Great Article on Overtourism - Shouldn't Cruise Lines Mix Up Their Itineraries More?

[iancal]

We feel the same about AI's.  Last time in Mexico we did two weeks of independent travel along the coast from Cancun to Playa rather than sit in the same AI eating the same food for a week.  Enjoyed it so much we may do it again, but longer, on the Pacific coast.

[ilikeanswers]

Reading the article it made mention of government measures to manage overtourism and to be honest that is probably what it will take. It was interesting that in the Amsterdam example they made mention of AirBnb fighting their counter measures to over tourism. Cruise ship comapnies have powerful lobby groups and combined with corrupt governments especially in the Carribbean and Venice, it means there is no incentive for either party to make changes to how they do business. On top of that especially in the Carribbean you have the rise of ship is the destination passenger who really doesn't care what the itinerary is which itself provides even less benefit to the local community😕.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 8/4/2019 at 2:39 AM, ducklite said:

At some point maybe two hours before we were departing, a Pullmantur ship pulled into the caldera and started to belch out passengers.  They were less than halfway through getting everyone off as we were leaving, and we passed another large ship coming in as we were pulling out.  I can't imagine being on a ship like those and needing to tender and then wait for the gondola to get into town.  By the time you got anywhere you'd have to turn around and get back on the ship--because it would take as long to re-board as it did to unload to begin with--longer when they were trying to tender both of those giant boats.

 

We were there in 2017 on Royal Princess along with a Royal Caribbean ship and it was a nightmare. Luckily I'd read advice on this forum so knew to take a ferry round to Oia, but there didn't seem to be an option to get a ferry back to the tender wharf, just a bus to Fira where we queued for well over an hour to get the cable car down. Both Oia and Fira were jam-packed with cruisers. It was a shame as it's such a lovely place but the cruise ship tourism is spoiling it.

 

I understand Santorini is now limiting cruise passengers to 8000 per day, which was about the number from the two ships when we were there. In my opinion that is still far too many. Half that number might work.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 8/4/2019 at 2:45 AM, evandbob said:

Two years ago, we spent over a month split between Australia and New Zealand, which didn't seem overrun with tourists yet. 

Unfortunately the cruise lines are starting to send more of the mega ships downunder which will start to become a problem over the next few years. 

 

The bigger cities can handle it but I noticed the Mt Maunganui shopping area, which is a short walk from the Tauranga cruise dock, was almost swamped with Celebrity Solstice and Golden Princess in port on the same day. My real concern is the smaller ports in the South Pacific which are often totally undeveloped - which is much of their charm. As bigger and bigger ships visit those the beaches and reefs will incur damage from ignorant people. Already the main snorkeling area at the Isles of Pines is badly damaged from people standing and walking on the coral rather than floating over it.

[GUT2407]

Mega ships are reducing the range of itineraries as less and less ports can handle the size of many of them

[MicCanberra]

Yes, the mega ships put a lot more pressure on some ports, and yet some places are making it easier to handle these ships as they want the revenue that they generate. I am sure that they will find the right balance. 

[navybankerteacher]

Overdoing anything will destroy what made it worth doing in the first place.  A small town anywhere, which is delightful to walk through, is just a mob scene when more than a few decide to share that “delight” at the same time. An open beach can be a beautiful place to spend an afternoon, while that same beach crowded with blanket-to-blanket sun bathers whose music drowns out the sound of the surf, is something else.

 

The cruise industry is, in its way, serving the public by putting lovely distant spots within reach of thousands;  but they are also making many of those distant spots no longer lovely.

 

It’s sort of like Walmart:  they offer great bargains to shoppers while driving the smaller retailers in their area out of business.  Communities which recognize what they have that makes them special try to preserve those aspects.   There are many areas which resist the introduction of McDonalds and similar mass market providers - just as there are some communities (St. Barth’s for example) which resist the efforts of mass market lines to “mix up their itineraries” more.

 

The sad fact is that you cannot give everything to everybody;  unless there is some sort of rationing, that “everything” will no longer have value. 

[clo]

25 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

The sad fact is that you cannot give everything to everybody;  unless there is some sort of rationing, that “everything” will no longer have value. 

We were in Dubrovnik a couple of years ago. Overrun with tourists and there was only one small ship there.  But land tour operators are there with groups also.  It was a mess.  UNESCO is threatening to revoke their heritage status and the mayor is behind we were told.  I truly wouldn't go back if they paid me.

[MicCanberra]

There are some places that limit the amount of tourists and have done that quite successfully. Galapagos comes to mind but also on a smaller scale, many national parks and /or attractions limit numbers. Of course it is a win /win situation as it makes the place more of a must do and the prices are driven up by demand.

[clo]

4 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

There are some places that limit the amount of tourists and have done that quite successfully. Galapagos comes to mind but also on a smaller scale, many national parks and /or attractions limit numbers. Of course it is a win /win situation as it makes the place more of a must do and the prices are driven up by demand.

And Antarctica.

