometimes there were things I would need in the morning that I didn't want on my airline carry on bag. The added advantage is that I have all my bags in my possession as I leave the ship. And while it isn't a common occurence, if you carry both on and off, the chance of your bag going overboard into the water is avoided (in my method, it is substantially lessened, but I have only really protected myself in one direction).

ON THOSE bags you do plan to check with the porter, every experienced cruiser knows the cruise line provides you with luggage tags well in advance of the embarkation day. We have purchased plastic tag holders on Amazon (you can find them in cruise-line specific sizes). They are relatively inexpensive, and in spite of the cruise lines' assurance that printing out the paper tags, folding an stapling them are sufficient, we just don't trust that. Redundancy is also a good idea. I print out extra tags, as well as other cruise/cabin/personal identifying information and put that information inside each of my bags. We also have "airtags" (in our case, the Android version) in our bags.

OF COURSE, the above precautions are not failsafe. But they are advised. If your bag gets dropped overboard, the airtag is probably not going to work and even if it does, if they find the bag, it is unlikely anything in it will have survived. At that point, you will probably be shopping. One of the problems with that is that for most of us reasonably large people, there is very little available on board in the way of clothes that will fit. When in other countries - particularly in Asia, but also in Europe, larger sizes will be hard to find, and depending on the itinerary, availability to shop may be limited. Nobody wants to spend valuable shore time shopping, but it may become a necessity. In most cases, the cruise line is probably going to eventually reimburse you (and if not, that travel insurance policy you bought should cover it). Eventually is the operative word, though. Be prepared (mentally and economically) to "front" these expenses.

OTHER CONTINGENCIES

WE HAVE learned over multiple cruises to be sure to carry certain items when we travel, including small scissors, a small sewing kit, some tools (pliers, screwdrivers, etc. - be careful about multitools - you cannot carry them on airplanes), a first aid kit (especially bandages). We also like to carry battery-powered backup chargers for our electronics in case of an emergency where we do not have electric power handy.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

AS I have grown older, I have in many ways become that predictably "grumpy old man." But happily in most ways, it has probably been just the opposite. I have become more patient and accepting both of things I cannot change and of the differences in other people around me. One thing we have learned by our cruises around the world is that there are many different kinds of people and many different cultural views. For example, I so often read on boards people complaining about children on the ships, rude people, poor treatment of disabled and older people. Ironically it seems to be that same group, by the way, are often the ones complaining about both 😏 the children and the old people on the ship. In many cases if you are one of those, you might want to realize that you are "the old people." 😁 When I was in my 50's I was taken aback ocassionally by a youthful person thinking of (and referring to) me as "old." It's all relative. Every person: old, disabled, or otherwise, deserves respect, and when I see them aboard, it makes me happy that they are having the experience and being accomodated. If they slow something down, be patient and know you are blessed not to be in their situation. I think pretty much the same about children (though I do lose patience with parents who think that because they are on vacation, they are not responsible for their children's behavior. Thankfully, I haven't really seen this much. And I have found the children I have encountered to be generally delightful). I always remember and think about one particular family. We were on Princess. On the sea days (we were in a warm and sunny clime) we would be out on the pool deck and a family from Canada was near us almost daily. They were fun and interesting. They had a teenager who was a Downs Syndrome child who was absolutely adorable. And happy. And delighted to be aboard. A year later, we were on a different Princess ship. On the pool deck. In the warm sun. I looked up and there was my little girlfriend, standing there greeting me! Same family, different ship, different time. Cruises are like that!

ANOTHER THING - and retirement has certainly been a huge contributor to this - is that nothing is really that urgent! Sure, we are living on borrowed time (but philosophically, we always were). I get, too, that for some people it may be their once-in-a-lifetime experience, but still you really can't control life. You can live it, however. Everything can be an experience - or an ordeal. Much of it is how you look at it. I am not discounting the truly negative things in life (like health issues). I just think it is a matter of - as I said above - perspective. Things aren't always going to go as scheduled. Things break down. Weather (especially at sea) can be unpredictable. People get sick and have to be taken to port. This is all part of the "flow" of cruises. Learning to take this stuff in stride and find the positives will bring down our anxiety levels and make our cruise still a memorable and fun experience overall.

Rules of the Road - Part III

Range Markers

ON OUR 2022 Baltic Cruise, while cruising the waterway from the Baltic Sea to Stockholm, I noted a series of different markers. They were characterized by a kind of weird symmetry, in which one would be the reverse (like upside down) of the other.

A LITTLE research enlightened me. These are know as "range markers." As the dotted line illustrates, navigators line them up with each other to get positioned safely and correctly in the channel.

NOW YOU know a little something about range markers. 😄