Venice Bans Large Cruise Ships. Here's Why That's a Controversial Move

The decision is more controversial than you might think

no more cruise ships in venice

In 2019, UNESCO warned that Venice could be irrevocably damaged if the local government refused to ban large cruise ships from the centrally located San Marco basin, the San Marco canal, and the Giudecca canal. The organization eventually threatened to add the coastal city to its blacklist of endangered World Heritage Sites. Fortunately for Venice's UNESCO status, the government has finally taken action.

After years of protests by environmental and cultural conservation groups, Venice will officially ban large cruise ships—those longer than 590 feet and heavier than 25,000 tons—beginning Aug. 1. But the move is a largely controversial one.

Venice is one of the most touristed cities in Italy, with some 1.5 million passengers arriving by some 400 cruise ships each year (before the pandemic, that is). One of the arguments for the ban is that these large ships could potentially damage the city's fragile ecosystem of canals. Another is that the ships contribute greatly to overtourism—Venice's pedestrian streets along the canals are often utterly mobbed by tourists.

On the opposite side of the aisle, local businesses are protesting the decision to ban the ships, saying they will suffer without the big crowds.

Ultimately, both proponents and opponents of the large cruise ship ban have flaws in their arguments.

Venice will still be open to cruise ships in general, but they will have to dock outside the city at less picturesque ports. The scenario is not unlike Rome's—cruise ships that add the Eternal City to their itineraries actually dock nearly 40 miles away in Civitavecchia. Cruise ships provide shuttles from the port to the Italian capital.

The issue right now is that there are no ports near Venice that are a good fit for large cruise ships. However, the Italian government has authorized the construction of temporary docks in nearby Marghera, a cargo port some 13 miles outside Venice, and a permanent dock elsewhere along the coast.

As such, Venice will still attract hoards of cruise ship tourists, which means that overtourism will likely still be a major problem. On the flip side, there will still be plenty of business to shops and restaurants. Plus, the legislation that includes the ban also provides government aid for affected businesses.

The only direct benefit of the large cruise ship ban is that Venice's ecosystem will get a much-needed break from the ships, which is a pretty strong reason to support the ban overall.

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Venice, Italy, to ban cruise ships after years of protests from locals, environmentalists

Image: Tugboats escort the MSC Orchestra cruise ship across the basin past the Bell Tower and the Doge's palace as it leaves Venice

ROME — Italy on Tuesday banned big cruise ships from sailing into Venice after years of rallying cries from residents, culture bodies and environmentalists.

In what he called a "historic" day, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the ban adopted by the Italian cabinet will take effect Aug. 1 and will cover the lagoon basin near St. Mark’s Square, Venice's most iconic landmark.

Ships will also be banned from St. Mark’s canal and the Giudecca Canal, a major marine artery that ships previously used to reach Venice's port.

The ban applies to ships weighing more than 25,000 tons, longer than 590 feet or with other characteristics that would make them too polluting or overwhelming for Venice’s marine environment. Cruise liners typically weigh four times the new limit and can reach more than 200,000 tons.

Franceschini said the government decided to act fast “to avoid the concrete risk” that the United Nations culture agency UNESCO , which protects the fragile city and its lagoon, would add Venice to its list of “ world heritage in danger .”

Image: Cruise ships are moored at Venice's harbor in Venice, Italy

“It is a decision awaited by UNESCO, by all the people who have been to Venice at least once in their lives, by Italian and foreign travelers who were shocked to see these ships passing through the most fragile and beautiful places in the world,” Franceschini told reporters.

Venice is one of the world’s most famous tourism destinations, attracting an estimated 25 million visitors a year. Many of them come on cruise ships, straining the city’s already overcrowded tourism infrastructure and overwhelming its delicate marine environment.

Residents and environmentalists have battled for decades to stop cruise ships from coming into Venice to protect its ecosystems, fragile building foundations and cultural heritage, but change has been slow with the cruise ship industry being a major source of income for the city.

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Environmental activist Jane Da Mosto, executive director of the nonprofit group We Are Here Venice, told NBC News in a WhatsApp message Wednesday that she was glad the “nightmare of cruise ships in the city” was ending.

The Italian government earlier this year pledged to get cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon but did not provide a clear timeline. Last month, it said it was organizing bids for a workable alternative outside the lagoon as the first 92,000-ton cruise ship since the pandemic began sailed through Venice — to both jubilation and protests.

But now, the government said it “wanted to give a strong acceleration” to implement the move given the looming UNESCO review, Franceschini said in a statement.

In announcing the ban, the Italian government said it planned to build five docks that would be able to accommodate cruise liners away from the Venice lagoon at the mainland port of Marghera, a 10-minute boat ride from Venice.

At the moment, however, Marghera lacks suitable docking for cruise ships.

Giovanna Benvenuti, spokesperson for the cruise terminal in Venice, told NBC News it may take years to build the new docks in Marghera as authorities would have to dredge a canal that leads to the port first.

With cruise liners gone for the foreseeable future, Benvenuti said thousands of port workers will risk their jobs.

Cruise ship business accounts for 3 percent of the city's gross domestic product and around 4,000 jobs depend on it, according to the Venice Port Authority.

The Italian government promised compensation to those affected by the ban, namely shipping companies, terminal managers and service providers, but did not specify the amounts or the timeline.

“We welcome the decision by the government as we have been waiting and calling for 10 years for an alternative route for cruise liners,” Francesco Galietti, Italian director of the international cruise industry trade association CLIA, said.

Marco Gorin, head of moorers at Venice port, said he and his colleagues are sad, disappointed and angry.

“They have been talking about an alternative route for cruise liners for the past 10 years, and we were never against it," Gorin told NBC News. "But we didn’t expect the government to ban cruises without finding a solution first.”

He is worried about how the ban will affect thousands of people like him, whose livelihoods depend on the cruise ship industry.

“It will take years to build the new dockings,” Gorin said. “What will we do in the meantime?”

Claudio Lavanga reported from Rome, Yuliya Talmazan from London.

Claudio Lavanga is Rome-based foreign correspondent for NBC News.

no more cruise ships in venice

Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

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Watch CBS News

Big cruise ships banned from entering central Venice

By Chris Livesay

July 14, 2021 / 6:46 AM EDT / CBS News

Rome  — The Italian government has banned large cruise ships from passing through the center of Venice, declaring the surrounding lagoon a national monument after years of international outcry over the liners causing permanent harm to the fragile city. 

"It is not going too far to define this day as historic," said Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, adding that the decree would go into effect on August 1.

Italy Venice Cruise Ban

"Ships will no longer pass in front of St. Mark's or the Giudecca Canal," he said, referring to the route they traditionally take through the center of the city.  

  • Can Venice handle the COVID tourism rebound?

The law applies to ships weighing more than 25,000 tons, measuring more than 590 feet long, or more than 115 feet high.

Cruise ships, which returned in recent weeks after pandemic restrictions had kept them out for more than a year, are well known to destabilize Venice's delicate foundation.  

Dwarfing the surrounding buildings, they can shake the underwater wooden piles that have reinforced the lagoon city for centuries. Meanwhile, their immense wake splashes onto the sides of medieval banks and Gothic palazzos, causing ancient bricks, stone, and stucco to crumble. 

But Italy's government has waffled for years over reigning in the cruise ships, as they generate billions of euros in revenue for an economy that thrives on tourism, as well as employs thousands in the local cruise industry. 

The decree issued on Tuesday seeks to safeguard those workers, offering to pay them lay-off benefits as well as compensating the cruise industry for having to cancel trips. The government's decision came just days before UNESCO, the United Nations heritage body, was poised to examine putting Venice on its endangered list at its plenary session on July 16 to 31. 

In recent days, activists from the local "No Big Ships" group rallied on small boats and on the waterfront during the Group of 20 summit in Venice.

Many locals had been incensed by the lack of action since the Italian government announced in April that it was planning to ban cruise ships. With no other passenger port available for the ships to dock to let tourists disembark near Venice, the hulking ships were allowed to start cruising by Saint Mark's Square again this summer.  

The new decree puts a stop to that, but far from banning cruise ships outright, they are just being redirected to the nearby industrial port of Marghera. That port is part of the same lagoon and ecosystem as Venice, raising serious questions about the efficacy of the new legislation.   

"Moving large cruise ships to the industrial shipping canal is a huge problem in terms of erosion and pollution," Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist based in Venice, told CBS News. "The route is now even longer. That means burning more fuel. Moving the ships to Marghera we get the worst of both worlds."

