It was only a matter of time before the increasingly mammoth size of modern cruise ships would have consequences, writes SeaView editor David Simpson.
So this week’s announcement by the Mayor of Nice that the chic Mediterranean resort on the Cote d’Azur, pictured, is slamming the door on them came as no surprise.
Venice got the ball rolling last year, and Christian Estrosi said Nice would be following suit from 1 July, banning any ship carrying more than 900 passengers from dropping them ashore for sight-seeing excursions.
Mr Estrosi gave a clue as to what was in store when he addressed a crowd of supporters at Nice’s traditional New Year’s ceremony last week.
“I don’t want floating hotels to drop anchor in front of Nice,” he told them. “Cruises that pollute, that dump their low-cost clientele who consume nothing but leave their waste behind, have no place here.”
It is understood that upwards of 40 cruise liners due to dock in local waters this summer will be affected.
Barcelona, Amsterdam and Santorini have introduced similar measures, and I for one am not surprised by all of this.
When I cruised on Ponant’s small ship L’Austral to the beautiful Aegean island of Santorini in 2012, the writing was already on the wall.
We found ourselves surrounded by four huge ships spilling thousands of guests ashore, and the experience of being wedged into this tide of bodies trying to reach the town high above us was the worst I have ever had to endure during a cruise visit.
We could barely breathe when we reached the top, and were relieved when it was all over and we were safely back on board.
And, remember, this was 12 years ago. No wonder the island authorities eventually decided something had to be done.
Many cruise lines may well rue the day it was decided cruise ships the size of multi-storey car parks were the way forward.
Image courtesy of explorenicecotedazur.com