Alaska Cruising - Limits are coming

[techteach]

https://replica.seattletimes.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=4376b9fd-a8d8-40b2-97d7-6c1bb15ec4a5&share=true

 

This article was in our local newspaper and points to changes in the number of ships that will be allowed into Juneau.

[NE John]

There are four huge ships in port with us in Juneau in a couple weeks. Luckily we already have an excursion planned away from town. QE will be the smallest ship of the five that day. 
There has to be limits or the entire cruise experience in so many destinations will deteriorate. 

[Victoria2]

9 hours ago, NE John said:

There are four huge ships in port with us in Juneau in a couple weeks. Luckily we already have an excursion planned away from town. QE will be the smallest ship of the five that day. 
There has to be limits or the entire cruise experience in so many destinations will deteriorate. 

Glacier Bay, one the the National Parks of the US has had a limit on cruise line concessions for ages. Cunard were awarded their ten year concession at the renewals a few years ago. Maybe some sort of 'pruning' of visitors will be environmentally good for the ports too although businesses might carp a bit.

[techteach]

I live 5 minutes from one of the two piers in Seattle where cruise ships dock. The additional bus, van, taxi, and Uber traffic can be frustrating. Lots of people in a hurry so driving crazy or lost so impeding traffic. We do our weekly shopping at Pike Place Market and wading through people taking pictures of $89. Mushrooms has become the norm. While I pack my patience the businesses pack the money bags. The six months of tourism balances the ledger for the rest of the year when only the regulars buy the mushrooms. Seattle is large enough to be able to handle the inundation of 3 large cruise ships per day, but I can’t imagine more than that. For the small towns in Alaska it must feel over the top and maybe they just need a day of peace and quiet.

[david,Mississauga]

In 2022 there were five ships in Juneau on the day we were there. The QE was the unlucky one and we had to tender.  It worked well.

 

For our next cruise in July there are only three ships in Juneau that day.  Strangely, My Cunard says "tender required."  The CLAA shows the QE assigned to Franklin Dock.  From our past experience, the CLAA is more accurate than My Cunard.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 6/9/2024 at 8:59 AM, david,Mississauga said:

In 2022 there were five ships in Juneau on the day we were there. The QE was the unlucky one and we had to tender.  It worked well.

 

For our next cruise in July there are only three ships in Juneau that day.  Strangely, My Cunard says "tender required."  The CLAA shows the QE assigned to Franklin Dock.  From our past experience, the CLAA is more accurate than My Cunard.

 

I think I was one or two cruises ahead of you that year, and the tendering in Juneau was a mess. I didn't go to get my ticket right away, figuring let the people in a hurry go first. I sat and waited for over an hour. 

 

I'm tendering in Juneau again this year. I have a tour, so that should get me off the ship in a timely manner. If the tour is cancelled, as it was 2 years ago, I won't bother to go ashore.

[techteach]

Seattle Times Newspaper. July 9.

 

Ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break? Alaska city considers it

 

https://replica.seattletimes.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=12001673-5351-4422-93c3-5450770929b4&share=true

 

 

[NE John]

2 hours ago, techteach said:

Seattle Times Newspaper. July 9.

 

Ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break? Alaska city considers it

 

https://replica.seattletimes.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=12001673-5351-4422-93c3-5450770929b4&share=true

 

 

This proposal makes sense. QE at 2k pax is not going to affect these communities as much as a 4-5k pax Norwegian or RC giant. These towns should look to limit those mega ships as first step. 
I found it funny that QE (and other ships) were not allowed to blow their horn when leaving port (a certain highlight for me!) but it’s ok to allow dozens of helicopter and seaplane charters to buzz around and overwhelm the skies over these ports. In Juneau, there was a squadron of five helicopters taking off at the same time and it reminded me of a scene from the movie Apocalypse Now. 
 

[D&N]

Ahh, an excuse to post a photo.

Being rescued from the glacier in July 1998. Not the best photo being a scan of a small print.

 

 

 

[Planning to cruise]

I cruise.  I contribute to such problems.  I have much sympathy for the residents of places that can be inundated.  

 

Many years ago we were on a small expedition type ship that called in Ketchikan, Alaska at the same time as 4or 5 large ships.  There were over 10,000 pax and the town was swamped.  The local radio station had put out messages asking locals not to go into town.    

 

Another time we were sailing out of Venice accompanied by a flotilla of many small boats carrying noisy demonstrators protesting about cruise ships affecting the historic fabric.  In a way it was interesting but a lady by me on deck got quite heated about it all.  Her attitude was on the lines of how dare they etc etc.  I dont think my comment that they live here, we are just visitors went down too well.

 

Also, I have a friend living in a small port of call in Scotland.  She says they dread the cruise ships and do not go into town on days when ships are in.  It is crammed and locals cant get on the buses.  

 

I enjoy cruises, I enjoy seeing other places but I do see the other side of the story.

[david,Mississauga]

Last year on the QE it had been mentioned in the daily programme that whistle-blowing and on-deck announcements were not allowed in Alaska ports.  In Ketchikan, a Princess ship at the adjacent berth had loud tannoy announcements on deck which I could hear on our ship as well as on shore.  Maybe all ports don't have the same restrictions, but regardless I was impressed that the QE was quiet.