The Marghera port channel will also require some serious modification to make it deep and wide enough to handle most cruise ships. For now, Da Mosto said the decree does, at least, eliminate the possibility of cruise ships crashing into Venice's historic center, like the 13-deck MSC Opera did in 2019 when it rammed into a dock as tourists below ran for their lives. Several people were injured. 

More than 20 million tourists visit Venice annually, many aboard the 400 cruise ships that pass through the city in an average year. That deluge was reduced to a trickle during the pandemic , with only 20 liners scheduled to arrive by the end of 2021. But tourists are already flooding back into the ancient city as COVID-19 restrictions have eased, and direct flights from the U.S. to Venice are back on.

Chris Livesay

Chris Livesay is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Rome.

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Venice and Cruise Ships: A Delicate Balance

Last month, a 2,500-passenger ship entered the Venetian Lagoon — the first since the pandemic began — reanimating the debate on the negative effects of mass tourism.

no more cruise ships in venice

By Anna Momigliano

In early June, the MSC Orchestra, a 2,500-passenger cruise ship, entered the Venetian Lagoon at dawn, sailing through St. Mark’s Basin, past the Doge’s Palace and the still-quiet St. Mark’s Square. It continued its journey through the Giudecca Canal and then docked on Venice ’s main island.

It was the first time a cruise ship had entered the lagoon since the pandemic hit Italy in February 2020.

In a place that is heavily dependent on tourism , and where cruise travel contributes about 3 percent of the local gross domestic product, many in Venice welcomed the ship.

But others did not. Among the latter were 2,000 protesters who met the MSC Orchestra when it sailed on its reverse route two days later. Some were on small boats on the Giudecca Canal; others chanted anti-cruise slogans from the waterfront.

“I hope we made some of the passengers wonder if what they were doing is wrong and think about the social and environmental impact of their vacation,” said Jane da Mosto, a biologist and activist who took part in the protest on a small boat.

The pandemic has put Venice ’s legendary international tourism influx on hold for more than a year. In doing so, it has sparked an animated debate on how mass tourism has negatively affected both the lagoon’s environment and Venice’s character. In this debate, cruise ships have become a metonym for overtourism.

The pandemic hiatus has given the city — which is celebrating its 1,600th birthday this year — a chance to reflect on how tourism’s exponential growth has eroded its social fabric, driving non-touristy businesses and residents out. In the past four decades the city’s historical center (what most Americans mean when they say “Venice”) has lost half of its residents, now down to 50,000.

“The situation is dramatic, there are no houses,” said Maria Fiano, 46, a high school teacher who runs OCIO, an organization that monitors Venice’s housing. According to her estimates , 42 percent of beds in the center are rented to tourists, which landlords find more profitable, leaving many locals struggling to find a place.

But not every tourist has the same cost-benefit ratio. While day trippers — including many of those who are cruise passengers — amount to 73 percent of visitors, they contribute only 18 percent of the tourism economy. The proportion is inverted for people who spend at least one night at a hotel; they represent 14 percent of visitors, but 48 percent of the business.

In March, the local government of Veneto, Venice’s region, approved a plan vowing to curb hit-and-run visitors and attract more slow-paced ones. They also hope to wean Venice off its over-dependency on tourism, creating new places of employment, including a hydrogen plant, a project still in its embryonic phase, and a recently launched accelerator for renewable energy businesses. “It’s the first time that local authorities formally recognized that mass tourism cannot go on like this forever and that depopulation is a serious problem,” said Fabio Moretti, the dean of Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts, which was involved in the plan along with other academic institutions and the Boston Consulting Group.

‘An act of violence against the city’

The presence of large ships in the lagoon, especially those in the immediate vicinity of Venice’s most precious sites, has raised eyebrows at UNESCO and sparked protests by residents since 2012. They argue that mammoth, fuel-guzzling ships are physically incompatible both with Venice, a two-square-mile island, and the lagoon that surrounds it. (A 2019 study published in Nature asserted that the wakes created by large vessels induced the erosion of the shoreline and, through the “continuous resuspension of sediment in the area,” could redistribute industrial pollutants already present in the lagoon.)

It’s not so much the number of visitors they bring overall — only 7 percent of the 27 million tourists who visited Venice in 2019 were cruise passengers, according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group — but the fact that they bring thousands of them all at once, overcrowding the city’s historical center while contributing little to its economy.

On average each cruise passenger injects about 200 euros into Venice’s economy, according to the same study, but most of that money goes to port taxes and other services, such as laundry and refueling, rather than city-center businesses like restaurants and museums.

“I’ve never interacted much with cruise tourists, they are rarely seen in places like mine,” said Andrea Degnato, 37, who manages a wine bar called Cantina Arnaldi.

Indeed, because they are often in too much of a hurry to linger in a wine bar, cruise visitors are seen as the opposite of the kind of tourists who would make Venice tourism more sustainable.

“People are unloaded here as a sack of potatoes, they hang around, thousands of them, just a couple of hours, buy a slice of pizza and go back,” said Silvia Jop, 37, a Venetian who works in cinema and cultural events. “If you add this to environmental damages, it’s an act of violence against the city.”

But she also acknowledges that cruises provide work to thousands of people, such as cleaners and porters, although most of them tend to be from the nearby mainland. “Their right to have a source of employment must be respected,” Ms. Jop said.

‘Like having an elephant in a china store’

For centuries, the Venetian Lagoon protected Venice. Built on a cluster of islands, the city could not be attacked from land, and the lagoon’s hard-to-navigate shallow waters and muddy seabed discouraged invaders from sea, who risked getting stranded. Thanks to this inaccessibility, Venice maintained its status as a maritime power throughout most of the Middle Ages.

But today Venice can be reached on cruise ships weighing up to 95,000 tons, docking directly in the heart of the old city.

“It’s like having an elephant in a china store,” said Diego Calaon, a scholar of ancient topography at Venice’s Ca’ Foscari University. He noted that, in its heyday in the late Middle Ages, Venice had a policy of preventing large vessels from docking on its shores, noting that they were much, much smaller than modern cruise ships.

Stretching 30 miles across the Adriatic and shielded from the open sea by two narrow islands, the lagoon is a shallow body of salt water , often less than 5 feet deep, crisscrossed by deeper trenches created by erosion or dug by man. It is only through these canals that vessels of a considerable size can navigate — and, even so, with difficulty: In 2019 a cargo ship was stranded in the eastern part of the lagoon, near Chioggia.

Venice’s historical center, a fish-shaped island in the middle of the lagoon, is skirted by one of its deepest canals, the Canale della Giudecca, where cruise ships currently pass, docking in the island’s main port, the Marittima. But this route is narrow, and dangerously close to the city. In another incident in 2019, a cruise ship lost control and crashed into a dock , injuring at least four people.

“We see only two solutions. Either these huge ships are kept out of the lagoon altogether, or the industry adapts to our environment and sends smaller ships,” said Tommaso Cacciari, a spokesman for the No Big Ships Committee , a grass-roots organization that since 2012 has been fighting the presence of cruise ships in the lagoon.

A new home for ‘the monster’?

On paper, cruise ships are already banned from Venice, if not from the lagoon entirely. In 2012 Italy’s Parliament approved a bill that banned ships over 40,000 tons from parts of the lagoon close to Venice’s main island. But the same law also says that the ban will be applicable only after a viable alternative route is found. Almost a decade later, authorities still haven’t found that alternative.

“We are kept in a limbo,” said Francesco Galietti, the national director for Italy of the Cruise Lines International Association. He added that as soon as the Italian government finds a solution, the industry is ready to comply with whichever alternative route is chosen. “Any solution that makes sense would work for us. The only thing we care about is keeping Venice as a home port for the Eastern Mediterranean.”

But anti-cruise activists argue that it’s unfair that the current law is conditional on finding a new port: “It’s like having a monster knocking on your door and, rather than chasing him away, you worry about finding a new home for the monster before forcing him to leave,” said Ms. da Mosto, the activist.

There are two main proposals: rerouting vessels toward Marghera, the lagoon’s main commercial port on the mainland, or building a port outside of the lagoon.

The problem with Marghera, said a representative of Venice’s Port Authority, is that “it’s a commercial port for containers, it’s not built for passengers.” Also, since Marghera is inside the lagoon, critics say that rerouting cruise ships there will do little to contain environmental damages.

As for building another port altogether: On April 1, Italy’s government approved the allocation of funds for a feasibility study for such a project. But the process of developing the plans for the project alone is expected to last until mid 2022, the Port Authority said, leaving little hope that a new port would provide a solution in the short or even medium term.

