I Am A Celebrity!: Cruise Port Restrictions - A Harbinger of Things to Come for Cruisers?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

I Am A Celebrity!

Monday, September 16, 2024

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

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