[ducklite]

46 minutes ago, clo said:

And Antarctica.

The new ice class regulations for Antarctica will pretty much see the end of drive by cruising by the mass market ships.  There are only a handful of ships that will be able to make the journey to Antarctica and the Arctic Circle starting next year.   Overall they are more environmentally sound as well as having a much stronger hull for safety.  

[clo]

13 minutes ago, ducklite said:

The new ice class regulations for Antarctica will pretty much see the end of drive by cruising by the mass market ships.  There are only a handful of ships that will be able to make the journey to Antarctica and the Arctic Circle starting next year.   Overall they are more environmentally sound as well as having a much stronger hull for safety.  

Perhaps more importantly is that there's the 'treaty' that doesn't allow any ships carrying more than 500 pax to disembark any pax.  That's why we chose Hurtigruten.  We went ashore four different places and went out in zodiacs.  It was magical and I'd have hated to do  just a "drive by."

[Extra Kim]

I wouldn't go to Antarctica even if I got a free cruise and all I had to do was to take the time off from work. 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Extra Kim

[clo]

23 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

I wouldn't go to Antarctica even if I got a free cruise and all I had to do was to take the time off from work. 

Why is that?  Ours, which was combined with Patagonia, was the most wonderful trip of our lives.  Have you traveled to a lot of places?

 

[navybankerteacher]

There really are two (at least) distinct cruise markets.  The one served by the mega-ships which largely attract bargain-conscious cruisers who want “wow factor”, big entertainment, and low prices; and the one largely sailing smaller ships to less-visited ports on more specialized itineraries, for cruisers willing to pay more for quality.

 

As the damage done by unlimited tourism becomes more evident, the gap between those two markets will widen:  the mega-ships will be increasingly barred from fragile areas, which will increasingly limit the total numbers of visitors permitted at any one time; and the itineraries of the mega-ships will increasingly focus on private islands and those ports which develop mass touring facilities.

[MicCanberra]

Antarctica was wonderful.

[clo]

56 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Antarctica was wonderful.

Did you get to go ashore?  Even the memories still knock my socks off 🙂

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, clo said:

Did you get to go ashore?  Even the memories still knock my socks off 🙂

We did Celebrity's Infinity cruise and that is a cruise by, we had no interest in doing a cruise where you can get off in Antarctica.

[Thecat123]

16 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We did Celebrity's Infinity cruise and that is a cruise by, we had no interest in doing a cruise where you can get off in Antarctica.

 

But one of the best parts of an Antarctica cruise is getting off and talking to Happy Feet, one could watch the penguins for hours

Antarctica is one of those places one has to go to really understand it. Photos don't do it justice

Would love to cruise Antarctica again but worried the weather wouldn't be as good as we had and ruin the fond memories

[MicCanberra]

7 minutes ago, Thecat123 said:

 

But one of the best parts of an Antarctica cruise is getting off and talking to Happy Feet, one could watch the penguins for hours

Antarctica is one of those places one has to go to really understand it. Photos don't do it justice

Would love to cruise Antarctica again but worried the weather wouldn't be as good as we had and ruin the fond memories

We went to Paradise Bay and such places and it was wonderful, and I agree the photos do not do it justice.

As for penguins, we saw so much wildlife from the ships, swimming and on ice floes and icebergs. We also walked among the penguins (4 differing species) as we visited the Volunteer Point on the Falkland Islands and also Martillo Island out of Ushuaia.

[Thecat123]

We met a couple of old ladies on different cruises who have been everywhere twenty times and they both said that Antarctica is the best cruise they have ever done, one on a drive by and the other a scientific type cruise. I thought there must be something about this Antarctica which is why we decided to go. Seabourn were just starting to mention Antarctica giving us luxury and also going ashore with their zodiacs We did the third cruise they did Buenos Aires, Falkand Islands, Antarctica, 4 days then up to Santiago 21 days total

We had the Drake Lake going down with about 3 or 4 hours a bit bumpy coming back but didn't hear of anyone being sick

This was our first iceberg See how calm the Drake was

[MicCanberra]

We had good weather for our crossings as well, and yes, it is the best cruise I have been on as well.

[Extra Kim]

9 hours ago, clo said:

Why is that?  Ours, which was combined with Patagonia, was the most wonderful trip of our lives.  Have you traveled to a lot of places?

 

You should now this by now, if you ask me, I have been to a lot of places. If I would ask you, no since I didn't spend months at the same place 🙄

 

I really dis-like the winter, the cold and the darkness. I would almost say that I hate it. Taking time off to go to a cold place means that I waste time that I could have spent somewhere warm and sunny.

Edited August 6, 2019 by Extra Kim

[cruisemom42]

7 minutes ago, Extra Kim said:

I really dis-like the winter, the cold and the darkness. I would almost say that I hate it. Taking time off to go to a cold place means that I waste time that I could have spent somewhere warm and sunny.

 

Like Italy. 

[Extra Kim]

18 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Like Italy. 

I would rather go to Cozumel.