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Solstice class to be banned from Venice?

steve ch

By steve ch,
in Celebrity Cruises

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baggal

baggal

Posted
Posted (edited)

Even though the sail-in to and sail-out from Venice is breathtaking, you can't help but also feel that having such huge ships coming into the canal is an environmental disaster.

 

That being said, I agree, book your cruise now!

Edited by baggal
Grammar
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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
Posted (edited)
Even though the sail-in to and sail-out from Venice is breathtaking, you can't help but also feel that having such huge ships coming into the canal is an environmental disaster.

 

That being said, I agree, book your cruise now!

 

Not sure what environmental damage you're talking about... Ships have been coming and going for ever, and the big damage to Venice is rising waters and the lack of a storm protection system, though it is nearing completion slowly.

 

The head of the local council, Giorgio Orsoni, says "The 2 million passengers who disembark spend very little, maybe just buying a drink." :rolleyes: Our visit last June was not cheap, nor was it cheap for anyone we spoke with. Venice is not a stop cruisers don't spend money at. Me thinks Orsoni has an agenda based fact source.

 

Sound to me that the local gov't want $$$$ from the charges leveled on the ships, and I bet if $$$$ shows up on the table, suddenly all other worries disappear.

 

:rolleyes::D

Edited by A Sixth?
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rjrpar

rjrpar

Posted
Posted
Even though the sail-in to and sail-out from Venice is breathtaking, you can't help but also feel that having such huge ships coming into the canal is an environmental disaster.

 

That being said, I agree, book your cruise now!

 

An environmental disaster?? How do you come to that conclusion.

I think it's all about $$$

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
Posted
An environmental disaster?? How do you come to that conclusion.

I think it's all about $$$

 

The city does not have a complete modern sewage system, meaning its canals are also its sewer system. This poses some obvious health and sanitation concerns. That seems like an environmental disaster. :eek:

 

Ironically the cruise ships visiting must have full sewage treatment systems making them far more friendly to the waters around Venice than Venice itself. :p

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

Not sure how the environment is safe in the case of 96,000 tons, but not at 101,000 (Triumph Class Carnival) 114,000 (Caribbean Class on Princess) 126,000 (Solstice Class)

 

This statement from the "opponents" along with the desire to get some of the port fee $$$$ likely speaks volumes.

 

Those who oppose the ships argue that they are grotesquely out of keeping with the beautiful old city and that they disgorge unsustainable numbers of visitors into the squares and alleyways, our correspondent reports.

Edited by A Sixth?
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JezzaC

JezzaC

Posted
Posted

I don't understand the comments about environmental disaster. It has to be the waves which cause the damage.

 

Clearly this means that Millennium series ships are then the ones from Celebrity which will visit Venice in the future. Currently Solstice series ships are the ones mainly operating in Mediterranean.

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terrierjohn

terrierjohn

Posted
Posted

One of the major concerns expressed by opponents is the damage caused by the ships wake and the effect of the water displacement on the buildings.

We just returned from a Venice cruise and from my observation there was very little wake from the cruise ships which travel extremely slowly, and when you consider the size of the Venice lagoon the displacement effect must be very tiny indeed.

However during our trip down the Grand Canal in a Vaporetto there was a very significant wake effect from all the vessels in the canal which were travelling at far higher speeds than the cruise ships.

If this wake effect is not causing any damage to the buildings then why are the Venice authorities looking to ban cruise ships?

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UniPac

UniPac

Posted
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The head of the local council, Giorgio Orsoni, says "The 2 million passengers who disembark spend very little, maybe just buying a drink."

:rolleyes::D

 

What about port taxes/fees we pay?

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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wwcruisers

wwcruisers

Posted
Posted
Someone mentioning the sewage in the canal brought to mind the fact that when it was flooded when I last went (october of some year lol) we rolled up our pants and walked barefoot in it.