[Clewgarnet]

I used to live in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and we'd certainly try to avoid heading into town when a cruise ship was in. And that was back in the 90s, when ships were a hell of a lot smaller than they are today.

 

Living in a cruise port made me hate cruise ships. Everyone I encountered off them seemed to be rude and demanding, and the money they spent never made up for the disruption.

 

Despite appearances, I'm still not a huge fan of cruises as a method of visiting places. You aren't there long enough to really explore, and, by definition, you're there on a cruise ship day, when everything is overcrowded and hectic. You don't get to do leisurely exploration and get interestingly lost, because time is always a factor.

 

And I know from being on the other side that I'm an annoyance just by being there.

 

[foodsvcmgr]

I’m not a fan of all these bans developing worldwide.

Out of curiosity, do the residents of Juneau, Barcelona, et al never cruise or leave town on any sort of vacation?

A “good for me but not for thee” attitude?

I live across the bridge from the beach where the population swells in summer from 10,000 to 100,000 so I get it, but unfortunately the economy depends on it.

[d9704011]

6 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I’m not a fan of all these bans developing worldwide.

Out of curiosity, do the residents of Juneau, Barcelona, et al never cruise or leave town on any sort of vacation?

A “good for me but not for thee” attitude?

I live across the bridge from the beach where the population swells in summer from 10,000 to 100,000 so I get it, but unfortunately the economy depends on it.

I suspect most residents of Juneau, Barcelona, Venice, Bar Harbor, etc.... don't cruise much and have little sympathy for cruisers who don't stay long enough to take hotel rooms, dine in restaurants, attend evening entertainment and all those other things that generate tourism dollars without having to endure crowds of cruisers.

[Clewgarnet]

11 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I’m not a fan of all these bans developing worldwide.

Out of curiosity, do the residents of Juneau, Barcelona, et al never cruise or leave town on any sort of vacation?

A “good for me but not for thee” attitude?

I live across the bridge from the beach where the population swells in summer from 10,000 to 100,000 so I get it, but unfortunately the economy depends on it.

Caribbean economy depends on tourists who come and spend money on hotels, restaurants, etc. Not on tourists who sleep on the ship, eat on the ship, but may stretch to buying a drink at the beach.

 

And, no, most of the residents don't go on vacation. Partly due to poverty levels, and partly because they live in the Caribbean!

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

I suspect most residents of Juneau, Barcelona, Venice, Bar Harbor, etc.... don't cruise much and have little sympathy for cruisers who don't stay long enough to take hotel rooms, dine in restaurants, attend evening entertainment and all those other things that generate tourism dollars without having to endure crowds of cruisers.

In many European centres, the concern is with tourism’s effect on the housing market, making it difficult for locals to find places to buy. Cruise passengers may be conspicuous, but they don’t really cause these problems, and spend lots of money in bars and cafés.

[D&N]

We don't go on vacation because being retired and living in a Mediterranean holiday town we feel like we're on vacation all the time. Our town doesn't see many cruise passengers but the number of folk here probably swells by about 300% during the season. We don't have any problem with that. Restaurants generally have more atmosphere in season when they're busy and we always book ahead anyway. Plus we benefit from many restaurants being open during the winter months that are partially subsidised by their summer business.

 

We wouldn't take a cruise to visit places, we visited Rome with friends for four nights recently renting a decent Airbnb and eating all lunches and dinners in local restaurants.

 

If we do sail on a ship it's for the voyage and onboard activities.

 

I'm aware many places have issues with Airbnb. Without it we'd still have booked an apartment, as that suits us and our friends better than a hotel.

Edited July 10 by D&N

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, D&N said:

We don't go on vacation because being retired and living in a Mediterranean holiday town we feel like we're on vacation all the time. Our town doesn't see many cruise passengers but the number of folk here probably swells by about 300% during the season. We don't have any problem with that. Restaurants generally have more atmosphere in season when they're busy and we always book ahead anyway. Plus we benefit from many restaurants being open during the winter months that are partially subsidised by their summer business.

 

We wouldn't take a cruise to visit places, we visited Rome with friends for four nights recently renting a decent Airbnb and eating all lunches and dinners in local restaurants.

 

If we do sail on a ship it's for the voyage and onboard activities.

 

I'm aware many places have issues with Airbnb. Without it we'd still have booked an apartment, as that suits us and our friends better than a hotel.

As you will know, the entire reason for Bournemouth’s existence is tourism, yet people whinge about tourists, though I can’t imagine why. Well, I can a bit, it is partly parking. Another major source of what wealth the town has is the university, and, surprise, surprise, a lot of people don’t much like students either.

[foodsvcmgr]

I find it difficult to believe that middle class and above in Alaska have no interest in warm weather vacations during the winter.

And we know Europeans love to holiday during their many weeks of vacation time.

Clearly those living at or near poverty level in the Caribbean or Central America do not, but neither are they trying to ban cruise ships.

Just seems a bit disingenuous.

As I said, I don’t particularly like the summer crowds where I live, but I’m not trying to get them banned either.