quote:

Originally posted by stkfox:
I hate cruise ships! They freakin’ ruined Key West and pretty much anywhere they pull in. All they do is dump masses of people on ports of call that heretofore had been thought of as kind of “exotic”. It’s on their “bucket list”, that’s all they give a damn about. What a shame.

First off here is the disclaimer, my wife and I were, up till March 2020 regular cruisers.

First I have to respectfully disagree with your statement that cruise ships pretty much ruin anywhere they pull in.
There are ports/residents in the United States and around the world that welcome the ships. They provide a living for people by creating jobs that they would not have and the city's gain a huge amount of money from the port fees. That would be money that would have to be collected as taxes form the residents.

I also do not think that the only thing people on cruises give a damm about is checking something off their bucket list.
My wife and visit the local areas, go on our own off the beaten path to spend time and money in areas that are not always part of the tourist area.
We like to find brewery's that are local to the Islands and spend time listing to the locals and a little bit about their life in the area.

With all that said their are some ports ( Key West Fl , Venice Italy) that would like to see the number of ships reduced or eliminated however it is not everywhere.

The local businesses love this. The passengers dump a lot of money in the ports of call.

quote:

Originally posted by stkfox:
I hate cruise ships! They freakin’ ruined Key West and pretty much anywhere they pull in. All they do is dump masses of people on ports of call that heretofore had been thought of as kind of “exotic”. It’s on their “bucket list”, that’s all they give a damn about. What a shame.

30 mins ago - returning to port

Me and the wife love to cruise. We are hoping that things return to a “normal” level soon in the industry. We moved to Florida knowing that we would cruise more because now it’s an easy drive and we can do it last minute and cheaper. Then Covid.

Cruising doesn’t ruin anything. The cities that complain are complaining about over cruising. For every city that wants less cruise ships I can point you to one that wants more. It’s good business. Unlike many businesses it also brings very little crime. Some extra drunken events. It ain’t bringing big crimes to your city.

I read the articles, these city fathers if they got what they say they want would be crying in their cheerios within a couple years. Cruise ships bring easy money to their cities.

The wife and I did a 7 day cruise to Alaska last month and all the people we met during our 3 stops were thrilled that the ships were back and people were spending money. We had to be fully vaccinated and needed a negative test within 72 hours of boarding the ship. My wife did start feeling sick the day before we ended the cruise in Seward and we both tested positive for Covid upon our return to Florida.

I'm actually hoping to take a cruise this coming year. It is my favorite mode of travel and my kids love it as well.