 

EWWWWW! I didn't know there was "stuff" in it LOL

 

Yikes! A good rule of thumb is never to wade around (without waterproof boots) in flood water. You can pretty much count on "stuff" being in it! :eek:

 

Well, if the powers that be decide to only allow smaller cruise ships in the harbor at Venice -- I can think of a great new role for Century (Mr. Bayley -- are you listening?) :cool:

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boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ships will not be banned from Venice. There will be a limit to how many can use the canal that borders much of central Venice. Ships will still be allowed to enter the cruise port from a different direction. There should be no change in the number of ships visiting.

 

One of the reports mentioned that 650 ships visit each year. Yet, it also mentions that only 5 ships per day will be allowed to use the current route. Divide those 650 ships by 365 days and that averages out to less than 2 ships per day. If no more than 5 ships visit each day, it appears that nothing will change.

Edited by boogs
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Cruise Junky

Cruise Junky

Posted
Posted
Ships will not be banned from Venice. There will be a limit to how many can use the canal that borders much of central Venice. Ships will still be allowed to enter the cruise port from a different direction. There should be no change in the number of ships visiting.

 

One of the reports mentioned that 650 ships visit each year. Yet, it also mentions that only 5 ships per day will be allowed to use the current route. Divide those 650 ships by 365 days and that averages out to less than 2 ships per day. If no more than 5 ships visit each day, it appears that nothing will change.

 

They will be approaching from a different direction, when the canal opens in 2016 in the meantime they are banned. And your math is flawed, med cruises usually run May through October with a few stragglers in the winter.

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
Posted
What about port taxes/fees we pay?

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Goes to the port authority and their gov't appendages but not to the organization whining on about the view.... err I mean the environmental disaster unfolding around cruise ships of 96,001 tons and over. :p

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TLCOhio "Live from...." Rare

TLCOhio

Posted
Posted
One of the major concerns expressed by opponents is the damage caused by the ships wake and the effect of the water displacement on the buildings. We just returned from a Venice cruise and from my observation there was very little wake from the cruise ships which travel extremely slowly, and when you consider the size of the Venice lagoon the displacement effect must be very tiny indeed. However during our trip down the Grand Canal in a Vaporetto there was a very significant wake effect from all the vessels in the canal which were travelling at far higher speeds than the cruise ships. If this wake effect is not causing any damage to the buildings then why are the Venice authorities looking to ban cruise ships?

 

Appreciate the excellent above summary by John, plus other good comments on this thread. YES, that sailing in (plus the sailing out) was a super cruise highlight for us on nice sunny days. Below are a couple of my photo samples to prove it. Yes, get there and enjoy this spectacular experience before it gets shut down. More visuals from the two below links.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 146,013 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

If Venice is one of your key stops, you might look at this earlier posting that I did on the Italy board that shows many options and visual potentials for this city that is so great for "walking around", personally sampling the great history and architecture. This posting has now had 31,073 views and I appreciate those who have dropped by and tuned in. Don’t be shy in sharing any questions or comments.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

 

Don’t miss the sail-out and/or sail-in for Venice. This was our view from the top of our ship as we approached the historic center of Venice. On a beautiful day, as we enjoyed, this is so spectacular!!!:

 

VeniceSailInWider.jpg

 

 

On the sail-in on the Canale della Giudecca, this was the view from the top on the ship's port side. Lots of interesting sights and architecture on this side of the ship, too! This view shows the tower and a side of the San Giorgio Maggiore, one of the most impressive Venetian buildings by famed architect Andrea Palladio. Its first stone was laid in 1566. It contains a number of paintings by various artists, including Tintoretto.:

 

VeniceSailInPortSide.jpg

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boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted
They will be approaching from a different direction, when the canal opens in 2016 in the meantime they are banned. And your math is flawed, med cruises usually run May through October with a few stragglers in the winter.

 

They aren't banned for another year - November 2014.

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boogs

boogs

Posted
Posted
yeah, I know...hard to miss as its on every news story. 20% reduction for next year.

 

And I'll bet that when they realize the lost revenue from a complete ban after Nov 2014 and until the new channel is dredged from 1.5 meters to 7 meters, which will certainly take more than a year to accomplish, they will back down on the ban until the channel is finished, at which time they'll reinstate the original ban. At some point someone will make the connection that no ships will mean lost revenue, a fact that will be hard to swallow by the profit minded.

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