Halting cruise traffic until a new port is ready would take an economic toll. Before the pandemic, the cruise industry employed, directly and indirectly, 4,200 people in the area, according to the Port Authority, and brought revenues of 280 million euro (over $332 million), although most of that money does not go to Venice’s historical center.

In the meantime, UNESCO is getting impatient. Last month the agency released a report urging Italy’s government to prioritize “the option of banning large ships from the Lagoon altogether” and to set a time frame to “temporarily reroute ships” toward Marghera or elsewhere.

The agency also announced on the same day that it is considering adding Venice to its list of endangered World Heritage sites. “The recommendations for inscription on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger are not sanctions but alerts to find solutions,” a representative for the agency said in an email statement, mentioning “mass tourism, especially with the presence of cruise ships” as one of the organization’s concerns.

But several government officials, speaking anonymously because Italy’s factitious coalition government is divided on the topic, said they’re feeling pressured by UNESCO and, more broadly, by the negative publicity Venice received when cruise ships returned after the pandemic. Recent protests have brought the attention of the international media on the issue, and Venice is hosting a G20 summit between July 8 and 11.

The summit will provide an opportunity for a hiatus. Authorities have issued a temporary halt on large cruise ships until at least July 18, citing a combination of security measures ahead of the summit and the upcoming Festa del Redentore, the annual festival celebrating the end of the plague that devastated the island in 1576.

Sources in the Italian government say progressives in the coalition are trying to push an extension on the temporary halt until the Marghera port is at least partially ready and hope the international attention brought by UNESCO’s rebuke and by the upcoming summit will help them put pressure on the issue. “We’re feeling the eyes of the world pointed at us,” said one official.

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Good or bad? The truth about the cruise ships in Venice, Italy

Protests against cruise ships in Venice made it to the world’s largest and most reputable news networks many times between 2010 and 2020.

The relationship between Venice, the Venetians, and the cruise ships docking in Venice is a very sensitive subject, so it is critical to analyze and break it down in order to understand it better.

Three big cruise ships docked at the port of Venice, Italy. The ships' engines are kept on all the time to provide electricity to the amenities on board, contributing enourmously to the pollution of the air in town.

As one might expect, when it comes to Cruise Ships or “Grandi Navi” (literally “Big Ships”), Venetians are divided into two groups: those in favour of Big Ships and those opposed to Big Ships entering the Venetian Lagoon.

Both groups have reasons to justify their positions, so we’ll stick to listing facts as the best way to discuss this difficult issue.

When it comes to cruise ships in Venice, size matters

In most cases, the disparity in size between the ships and Venice creates the most direct and strong impression on onlookers.

Is this perception based on facts? Are cruise ships truly too big in comparison to Venice?

The size of Venice and its Lagoon, and the number of inhabitants

A few things to know to understand the (tiny) size of Venice:

  • The total area of Venice is slightly less than 8km2, roughly twice the size of Central Park in New York.
  • The Saint Mark’s Bell Tower, Venice’s tallest building, stands 99 meters tall.
  • The majority of buildings in Venice are under 20 meters tall.
  • The lagoon in which Venice is located has an average depth of around 1.2 m.
  • Venice has a population of fewer than 50.000 inhabitants.

The size of cruise ships

Here’s some information to understand the size of modern cruise ships:

  • Since the first purpose-built cruise ship in 1970, ship sizes have steadily increased.
  • The first cruise ship, named “Song of Norway,” was built in 1970. It was 188m long, 24m wide, weighed 18.000t, and could accommodate 1.100 people.
  • The “Harmony of the Seas,” built in 2016, is 362.15 meters long, 66 meters wide, and 70 meters tall, with a draught of 9.3 meters, a gross tonnage of 226.963 tons, and a capacity of over 9,000 people. The gross tonnage has increased by more than 1300 percent compared to the “Song of Norway,” or 500 percent compared to the Titanic.
  • 38 of the 47 new cruise ships scheduled to be built by 2021 will weigh more than 100,000 tons.

A first decree, in 2013, prohibited ships with a gross tonnage above 96.000t from passing through the Saint Mark’s Basin.

If you’re wondering how big a ship of 96.000t could be, consider the MSC Magnifica. This ship measures 294 meters in length, 32 meters in width, has an 8-meter draft, can carry up to 4.600 passengers,… and is just under the 96.000 tons limit!

Finally, in 2021, the Italian Government passed a new decree that prohibited ships above 25.000 tons to pass right in front of Saint Mark’s in Venice.

Big Cruise Ship passing in front of Via Garibaldi in Venice, Italy. Cruise ships pass right in the heart of Venice.

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While the size of cruise ships is immediately apparent to our senses, their impact on the local environment cannot be seen with the naked eye but can be measured.

The city of Venice is currently not compliant with EU directives regarding the location and number of air quality control centres. There should be more air quality control centres in Venice than there currently are.

Nonetheless, the data available already provides an idea of the impact and effects of pollution caused by large ships.

Venice background pollution

Consider two important facts to understand many Venetians’ confusios about Venice’s extremely poor air quality:

  • The entire surface of Venice is inaccessible to cars, making it the world’s largest pedestrian city.
  • Venice is the Italian leader in ecological mobility due to its public vs. private transportation ratio: a much higher percentage of people use public transportation compared to the rest of Italy, reducing each individual’s environmental footprint.

Nonetheless, the background pollution in Venice’s air is higher than it should be. The main contributors are public transportation boats and sightseeing boats known as “granturismo”: water transportation regulations are far laxer than those on land!

Indeed, maritime companies are permitted to use low-cost fuel with a high sulfur content (1.500 times that permitted for land vehicles!) and are under no obligation to use a particulate filter. Filters that reduce emissions by 90-99% would cost 5.000 € per boat, a sum that could be repaid with less than 600 one-way tickets.

The impact of cruise ships on the air quality in Venice

According to the Italian Senate, […the regional agency for environmental prevention and protection has demonstrated that the cruise ships traffic in Venice is the major responsible for atmospheric pollution …], [… every ship pollutes as much as 14.000 cars , also while being docked. Moreover, an estimation performed by the Veneto Cancer Institute states that “ in Venice and Mestre there is a statistically significant excess of lungs cancer compared to the rest of Italy “].

This is an extract of Act n. 1-00199, published on the 13th of December 2013 by the Senate of the Italian Republic .

It is worth noting that this refers to fine dust : the situation for other highly polluting elements is even worse!

Official measurements in Venice are performed in Sacca Fisola, a low-populated area upwind of the harbour.

EU directives , however, impose at least two monitoring centres in the heart of populated areas , and Venice doesn’t comply with the law on this matter.

Ambientalists turned towards the environmental organization NABU , to ask for measurements to be performed in the heart of the city, which is downwind the harbour: those values turned out to be  5 to 6 times higher than the already alarmingly high measurements in Sacca Fisola.

NABU’s measurement registered both the background pollution in different parts of the city and the spike concurrently to the passage of cruise ships . The level of PM 2,5 after the passing of a cruise ship Nave reached 150 times the level of PM 2,5 of clean air .

“I know there are regulations out there!”, you might think. Yes, there are, but not for everybody.

Since the enforcement of the standard Euro V in 2009 , the max amount of sulfurs in fuel was reduced to 10 ppm, or 0,001% .

That’s great! This, however, counts only for land vehicles such as cars and trucks.

The fuel allowed on ships at sea can  contain up to 3,5% sulfur : that is 3.500 more sulfur than the one allowed in fuel for land vehicles.

While moored , ships are allowed to use fuel with up to “only” 1,5% sulfur, which is still 1.500 times more polluting than the fuel used by cars and trucks .

Do ships burn fuel while docked in the harbour?

Yes, they do, because the port in Venice (as most ports around the world) can’t provide enough electricity for keeping the services and amenities running onboard the ships. Therefore, ships keep their engines running to produce electricity.

A cruise ship docked in Venice keeps the motor running 24h a day and burning a fuel that is 1.500 (one-thousand five-hundred) times more polluting than car fuel. 

Many nations worldwide, including Italy, lack laws enforcing the use of filers on cruise ships. As a consequence, many cruise ships don’t make use of particulate filters and catalyst converters , which would decrease emissions by (over) 90%.

The cost of filters, called scrubbers, for a medium-sized cruise ship is around 1 million € . Considering that the average cost of a cruise ship is around 350 million, the cost for the purchase of filters would represent just  0,3% of the total cost. 

