To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

That doesn’t happen. You don’t have to sit with anyone.

Can you imagine being told who you have to sit with at your dinner table every night whilst you're on holiday!

How cruise ships became a catastrophe for the planet – video | Shipping emissions | The Guardian

The stats here are absolutely eye-popping. 1/4 of all the world's ocean rubbish!? Cruise ships are very very few in number and cater to a miniscule % of the world's population. This is absolutely disproportionate.

The industry needs to clean up its act, fast. And cruising needs to be considered an acceptable option only for those whose disabilities prevent them from traveling easily in other ways. "I have kids and traveling with kids is stressful" is a poor excuse. I've travelled with kids and have mostly used public transport, even, rather than short-hop flights or cars. You need plan your journeys properly and take things for them to do on the train or coach.

I live in an area popular with tourists and love it, but cruise ships would be a step too far. They enter places en masse and flood them. They have a low spend per person, in part because of those enormous breakfasts and dinners, meaning people are far less likely to order a full meal and drinks at lunchtime, and because once the cruise ship has been paid for people are reluctant to spend money on other things. A high % of people also book ship-operated excursions when on shore out of convenience, so all the money's staying with the ship.

I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than go on a cruise.

I enjoy the Mediterranean as it's sheltered compared to the Atlantic. The ships are big so you don't feel the movement much unless it's stormy.

The bit I like is the ease. It's like having a beautiful Hotel floating to destination after destination. It's just so easy to take it all in without feeling travel weary.

Yes you only get a day, but you get to know where you are stopping and trip advisor is your friend. It's very easy to see quite a lot in a day without doing excursions arranged by the ship which are costly.

We are keen cruisers. The destinations are just meant to be a taste so you can revisit for longer if you enjoyed it.

I live in a place that gets cruise ship visits. I can assure you most of the locals are not happy.

@Marinade this is a thread about cruises. If you find it difficult, why are you choosing to converse with people who enjoy them and do not find them ugly?

The sad thing is, noone seeing the world from a hulking great cruise ship is seeing that place at its best.

You can't enjoy the peaceful majesty of the fjords from a giant tower block chugging it's way along them.

You can't enjoy the tranquility and beauty of Fowey when you are towering over the town and the streets are filled with the same faces you just been on a ship with.

It's such an odd way to see the world. Unless I was disabled or very elderly I cannot imagine choosing to travel that way

Nope they do not become part of the history of these ports because you say so. They are an unsightly and ugly invaders

So what if they are, in your opinion, unsightly and ugly? It doesn't stop them becoming part of a port's history, just because they don't look pretty.

I find it difficult to converse with somebody who can assign a label other than 'ugly' to those blocks of metal. Are you saying that you can't converse with someone who doesn't have the same opinion as you? Isn't that what a good debate is all about?

A cruise ship would qualify along thelines as being ugly. Do you find 1960s tower blocks beautiful or are you so invested in cruising that you just will compromise in order to say anything? Are you directing this question to me? Where did I ever say that I thought cruise ships (or tower blocks!) are beautiful. I didn't. But I can accept that some people find them to be so. And they can still be part of our history. As are 1960s tower blocks. History doesn't have to be beautiful.

Nope they do not become part of the history of these ports because you say so. They are an unsightly and ugly invaders.

I find it difficult to converse with somebody who can assign a label other than 'ugly' to those blocks of metal. Some things are universally accepted as beautiful (i.e. the Pieta in St Peter's Basilica). Others are pretty much accepted as not. A cruise ship would qualify along thelines as being ugly. Do you find 1960s tower blocks beautiful or are you so invested in cruising that you just will compromise in order to say anything?

I think some of it is a bragging thing

Are the locals happy because a few people are quoted in the metro?
I don't know. But neither do you.

I can see the fascination with ships but how can that extend to these huge heaps that have no aesthetically pleasing qualities whatsoever? Just an imposing and ugly bulk of metal that throws disgusting sewage into the oceans

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that. Just because they are ugly in your opinion, doesn't mean that all people hold that opinion. It's true that some ships discharge sewage into the ocean, and of course that is a problem, but newer ships are working hard to overcome this, and many now have sewage treatment systems on board. Not all yet though.

Why are you not angry about their environmental impact and their presence in these places of beauty? They are totally out of place and destroy the harmony and historic nature of these ports

I agree that the environmental impact of cruise ships is poor, and the industry needs to improve massively in this area. But I disagree that they are necessarily out of place in these ports - they become part of the history of these places. And again, no port has to accept them if they don't want to.

Well you must have really pushed the 'boat' out for those...

