To wonder why everyone raves about cruises?

[malificent7]

It has never appealed until recently. I thought it sounded like you are trapped to an itinery, on a long , boring journey woth only a day in each place and no space from fellow passengers but everyone I know seems to love them...i am seriously tempted.
So what is so good about a cruise and has anyone actually hated them?
Is the food as good as everyone says and is it relaxing? Apparently you don't get sea sick...is this true?

They spend a lot of money in Fowey and the surrounding areas. How do you think Fowey businesses survive, because it isn't on the money locals are spending because so many of the properties are second homes?

How do 'they' even get off the fucking boat? Tenders using more fuel and causing disruption?
What surrounding areas do 'they' go to during the duration of the docking of this hideous thing?
What evidence do you have for their' bountiful spending?
Are you making shit up?

Bringing tourists to boster an area is one thing. Ruining a beautiful setting with this enormous ugly polluting heap is certainly not the way to do it.

I'd have thought their presence would just deter all the usual day trippers and those arriving by yacht as well. And my experience of cruising was that we didn't spend much money if any on shore because there was so much food on the boat

Let's see, things I have spent money on in cruise ship ports...
Artisanal jewellery
Local artwork
Local pottery
Local weaving/embroidery work
Local lace
Local clothing
Local chocolate
Local biscuits
Local olive oil/honey/long shelf life delicacies
Local alcohol
Medication
Toiletries
A new digital camera
Umbrella
Shawls/scarfs
Local glasswork
Food and drink at lunchtime

But I guess none of those are putting money in the local economy.

The cruise ships don't just turn up wherever they fancy. In order to dock in a place they have to make quite complex arrangements with the local authorities years in advance.

So if the locals don't like cruise ships turning up - and that doesn't look great to me - they need to make sure that the local authority doesn't give permission.

I know the Norwegians are putting ever-greater restrictions on visiting cruise ships because that is what their residents require. Also Venice. So why is Fowey allowing them in?

Pretty much all mass tourism is horrendous. The rubbish left, the cars in queues spending hours to cram into poor villages, natural beauty spots turned into cannoning, rock climbing, paddle boarding experiences.

I love the culture and individuality of other places but to me it's homogenisation of travel that's annoying. I'd rather that be a ship that had all the expected holiday requirements and ieft the destinations to be what they always were.,

One more idea… I haven’t used these guys (https://adventuresmithexplorations.com/cruises/ships/ ) so buyer beware and all that but they specialize in small boat sailing. I love small boats and have found a lot of solo cruisers to feel very welcome (some even have single cabins)

I have sailed with these guys and they are wonderful mostly Caribbean but they have added a boat in Greece I think (https://www.islandwindjammers.com/default.aspx )

Crud quote fail. The previous post was for @Ineffable23 …

So you say... Have you purchased these items over several decades? Because one hankie in a random port because you are bored and need a pressie before you rush back to your cruise buffet really makes not an iota of difference does it?

And you ancedotal tale could be true or a lot of nonsense so its completely pointless.

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

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?

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

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.

$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/^

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

I think some of it is a bragging thing

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?