There are two main reasons for which cruise companies chose not to make use of scrubbers :

  • Filters would take up space that companies prefer to reserve for entertainment instead.
  • The current laws allow cruise ships to approach the coast even without filters if they have “clean” fuel . Clean fuel on ships, however, contains up to 1500 times more sulfur than land fuel does.

In order to answer the concerns raised by Venetians regarding the pollution caused by cruise ships, companies have signed and publicized their “Venice Blue Flag” voluntary agreement , with the promise to make use of BTZ fuel when approaching Venice. BTZ fuel is an oil with less than 0,1% sulfur , far below the Italian national requirement of <1,5% when in urban areas.

We salute with excitement such a of voluntary agreement!

Unfortunately, despite their announcements, upon inspection by the port authorities companies have been fined for not even respecting the national requirements and using instead fuel containing 2,8% sulfur  (Venice, 18/07/2015). How reliable!

Let’s make this last information very clear:

  • Cars fuel has a 0,001% limit
  • The Italian Law imposes a 1,5% limit on ships within 12 miles from the coast (the limit raises to 3,5% beyond 12 miles)
  • Cruise ship companies promised to respect a voluntary 0,1% limit

But upon inspection, companies were found to be using fuel with 2,8% sulfur, a value 2.800 times higher than the one allowed for cars and well above the Italian Law.

Effects on the local environment

Besides the aforementioned air pollution, there are several other effects caused directly by Cruise Ships or human intervention looking to accommodate ever growing cruise ships in the lagoon.

Effects on Venice

Three main impacts of cruise ships in Venice are the displacement of water and the consequent erosion of the lagoon, the corrosion caused by pollutant, and the digging of canals in the Venetian Lagoon which is a very delicate environment.

  • Displacement is the mass of water moved by the submerged part of the ship, and it’s the parameter that allows a ship to float . Gross Tonnage, which is what the Laws refer to, is the measure of the volumes of a ship, not its mass. There is no direct relationship between Gross Tonnage and Displacement. However, the displacement in cruise ships is roughly around 50% of its gross tonnage : a 100.000t ship will move 50 million litres of water. Even though performed relatively slowly, the movement of such a massive amount of water erodes the hundreds and even thousands of years old foundations of the palaces and the streets of Venice. Big ships are not the only cause of this phenomenon, of course. Heavy (and too-fast-moving) motor traffic is to be blamed also for the holes (yes, real holes) being carved in the foundations.
  • The pollution  caused by the fuel used by cruise ships as well as motorboats mixes with the air produces NO2, CO2, and SO2 which damage  severely not only the “natural” environment and the health of living beings but also corrodes severely the works of art and the palaces of Venice.
  • The heavy digging of the canals to let Big Ships into the Venetian Lagoon increases the amount of water that enters and exits the lagoon during tides . The direct and most obvious effect on the city of Venice is the increase in number and intensity of High Waters, or Acque Alte , which partially flooded the city.

Big ships, or cruise ship, passing in the lagoon of Venice, Italy

Effects on the Lagoon

We mentioned above the consequences that digging canals have on the city of Venice. What were the effects of human intervention on the lagoon ?

  • The lagoon used to have an average depth of 40cm until less than 100 years ago. The digging and deepening of canals led to the erosion of 70% of the natural sediments and an increase in depth to an average 1,2m … that’s an increase of +200%.
  • The increased amount of water led to the erosion of the sandbanks of the lagoon. Sandbanks are home to Venetian wildlife : fishes, birds, small rodents, and plants. Since the digging of the canals started, the habitat of local species has decreased drastically .

Dangers and risks of collisions

The most immediate fear of Venetians and Venice lovers when it comes to the passing of Big Ships in the heart of Venice, is the risk of collision .

The rules established to reduce this risk are very strict and applied with great attention:

  • Every cruise ship is halted at the entrance of the lagoon of Venice, is boarded by two captains of the Venice Port and is manoeuvred all the way until it is safely docked in the harbour.
  • Every cruise ship is preceded and followed by two tugboats that can  intervene in the case of an emergency .

These rules have indeed granted great safety to the city of Venice over the years, but have not prevented entirely accidents. Some of them could have been devastating to the city.

Will cruise ships tragedies no longer occur in Venice?

No, only forbidding cruise ships to pass in the basin of Saint Mark will assure Venice to be completely safe from cruise ship related accidents.

Just like everything else, from trains to planes, the risks are calculated, reduced as much as possible, and often prevented . Yet, accidents do happen , it’s a matter of statistics and probability. Whether a mechanical or electrical dysfunction, terrorism, human error or deliberate choice, tragedies are a reality.

In the past years, between 500 and 600 cruise ships docked yearly in Venice. This means that cruise ships cross the Basin of Saint Mark between 1.000 and 1.200 times every year , just in front of the Doge Palace on one side, and San Giorgio on the other side. In 20 years , big ships will have passed 20 to 24.000 times through the heart of Venice . One, only one, single accident in the Basin is one of those 2o.000+ crossings could mean a tragedy from which Venice would never recover.

The possibility of accidents is small , but the consequences would be devastating .

Up to this point, all considerations speak clearly against Big Ships.

Why then, are there people in favor of cruise ships?

Impact of the cruise ship business on the local Economy

The Venice Cruise Ship Terminal employs 4-5.000 workers locally , which is over 4% of the workers of Venice , and a total of 7-8.000 workers in all of Italy. The economic impact of the port represents 3-4% of the Venice municipality GDP .

Venice acts mainly as a homeport . A homeport is a port from which a cruise ships’ journey start or ends. Cities that have home ports benefit from greater economic expenses than cities working as transit ports do since it is more likely for cruisers to be spending one night in town before or after their cruise. In 2015, the port of Venice has welcomed close to  1,6 million passengers.  The above data and its implications were taken from a  report about the benefits of the port , commissioned and funded by the Venetian port itself.

On the other hand, since Venice has experienced a sudden increase of cruise passengers , an overwhelming number of souvenirs shops and low-price-and-quality restaurants have opened , targeting day (or hour) trippers. This kind of business has contributed greatly to the increase of rents and the disappearance of many local shops and activities , as well as artisans’ shops and authentic traditions.

Impact of the Cruise Ships on the National Economy

An important business connected to the cruise ships industry is the making of these big ships . The Italian public company Fincantieri is one of the biggest shipbuilding companies in the world , specializing in cruise ships, warships, and 60+m yachts. It has several construction yards in Italy, as well as in the U.S., Brazil, Norway, Romania, and Vietnam. One major construction point is in Marghera (Venice), and it gives work to thousands of workers and 350 businesses. The number of subcontractors increases this industry’s relevance even further.

Fincantieri in 2015 employed directly 7.700 people in Italy and over 22.000 people all around the world, generating revenues of 4,2 Billion €. 

It is clear that a part of Italy’s economic interests and job opportunities are tightly bound to the cruise ships business .

Current situation and Government interventions

Laws and decrees.

Technically, since 2013 a Decree called Clini-Passera prohibits big ships over 40.000t to pass by the basin of Saint Mark . Only technically though, since the decree also requires the presence of alternative routes for ships over 40.000t, in order to be effective . As long as the city of Venice will  not provide alternatives , this limit is automatically increased to 96.000t . Before 2013, the upper limit used to be 130.000t.

This situation, however, is probably better than if the 40.000t limit would be respected since, currently, the only ships small enough to respect that limitation are  old ships with obsolete engines . These “small” big ships might indeed look less invasive to the eye, yet they pollute the air more than bigger and more modern ships do .

Until early 2021, the only limitations to cruise ships passing through the basin of Saint Mark are the use of fuel with less than 1,5% sulfur (1500 times higher than the percentage allowed on land) and a gross tonnage below 96.000 tons .

That did not satisfy civil society groups who demanded cruise ships be banned from passing through the heart of Venice. Indeed, ships up to 96.000 tons still represent a massive size compared to the city’s dimensions.

At the same time, the 96.000t limit did not satisfy cruise companies, since most of the new ships being built were over 100.000 tons and wouldn’t be allowed to pass in front of Venice . Seeing Venice from above was considered to be the highlight of the cruise ship journey, and is, therefore, the strongest cruise ship ticket selling argument .

Finally, in 2021, things changed: From the 1st of August 2021, ships weighing with a size above 25.000 tons can no longer pass in front of Saint Mark’s Square!

In 2021 some things changed for Cruise Ships in Venice

A new Italian Law passed in July 2021 stated that ships above 25.000 tons can no longer pass in front of Saint Mark’s Square starting August 1st 2021!

This, however, does not mean that cruise ships can no longer enter the Venetian Lagoon.