Are the locals happy because a few people are quoted in the metro? I can see the fascination with ships but how can that extend to these huge heaps that have no aesthetically pleasing qualities whatsoever? Just an imposing and ugly bulk of metal that throws disgusting sewage into the oceans.

Why are you not angry about their environmental impact and their presence in these places of beauty? They are totally out of place and destroy the harmony and historic nature of these ports.

I honestly think some people are just so insular and invested in their parochial 'cruise mentality' that they cannot rise above their own thinking and see the bigger picture around this.

Anyone with a brain in their skull and a set of discerning eyes can see that is an absolutely hideous eyesore in this tranquil and demure setting.
The ports / authorities will do what they can to make money, that does not make their decisions to accept these disgusting heaps, the right one

Why are you so worried about it? If the locals are happy, then why should you be so angry about it? And also really quite insulting to those who actually like to watch ships come in and out of a port - some people find them to be fascinating, sometimes even quite beautiful. It doesn't make them stupid just because they have a different opinion to you.

I was in a European city last week and I booked a walking food tour. Two people on the tour were American tourists on a cruise. They said their ship was docked 8am to 8pm. The city was about a forty minutes metro from the port (c e9 each I think). The food tour started at ten.

I paid £62 for the tour, I assume they paid the same, each. They also bought something at every place we stopped, I bought nothing (I can get olives in Aldi!).

They also said they would have dinner on shore before reboarding.
So, I guess some people do spend money.

I mean you can google with the best of them I’m sure to find sources you are comfortable with. To be honest this was on the low end of some of the sources I saw.

But whatever, Not my job in life to convince anyone of anything.

Anyone with a brain in their skull and a set of discerning eyes can see that is an absolutely hideous eyesore in this tranquil and demure setting.

The ports / authorities will do what they can to make money, that does not make their decisions to accept these disgusting heaps, the right one.

The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA, 2016) found that 23.2 million cruise passengers spent $1.99 billion on port visits in 2015, contributing 45,225 jobs and $728.1 million in wage income to port destinations.

So is this largely self reported data then to further the interests of the CLIA? Hilarious!!!

This research conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis based on 180 observations from 30 studies since the 1990s. Based on an extensive review of the literature, the meta-analysis in this research included: 17 journal articles (studies coded 1 to 17), two conference papers (studies coded 18 and 19), two working papers (studies coded 20 and 21), and nine reports (studies coded 22 to 30). Regarding that the criterion is 27 studies

Hardly comprehensive or scientific but I guess you feel the need to demonstrate your mediocre and tenous grip on statistics to justify your need to holiday on a floating hideous heap of metal.

On a serious note, local opinion is not a single entity. I have friends and colleagues in various places including Norway who welcome cruise visitors. One is an artist who is doing very well indeed.

$1.9B in 2015 🤷‍♀️

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2211973619300595

While in the city, an average cruise tourist spends $1,547 on lodging, entertainment, food and beverage, transportation and souvenirs, according to the Port of Seattle. In 2019, cruise operations generated more than $14 million in statewide taxes, supported 5,500 jobs and produced $893.6 million in total economic impact.

^www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/economic-benefit-of-cruises-is-clear-so-is-environmental-impact/^

This is utterly shameful. All the cruise proponents on this thread should comment here about how much their enjoyment overrides the wishes and views of local people who are being forced to put up with this obscene spectacle. When people talk about the benefit to the local communities cruises bring, this is totally laughable. Any port or docking fees can NEVER compensate for this shocker. What will these passengers spend or contribute to the local community? A big fat nada.
I am so angry about this and I live nowhere near Cornwall

No need to be so angry on behalf of the Fowey locals. Interesting article here https://metro.co.uk/2024/08/19/giant-cruise-ships-dominate-cornish-village-this-locals-think-21449110/#:~:text=Fowey%20is%20up%20against%20places,go%20much%20higher%20than%20that.

Now, it might be true that in some ports the locals don't want cruise ships in. But it also seems that many ports are more than happy to welcome them - after all, they don't have to accept them. I'm not sure why you are quite so determined that ports don't want extra visitors, or a boost to their local economy. It's true that not every cruise passenger will spend much ashore, but it's also true that some will spend quite a lot. And almost all will spend at least something.

@Marinade oh you are being silly now. All my magnets have been at least €3.

Yeah... of course. A load of cruise passengers emerging en masse to spend 2 euros on a magnet.

That is why cruise ships are so universally liked in their destination ports- oh no they are not are they? Wonder why?

If you multiply that one purchase by 1000… then yeah it does start to make a difference