Thousands demonstrate against cruise ships in Venice

[MULTIZ321]

Thousands demonstrate against cruise ships in Venice.


https://www.thelocal.it/20190609/thousands-demonstrate-against-cruise-ships-in-venice.


Richard

 

[CanuckTravlr]

Quite frankly I agree with the protesters and support them. Having seen these massive ships crossing in front of the Piazza San Marco or moored at the docks, I find them incongruous and intrusive. It is done solely out of convenience for the cruise ships.

Not only are they dangerous in such constricted spaces, but the damage done by their wakes, even at slow speeds, just adds to the damage done to a city already more frequently subject to flooding. I remember on a re-visit to Venice about 12 years ago, going to the top of the Campanile and looking out over the familiar view of the city spread out before me. But there in the distance were two huge cruise ships moored at the docks. They stood several stories above the surrounding buildings. They looked completely out-of-place.

Venice is such a unique experience, I hope the citizens of Venice are successful in their campaign to ban them from the interior lagoon.

 

[Passepartout]

I think it's a lesson in ''Be careful what you wish for". The local populace chose to build the port and hotels to support tourism, and sure welcome the open wallets of tourists. The truly 'local' population continues to dwindle, beset with high prices and high water. If they effectively ban cruise ships- especially those who use Venice port services to 'change over' loads of tourists, and send the day trippers to other ports in the Veneto only to have them come into the city by train or bus, the city will only deteriorate more quickly than it currently is.

I'll watch with at least some interest, not having a dog in the fight.

Jim

 

[x3 skier]

Fortunately I’ve visited Venice twice before it became the city it is now.

Cheers

 

[elaine]

Yep. We have a debarkation in Venice next year. spending 2 nights hotel food etc. that over $750 just from us. maybe they will compromise and ban the larger ships. That would still give them tourist dollars. However, I bet in season travel is high without cruisers. And that’s when a lot of mega ships are there.

 

[pedro47]

I feel Venice should ban large cruise ships. The city now cannot support two or more mega cruise ships visiting at the same time now. This is peak cruise season and tourism time for Venice and they cannot support all the tourists in Venice right now. IMO.

 

[klpca]

I think it's a lesson in ''Be careful what you wish for". The local populace chose to build the port and hotels to support tourism, and sure welcome the open wallets of tourists. The truly 'local' population continues to dwindle, beset with high prices and high water. If they effectively ban cruise ships- especially those who use Venice port services to 'change over' loads of tourists, and send the day trippers to other ports in the Veneto only to have them come into the city by train or bus, the city will only deteriorate more quickly than it currently is.

I'll watch with at least some interest, not having a dog in the fight.

Jim

Have the sizes of the cruise ships changed in the intervening years? I suspect they never anticipated the volume of folks who could pop into town on any given day off of multiple mega ships. It seems to me that the cruise ships have gotten much larger in the past 10 years or so (but I could be wrong) so maybe they are victims of their own success.

 

[SmithOp]

Have the sizes of the cruise ships changed in the intervening years? I suspect they never anticipated the volume of folks who could pop into town on any given day off of multiple mega ships. It seems to me that the cruise ships have gotten much larger in the past 10 years or so (but I could be wrong) so maybe they are victims of their own success.

Without a doubt the cruise ships are getting bigger. We prefer the older 2,000 passenger or less. The new mega ships are 4000+ passengers.

We are going to try one of the mega ships in Nov but I expect to feel more crowded. From reading on cruise critic the shows and specialty dining books up fast and is hard to get in without reservations. The buffet tends to be a madhouse.


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[pedro47]

Buffets, IMO, on mega ships buffets are not a madhouse. Because there are so many different restaurants and varieties of restaurants that are on board to dine at any given time.

 

[SmithOp]

Buffets, IMO, on mega ships are not a madhouse. Because there are so many different restaurants and varieties of restaurants that are on board to dine at any given time.

I’m going by all the complaints on cruise critic about not being able to find a table, long lines, people cutting in line. Apparently people with inside cabins are camping out all day at the best tables with views in the buffet. Kind of like the pool lounger hogs at timeshares.


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[isisdave]

And yet:

Cruise ships account for a large share of transiting passengers. In 2018 1,580,000 passengers transited by Venice, confirming its position as one of the Mediterranean's chief homeport. (www.port.venice.it) About 600 ships visit, so that's 2600 each. I think this does not include crew. And most of them come in a six-month window, so that's about 3 per day.​

But

The historic city, which has a population of 50,000 citizens, attracts around 25 to 30 million foreign visitors per year, according to the Italian tourist bureau. Less than a third of them stay overnight in Venice. And this is foreign tourists; it doesn't include Italians visiting for the weekend. (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/venice-entrance-fee-tax-2019-1429798)
​

So cruise ships are responsible for less than 10% of the tourists, but get a lot of blame because they are very visible. Also, all 8,000 passengers from the average of 3 ships a day or more arrive almost simultaneously. Further, a moving cruise ship is pushing 50 million liters of water around, and a lot of that is eroding the lagoon and the foundations of the buildings. Finally, cruise ship fuel can have as much as 1000 times as much sulfur as is permitted in diesel fuel.

Most visits are terminal visits -- the ship is unloading in the morning and loading a new set of passengers in the evening. This is very lucrative and provides 4000+ jobs. But it also requires a LOT more transportation that less fragile cities could do better.

Alas, although tourism is the problem, it'll probably have to be the solution, too, as it's where the money comes from. DW first visited in 1985, and the Pacific Princess docked in front of St. Mark's. Our last STAY in Venice, we had and AirBnB way out by the Biennale, and it was pleasant and didn't smell bad. In the evening, after most tourists left, it was not crowded, and we could see how life here could be beautiful. The visit after that was when we spent our hotel money (about 1/4 of what Venice would have cost) 40 km away in Padua, and took the bus in two days in a row. But we're pushing 70 now, and really there isn't a place to sit down, other than a restaurant, in the tourist areas. I don't think we're up to another visit.

 

["Roger"]

... The local populace chose to build the port and hotels to support tourism, and sure welcome the open wallets of tourists....

Jim

Actually the decision to make Venice accessible to the large cruise ships was made in Rome. Many Venetians resent the fact that this decision and its consequences were imposed upon them.

I might mention one other negative effect of the cruise ships. They need to keep their diesel engines going during the day for passengers who come back on board and want air conditioning, etc. Having one of these ships running its diesel engines is equivalent to having 10,000 cars in Venice. It is not that big a city. Lots of air pollution.

 

[Ken555]

I’m departing on a ship out of Venice later this year. I’ve also seen them while in Venice, and they are completely out of place. They absolutely don’t belong there, and should be moved elsewhere.


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