On the contrary, the local and national administrations are considering increasing the width and depth of an existing canal inside the Venetian Lagoon to let much bigger cruise ships dock in Marghera, nearby Venice.

Therefore, while we welcome the new Law, it only solves one problem: the risk of collisions.

The huge impacts of cruise ships on our delicate local environment and the enormous pollution caused are not addressed at all.

Projects and proposals

Despite the new law of 2021, the Italian Government is taking into account three proposals to improve to the current situation.

Two of them, called Contorta Project and Trezze Project , focus on the digging of existing canals in the Venetian lagoon ; The third, called the Venis Cruise Project , focuses on building a new docking terminal at the entrance of the Lido channel connecting the Adriatic sea to the lagoon.

Increasing the width and depth of canals in the Venetian lagoon is fiercely opposed  by environmental groups since it will alter and worsen, once more, the fragile state of the Venetian lagoon . In order to make big ships pass, the canals would be dug a dozen meters deep, allowing a much greater amount of seawater to enter or exit the lagoon during tides. The digging of one of these canals would result in the destruction of even more sandbanks , or “barene”, and an  increase in the frequency and intensity of High Water , or Acqua Alta, in Venice.

The creation of a new docking terminal is opposed for several reasons. From a logistic point of view , the common remark is that it will be necessary to create yet another means of transportation for millions of people from the cruise terminal to the centre of Venice. Cruise ships oppose this project. A new docking terminal would prevent companies to sell the view-of-Venice-from-above , and would spoil the investments made during the past decade to become the majority shareholder of the Venice Port.

A further project suggests cruise ships should make use of the already existing “oil canal” or “Canale dei Petroli”, which is used since 1969 by mercantile ships to reach the industries of Marghera. This project would require no intervention on the Venetian Lagoon, but the making instead of a new Port in Marghera and the conversion of the current Port into social housing. The Marghera Port would be the only location adapt for cold-ironing, or   shore connection , providing enough electrical power to docked ships, making it possible for their main and auxiliary engines to be turned off, dramatically cutting the cost of air pollution.

We tried to provide you with plenty of information to describe the relationship between Venice and the Big Ships. Whichever is your position on this matter, we respect it.

The opinion of others

We understand the problems that would be caused by posing a limitation to cruise ships, and we understand that several people are bound to this business and depend on it. We respect those who strongly support the cruise ship business as it currently is.

We are aware that many people depend on the activities coming from the Venice Port , and that the ever-growing protests of the local communities are felt like a great threat and danger to their jobs.

In a land where unemployment is high, pay is low, and social help is less-than-ideal, this is exactly the leverage used by those who could make a change but wish instead to keep things as they currently are,  only to increase their profit despite damaging severely the health of the local population and the environment.

Our Opinion

We are very critical of the current situation.

We just can not and will not accept the great, constant and terrible pollution caused by these ships and the promotion of mass tourism that contributes to the disappearing of local businesses and authentic shops in favour of mass-produced plastic souvenirs that target day-trippers.

We understand and respect the importance of this business and the jobs it generates  but we believe it must change in order to respect something that matters more than the profit of a few: the health of all the Venetians, the protection of Venice, and the respect of the environment.

We have a dream

We wish for the preservation of the current jobs , but we also wish for some major changes that will respect Venice, the lagoon, and the Venetians.

Which changes do we believe should absolutely be undertaken ?

  • Ships should be obliged to use filters .
  • Close to cities, fuel allowed on ships should respect the same parameters as the one allowed on land .
  • Once docked , ships should switch off their motors and receive electrical power from the Port itself.
  • Ships should not pass in front of Saint Mark . Entertainment and profit should not win over safety.
  • No new canals should be dug or enlarged . The Venetian Lagoon is delicate and should be preserved.

We believe in our dreams, and we will try to push for a change in every way we can.

Congratulations on making it through this long and technical article!

If you’re eager to learn more about Venice as well as to find great information to plan your visit to the city while making a positive impact on the local community, check out the following resources:

I'm visiting Venice. Why should I follow your recommendations?

The way you visit Venice has an impact both on the quality of your experience and on Venice itself.   Chilling, exploring , shopping , eating and drinking where the locals do, can make a huge impact both on the memories you bring home and on the local economy and community.

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Cruise ship and small motor boat

Cruise passengers shuttled into Venice by motor boat to dodge big ships ban

Move by Norwegian Cruise authorised by city’s port authority despite plans to curb daytrippers

A cruise company has circumvented a ban on its ships entering the Venice lagoon by shuttling passengers into the famous city centre on small motor boats.

Norwegian Gem, a vessel of just under 300 metres long and owned by Norwegian Cruise, anchored outside the Venice Lido early on Saturday morning. It then launched several motor boats which between them dropped about 1,500 passengers off in St Mark’s Square before picking them up again in the evening.

The move, which was authorised by Venice’s port authority, is reportedly part of an experiment after the Italian government last year banned ships weighing more than 25,000 tonnes from docking in the Unesco world heritage site.

It followed years of protests which pitted environmentalists, who saw the vessels as damaging to Venice’s fragile lagoon, against those who worried it would affect an economy dependent on tourism.

Most cruise companies have since rerouted to ports in Trieste or Ravenna, from where passengers who want to see Venice can make a bus journey of about two hours. A handful are making use of Marghera, a nearby industrial area, which has been repurposed for cruise ships as a temporary measure.

Norwegian Gem was only transiting through Venice when it dropped passengers off for the day on boats provided by the city’s port authority.

Venice’s governors had no influence over the matter, but Simone Venturini, the city’s tourism councillor, has warned against “hit and run” tourism and hoped the Norwegian Gem tactic wouldn’t set a precedent. “It’s not the type of tourism we want for the city,” he told the local press.

Italy barred huge ships from using the Giudecca canal to enter Venice’s historic centre in July 2021. The 25,000-tonne limit means only small passenger ferries and freight vessels can use the canal. The decision followed years of protests against cruise ships and a warning from Unesco that Venice was at risk of being put on the world heritage endangered list unless the vessels were permanently banned.

At the same time, the Italian government issued a call for bids for the construction of a terminal outside the Venice lagoon equipped to accommodate ships weighing more than 40,000 tonnes.

Francesco Galietti, director of the Italy unit for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), said the ban had left the industry “in limbo”.

“Venice used to be a home port, which meant people would come one or two days in advance and spend time in Venice [before starting a cruise], book a hotel and eat in the local restaurants. That was the old world,” he added.

“The Norwegian episode shows that there is an ongoing struggle for Venice to remain a home port. Everything is in a state of flux and we are trying to understand what the new normal looks like.”

If the experiment by Norwegian becomes the norm, it is unclear whether cruise passengers would be obliged to pay a landing charge that Venice leaders will enact from 16 January 2023.

The fee targets day-trippers, who will have to go online to book the day on which they plan to visit Venice, paying between €3 (£2.50) and €10 a person, depending on how busy the city is on their chosen day.

Transgressors risk fines as high as €300 if they are stopped and unable to show proof that they booked and paid with a QR code.

About 80% of tourists in Venice come just for the day.

In 2019, the last full year of tourism before the pandemic, 19 million day-trippers visited Venice and provided just a fraction of the revenue compared with those staying for at least one night.

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Venice Off the Itinerary: Alternative Ports and Sea Days for Norwegian Cruise Line in 2024/2025

You’ve probably heard in recent years the efforts to ban cruise ships in venice, italy..

This is true! No more cruise ships will be allowed to dock in Venice, for now.

While there has been an effort to create a larger cruise passenger terminal outside of the main city in Marghera, Italy (primarily for MSC cruises ), the ability for all cruise lines including NCL, to dock in the city center (aka Lagoon) will remain restricted.

NCL makes changes to all itineraries that include Venice, Italy – Much to the disappointment of passengers.

Norwegian Cruise Line has tried to keep Venice on the itinerary for smaller ships but has now said it’s just not feasible anymore.

In response to these restrictions that prevent large cruise ships from entering the Venice Lagoon and docking at the traditional piers, vessels of considerable size destined for Venice, Italy, are now mandated to anchor outside the lagoon. Consequently, guests are required to use tender boats to reach the Port of Venice.

In all fairness, after the ban on large cruise ships, NCL tried to keep Venice on the schedule, but passengers stated it took over 2 hours to get tender boats back and forth. People clearly weren’t happy about that.

Despite Norwegian Cruise Lines’ efforts to preserve the scheduled visits to Venice, the tender operation and the ensuing experience for passengers have not aligned with the service standards NCL has tried to provide.

Unfortunately, as a direct consequence of the long tender boat lines and complications for larger ships, adjustments have been made to the itineraries for 2024 and 2025 that include Venice as a destination.

Venice Off the Itinerary: Alternative Ports and Sea Days for Norwegian Cruise Line in 2024/2025 1

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Adapting to Venice’s Cruise Ship Restrictions: What It Means for Your Next Cruise on Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Dawn

The 2024 and 2025 itineraries for the Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Dawn have been updated. For the year 2024, these alterations entail replacing scheduled stops in Venice with visits to alternative ports such as Ravenna, Italy ; Rijeka and Zadar, Croatia; or Koper, Slovenia, depending on port availability. For 2025, the itineraries have been adjusted to substitute the Venice stops with an additional day at sea.

Detailed information on the affected sailing dates

  • 2024: Includes dates from May 27 through August 9.
  • 2025: Encompasses dates from August 19 through October 23.
  • 2024: October 7.
  • 2025: April 10 and April 22.

What to do if Your Cruise Has Changed

For detailed insights regarding the itinerary changes, including alterations to the order of ports and timing of arrivals, passengers are advised to consult the “Itinerary Changes” section on their reservations or within the NCL app.

Norwegian Cruise Line has proactively sent notification letters to cruisers affected by these updates.

If Venice was the sole purpose you chose one of these cruises, it’s possible you may be able to get a full refund or transfer your cruise to a different itinerary. But remember, an Itinerary change isn’t usually a reason alone to get a full refund, so it may be at the discretion of NCL on bookings that have nonrefundable deposits.

A few things to consider

You might be thinking “That’s fine, I’ll visit Venice from Ravenna “. The reality is, it’s just too far. People have been able to make the trip to and from Ravenna but it means hours on a bus or train EACH way leaving very little time to explore the city. So as a cruiser, you’re better off planning your trip to include Venice before or after the cruise.

It’s also worth noting that Ravenna, Italy is actually lovely to visit so the changes that would include Ravenna aren’t all bad. However, the other ports aren’t a good substitution to Venice in our opinion.

Why are cruise ships banned from Venice now?

If you’ve ever been to Venice before and witnessed one of these massive ships sail through the lagoon, you’ll understand why they’re not looked kindly upon by the locals and the government. They’re simply massive and there are real concerns about the tide and wake impact on the low lying streets as huge ships pass. Additionally, local governments and residents of Venice have said the pollution impact with both noise and air is not worth allowing the ships to continue to dock.

While this is all disappointing, being a real fan of Venice myself, I understand the restrictions and thing it’s the right choice.

Phil Crane

Cruise Gear Editor

I'm a global nomad at heart, and the dedicated editor behind CruiseGear. For the past two decades, I've experienced exciting voyages across the world, discovering countless ports from the decks of dozens of ships, visiting 40+ countries (and living in some of them for years). It's been an exhilarating journey to say the least! I want to share everything I've learned and hope to make your next cruise vacation as enjoyable as possible.

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no more cruise ships in venice

CRUISE SHIP BAN – NO MORE CRUISE SHIPS IN VENICE

Hi my lovely readers!

The summer season normally means it’s Mediterranean cruise season. The cruise industry has been hit pretty hard by the pandemic and cruise companies had to suspend operations all together for almost an entire year.

And now the cruise industry most recently has been in the news again, but this time it’s about one specific port – Venice.

Venice has been a popular embarkation and disembarkation port for many cruise lines over the years and I can totally see why. The cruise port is located pretty much in Venice, which is the perfect location for city sightseeing as everything is within walking distance and attractions are easily accessible. Plus, sailing out of Venice is such a special experience as you get to pass St Mark’s Square.

no more cruise ships in venice

But no more. In March Venice announced a ban on cruise ships or in general larger vessels also including container ships that weigh more than 25,000 tonnes. From 1st August 2021 vessels over that tonnage will have to dock at the industrial port of Marghera, which is located outside the city and currently being modified to accommodate those larger vessels and cruise passengers.

This cruise ship ban has been in the making for several years though. Many residents have been campaigning against the ban of larger vessels for many years as they cause pollution and underwater erosion to the foundations that Venice is built on. Additionally, UNESCO announced that it would place Venice on its endangered list unless cruise ships would be banned forever.

The residents are happy and the cruise industry seems to be the loser of this larger vessel ban as there’re hardly cruise ships under 25,000 tonnes.

Back in 2016 I had the chance, which I’m so grateful for, to take a Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Civitavecchia (Rome) with Silversea. The ship back then could carry 540 guests and was 36,000 tons before it got enlarged, which hardly is a big cruise ship in comparison to for example the Norwegian Epic, which can accommodate up to 4,100 passengers.

no more cruise ships in venice

I’m not gonna lie, it was rather nice to sail out of Venice. It was a breeze to get to the cruise port and I loved sailing out at night, passing St Mark’s Square and seeing it all light up.

But I totally understand why the government decided to ban cruise ships and larger vessels in general from the Venice lagoon. In my opinion it’s better to preserve Venice and have cruise ships docking outside the city and offering shuttle services than to lose the city.

Because without Venice, there is no sailing out from Venice and the city and it’s resident, the people that call Venice their home, should be more important than large corporations. and tourists that only spend little time in the city. Yes, they spend a lot of money and yes it will be more of a hassle for them to reach Venice, but I don’t believe it will deter people from booking a Mediterranean cruise.

What’s your stance on the cruise ship ban in Venice?

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2 thoughts on “ CRUISE SHIP BAN – NO MORE CRUISE SHIPS IN VENICE ”

i dont know the ins and outs of it all, but it seems its probably for the best, venice is such a special place and i can only imagine such big ships can do a lot of damage

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Thanks Andy for sharing your view on this.

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Why cruise lines need their private islands more than ever

  • Cruise lines spend big on private islands and destinations exclusive to their guests.
  • These private Caribbean properties are money trees for companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
  • In-house destinations are becoming increasingly necessary amid rising fuel costs and port restrictions.

Insider Today

About 140 miles east of Miami, Royal Caribbean's private Bahamas island, Perfect Day at CocoCay , receives thousands of eager families virtually every day of the year.

The cruise line and many of its competitors don't just own ships — they also have land-based portfolios. Throughout the Caribbean and in countries like Honduras and Belize, practically every major cruise company has snatched up and developed beachfront properties to make exclusive to their guests.

To travelers, these secluded ports of call are convenient, safe, and cherished: "The vast majority of people love the islands," Patrick Scholes, the managing director of lodging and leisure-equity research at Truist Securities, told Business Insider.

To cruise lines, they're cash cows. And now, maybe more than ever before, a necessity as operators seek out profits while battling rising operating costs and ever-restrictive ports.

The industry is cruising into a private island renaissance

Cruise lines like Princess, Holland America, and MSC collectively own 16 ports and private destinations in the Caribbean (including properties that are still under development).

Many of them, like CocoCay, are hits.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, told analysts in 2023 that the private island had seen robust demand, including from repeat travelers. So much so that the financial returns on the $350 million investment, launched in 2019, have been "exceptionally high and significantly above its target," Naftali Holtz, CFO of Royal Caribbean Group, said a few months prior.

Given travelers' appetite, Royal Caribbean has continued to expand its splashy Bahamas getaway.

Its most recent addition, the adult-only Hideaway Beach , opened in January, adding to CocoCay's 14-slide waterpark, upscale beach club, massive pool, and umbrella-lined beaches.

But it's not done: The cruise giant plans to open its next development, a 17-acre private beach club on Nassau, Bahamas' Paradise Island, in 2025.

Carnival Corp is also updating its popular private island, Half Moon Cay, with an additional berth to accommodate its largest ships, increasing the destination's guest capacity.

Like its competitor, Carnival has more plans to expand its real estate footprint — this time with Celebration Key, a $500 million exclusive resort on Grand Bahama Island, set to open in 2025.

The vacation-at-sea industry's land-based conquest could continue to grow: Given their benefits, Scholes said he wouldn't be surprised if Royal Caribbean were to announce plans to build another private island in the next five years.

Related stories

These are the three reasons cruise-run private destinations have become so important.

1. Fuel is expensive

Fuel is one of the cruise industry's biggest expenses . Fortunately, most Caribbean-based private destinations are just a night's sailing from Florida's major cruise ports.

Amid rising fuel costs, it's easy to see why cruise lines would want to plan more itineraries around these nearby stops.

In September 2023, Josh Weinstein — president, CEO, and chief climate officer of Carnival Corp — called the forthcoming Celebration Key a "win-win-win for the environment, our guests, and the people of the Bahamas," citing the property's proximity to its Florida homeports and the subsequent reduced fuel expenditure.

It could certainly be a "win" for travelers: In the same call, he told analysts that a guest-fronted fuel surcharge is "certainly not off the table."

2. Private destinations keep profits in-house

Before its debut, pre-cruise bookings for CocoCay's Hideaway Beach surpassed the company's expectations, Jason Liberty, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, told analysts in October 2023.

Admission costs up to $89 per person during peak season. Nearby, entry to the more exclusive beach club could be shy of triple that cost .

Even the otherwise complimentary parts of the island have splurge-enticing options like rentable cabanas and snorkeling gear.

Travelers content with a basic beach chair and the lunch buffet don't have to ball out on these up-charged luxuries. But they sure are hard to resist, especially as cruisers have become eager to splurge on their vacations.

For families, skipping CocoCay's waterpark could be as sacrilegious as skipping Disney World during an Orlando vacation, Scholes said. A day pass to Thrill Waterpark can exceed $100 per person — that's more than $400 down the drain for a family of four in one afternoon.

These destinations have plenty of opportunities for guests to spend big. And because there's no need to rely on other excursion operators, they allow cruise lines to keep more profits in-house.

3. Some popular ports are saying "no" to giant cruise ships

The world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas , can carry 7,600 guests and 2,350 crew.

This sudden influx of travelers could overwhelm smaller destinations and their locals, like the just over 25,000 residents of Santorini, Greece, and 25,600 of Key West, Florida.

With concerns like pollution and over-tourism, it's no wonder the popular Greek island has a daily cap on cruise visitors, while its Florida counterpart has faced a fraught battle to restrict cruise tourism .

They're not alone. Cities across the US and Europe have increasingly limited travelers coming by sea — either through size restrictions, daily visitor limits, or complete bans. This includes desirable ports like Juneau, Alaska, French Polynesia, and Venice, Italy.

Ironically, at the same time, mass-market cruise lines have continued to grow the size of their vessels — so much so that several of these new mega-ships are now simply too big to fit into some ports.

So, if you can't beat the ports, why not join them? Especially if you can outfit your private properties with dozens of profit-growing amenities.

Watch: Inside the world's biggest cruise ship that just set sail

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Cruise Lines Are Rerouting Voyages From Baltimore Following Bridge Collapse — What to Know

Prior to the collapse, the port was home to three major cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Cruise lines sailing out of Baltimore are working to make alternative arrangements following Tuesday’s fatal bridge collapse.

All ship operations at the Port of Baltimore have been suspended after a container ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse, according to the White House . Six workers who were on the bridge at the time remain missing and are presumed dead, according to The New York Times .

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line told Travel + Leisure it temporarily moved its sailings on the Carnival Legend to Norfolk, Virginia. The company will provide a complimentary bus service from Norfolk back to Baltimore when the ship returns from its current voyage on Sunday for passengers who boarded in Baltimore prior to the collapse.

“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line, said in a statement. “We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden… to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.”

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line, which first launched cruises from the Maryland port last year , told T+L the company isn’t scheduled to return to the port until September. 

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that recently took place in Baltimore. Our sincerest thoughts are with the community and all those affected,” the Norwegian spokesperson told T+L. “At this time there is no impact to our itineraries, as we do not have any voyages scheduled to depart from the city until later this year in September and October. We will remain in contact with the Port of Baltimore and provide updates to our guests and travel partners if anything changes. In the meantime, we wish the city of Baltimore strength during this very unfortunate event.”

A representative for Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans from T+L. But the company told The Washington Post it was “closely monitoring the situation, and our port logistics team is currently working on alternatives for Vision of the Seas’ ongoing and upcoming sailings.”

no more cruise ships in venice

Why Royal Caribbean isn't going all in on massive cruise ships despite the wild success of its new Icon of the Seas

  • Royal Caribbean International has unveiled a swath of giant cruise ships over the past few years.
  • Its CEO said its new world's largest ship, the  Icon of the Seas,  is its "best-selling product" ever.
  • But the cruise line doesn't plan on going all in on megaships forever.

Earlier this year, guests at Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day at CocoCay private island were the first to revel at the historic sight of the world's largest cruise ships, Icon of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas, docked side-by-side.

The vessels towered over their communal dock like skyscrapers, casting a dark shadow over their relatively tiny shared pier.

Together, they can accommodate about 19,250 people.

At 1,196 feet long and weighing 248,663 gross tons, the Icon of the Seas is a sight to behold. When it launched in late January, the giant vessel upstaged its eight-foot shorter predecessor, the Wonder of the Seas , as the world's biggest.

At the time, it was no surprise: Every new Royal Caribbean ship seemed to dethrone another Royal Caribbean ship for this title.

But not for long.

The company's smaller ships, important for diverse trips, are aging.

The company is synonymous with its mega vessels. And they've been mega-hits: Michael Bayley, the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, has repeatedly called the Icon of the Seas the "best-selling product" in the company's history.

Royal Caribbean is set to launch four more megaships by 2028 — representing about a third of its total fleet. So far, most of the megaships' scheduled sailings are in the Caribbean.

The other 21 smaller vessels tend to have more specialized itineraries, Patrick Scholes, the managing director of lodging and leisure-equity research at Truist Securities, told Business Insider.

Given their trimmer sizes, these vessels can operate more sailings outside the Caribbean , which often reel in high fares and customer satisfaction for the company, Jay Schneider, the chief product-innovation officer at Royal Caribbean Group, told reporters in January. Think of the Mediterranean, Alaska, and South Pacific itineraries — the latter are especially important as the cruise line continues to ramp up business in Asia.

But these destination-flexible cruise liners are aging as Royal Caribbean continues to unveil their giant counterparts. The company launched its four oldest Vision-class ships, with a maximum 2,730-guest capacity, between 1996 and 1998.

They're tiny and old compared to the 2-month-old, 7,600-guest Icon of the Seas .

Looking ahead, Royal Caribbean plans to return to the basics: smaller cruise ships.

Despite the cruise line's success with mega-vessels, Schneider said Royal Caribbean is now considering a new class of ships that would start "smaller" — noting that he was "careful to say small, but less-than-large."

"The reality is, families want to go on vacations not just in the Western and Eastern Caribbean where a ship like Icon can get into," Schneider said. "They want to stay with our brand and journey to different destinations that require more versatility in ship size."

Desirable destinations such as French Polynesia and Venice, Italy, have limited visiting cruises , including size restrictions, to curb pollution and overcrowding. But, as Schneider said, small-vessel-enabled specialized itineraries are also important to travelers.

Giant mass-market floating resorts also often attract first-time cruisers, enamored by their family-friendly water parks and Broadway-style shows. But after a few good vacations at sea, these no-longer-new-to-cruising guests might start craving quieter ships or more bespoke itineraries.

"Alaska cruises tend not to be the first-time cruiser," Scholes told BI. "I don't really see Icon of the Seas doing a Norwegian Fjord or Alaska trip."

Plus, "there's probably only so much demand for these giant ships," Scholes said.

Royal Caribbean has already succeeded in the first part: bringing in a swath of new cruisers with its megaships. Now, it has to retain them.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.

Why Royal Caribbean isn't going all in on massive cruise ships despite the wild success of its new Icon of the Seas

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Inside icon of the seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.

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Aerial of Icon of the Seas.

They like big boats and they cannot lie.

For many of the first passengers on the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the onboard reality of the $2 billion behemoth lived up to the over-the-top hype.

During back-to-back preview sailings from the Port of Miami in late January, travel agents, special guests, members of the media and selfie-snapping influencers giddily explored as much as they could of the 20-story floating city that boasts eight distinct neighborhoods — and can hold nearly 10,000 passengers and crew at full capacity.

Aerial of Royal Caribbean.

As they ate and drank across the ship a shared sentiment formed: Big is indeed beautiful.

“I think it’s definitely a game-changer,” said Tywana Minor, founder of Live Travel Go, a boutique travel agency based in Atlanta. “You can literally be on the ship for a few days and still not even experience everything.”

The first bunch on board explored the myriad offerings with a sort of collective awe. Couples clinked flutes of champagne at the walk-up Bubbles bar in the Central Park neighborhood, one of 40 bars and restaurants on board.

“You can literally be on the ship for a few days and still not even experience everything” Tywana Minor, founder of Live Travel Go

Adults giggled like nervous adolescents as they blasted down water slides with names like Frightening Bolt and Storm Surge in the 17,000-square-foot water park. Pint-sized passengers, meanwhile, found nirvana at Surfside, a family-centric area complete with a beach-themed carousel and wading pool.

A few lucky souls even had the good fortune to snag perhaps the most coveted reservation on the high seas: the 38-seat Empire Supper Club, an eight-course dinner complete with cocktail pairings and live jazz. The fine-dining experience, which costs $200 per person, is fully booked for the next few months.

But it wasn’t just Icon’s splashy main attractions wowing passengers: Surprises awaited around seemingly every corner of the 1,198-foot ship, including pop-up piano performances, magicians and a duo of donut-costumed employees at the breakfast buffet every morning pointing guests toward rows of sinks and reminding them to “washy washy before yummy yummy!”

Interior of a game room.

For many passengers, adjusting to Icon’s staggering size — it’s nearly as long as four New York City blocks — presented a learning curve in itself. Even with signage everywhere, getting lost at some point was a given. Furthermore, the ship’s design — a vast open-air interior with elevators located forward and aft but not in the middle — almost guarantees that passengers will hit (or exceed) their daily step count.

“If you don’t like walking around a lot, this ship is not gonna be for you,” said Linda Miranda , a Newburgh, NY-based travel franchise owner with Cruise Planners.

As an antidote to the go-go-go vibe, Icon’s massive square footage also includes plenty of tranquil nooks and crannies ideal for kicking back and catching your breath: bed loungers overlooking the ocean; cornucopias of outdoor couches and chairs across various decks; and cozy, nest-like booths in the AquaDome, an area featuring a waterfall and wraparound ocean views.

Exterior of pool bar Swim & Tonic.

“There are so many spaces that you’re not going to feel the 7,600 passengers it can hold fully occupied,” Miranda said.

To escape the sensory overload altogether, retreat to their staterooms. There are 28 room categories; the most basic accommodations are 157-square-foot interior plus cabins, with rates starting at $3,600 per week for two people.

Meanwhile, one-percenters can splash out with the three-story Ultimate Family Townhouse, which spoils eight guests with amenities like a private patio, outdoor hot tub, in-suite slide, cinema and popcorn machine, and kids’ room. The suite costs, on average, $100,000 per week.

Interior of a room aboard the ship.

So far, passengers are showing an insatiable appetite for Icon and its outsized experience. When the ship was first announced in October 2022, it broke records as the largest booking day and week in Royal Caribbean’s then 53-year history, according to the cruise line. And the remainder of 2024 sailings are almost sold out, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson confirmed.

But since Icon is the first of a new class of megaships by Royal Caribbean — two more are on the way, with Star of the Seas scheduled to debut in August 2025 — there’s plenty more big fun on the horizon. It’s a prospect that has the chubby chasers of the cruise community twitterpated.

“These news ships, I don’t know how they keep building them bigger and bigger,” said Howard Schildhouse — a retired accountant who writes about his travels on his blog, “ It Must Be Wanderlust ” — “but they do.”

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Aerial of Royal Caribbean.

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WMAR - Baltimore, Maryland

Cruise lines working an alternatives for upcoming Baltimore stops

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The Port of Baltimore isn't just a site of commerce, it's also a destination for cruise lines.

Just last year Norwegian Cruise Line began sailing into the Port of Baltimore, though its next stops in Charm City aren't until September of this year.

As of 5:30pm Tuesday Carnival Cruise Lines they would temporarily move operations to Norfolk, Virginia.

Their Legend ship was scheduled to dock in Baltimore on Sunday. Passengers aboard that ship will now get complimentary bus service back to Baltimore.

"Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore," said Carnival Cruise Line President, Christine Duffy..

Royal Caribbean has a cruise scheduled to leave Baltimore in mid-April. A spokesperson for the cruise line issued this statement:

"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy and collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and extend our heartfelt prayers to all those impacted. We are closely monitoring the situation, and our port logistics team is currently working on alternatives for Vision of the Seas’  ongoing and upcoming sailings."

American Cruise Lines is another company that has a cruise scheduled to depart in May.

The company's spokesperson sent us the following statement:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the bridge collapse, and for the safety of everyone involved with the rescue efforts underway. American Cruise Lines small ship cruises currently exploring the Chesapeake Bay remain unaffected, and are operating roundtrip from Washington, DC. In regard to cruises operating in the region later in the 2024 season, we will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments if needed."

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Cruise the world for six months on Oceania's newest ship for around $70K

no more cruise ships in venice

Oceania Cruises’ newest ship is heading on a world tour.

The upscale cruise line’s 2026 Around the World voyage will take place on its Oceania Vista ship, which launched last year. The 180-day journey will take guests to 101 ports in 43 countries, and the ship will have all the trappings of a state-of-the-art vessel − a novel combination for the line.

“We always as operators considered the world cruise itinerary best used for older tonnage,” Frank A. Del Rio, the line’s president, told USA TODAY. “There was always this mindset that your newest and best ship had to go towards the … best-yielding itineraries, perhaps in the old days.”

World cruises often take place on older ships .

But in talking with guests, he heard previous Oceania world cruisers express excitement about Vista’s updated technology, open spaces and expanded onboard programming (particularly handy on the many sea days of a longer voyage).

What is a world cruise? It's not a 'shoot-from-the-hip decision'

When the cruise opened for bookings earlier this month, Del Rio said, the line saw record bookings. “We've never taken that many inquiries for a world cruise ever,” he said.

The response also speaks to “where our base guest is at in terms of further exploration.”  

But it’s not too late to book. Here’s what travelers can expect from the cruise.

When is Oceania’s 2026 Around the World voyage?

The 1,200-passenger Vista will sail round trip from Miami on Jan. 6, 2026. The line also is offering a slightly longer 197-day version beginning Dec. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles or a shorter 120-day voyage starting in San Diego on March 7.

Story continues below.

Where will the cruise sail?

Guests will spend six weeks cruising around South America, followed by visits to Mexico and California. The sailing will continue with stops at South Pacific islands, including Moorea and Bora Bora, before heading to Australia.

There, guests will visit marquee ports such as Sydney and lesser-visited destinations like the Whitsunday Islands. Del Rio said that while Vista is bigger than Oceania’s typical world cruise vessel, “she’s still of a good size where we can still get into a lot of the smaller ports and definitely offer a better array of ports” than larger ships.

Southeast Asia, India, the Mediterranean, the British Isles and the Nordic region will follow before the trip winds down along the U.S. East Coast, with final visits in New York and Charleston, South Carolina.

The itinerary features 11 overnight stops , including in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Papeete on Tahiti and Phuket in Thailand, giving guests extra time to explore.

How much does the cruise cost?

Available staterooms start at $68,099, according to Oceania’s website . The fare includes meals on board, Wi-Fi, an $8,800 shore excursion credit per stateroom and more.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

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    After years of protests by environmental and cultural conservation groups, Venice will officially ban large cruise ships—those longer than 590 feet and heavier than 25,000 tons—beginning Aug. 1. But the move is a largely controversial one. Venice is one of the most touristed cities in Italy, with some 1.5 million passengers arriving by some ...

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  6. Venice bans cruise ships from historic centre

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  7. Venice bans cruise ships from the city center

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  8. Italy's Government to Ban Cruise Ships From Venice

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  10. Italy to ban cruise ships from Venice to prevent the city ...

    Large cruise ships are to be banned from the historic centre of Venice from August 2021, according to the Italian government. The decision comes days before a UNESCO meeting which is proposing ...

  11. Cruising in Venice: Port Changes

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  12. Big cruise ships banned from entering central Venice

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  14. Norwegian cruise line quits Venice: Where will ships stop instead

    A top cruise line has cut the iconic city of Venice from its itineraries in 2024 and 2025 as the Italian destination continues to clamp down on visitors. Norwegian Cruise Line announced the ...

  15. Venice and Cruise Ships: A Delicate Balance

    Published July 8, 2021 Updated Oct. 4, 2021. In early June, the MSC Orchestra, a 2,500-passenger cruise ship, entered the Venetian Lagoon at dawn, sailing through St. Mark's Basin, past the Doge ...

  16. Good Or Bad? The Truth About The Cruise Ships In Venice

    A cruise ship docked in Venice keeps the motor running 24h a day and burning a fuel that is 1.500 (one-thousand five-hundred) times more polluting than car fuel. Many nations worldwide, including Italy, lack laws enforcing the use of filers on cruise ships.

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  18. Venice Off the Itinerary: Alternative Ports and Sea Days for Norwegian

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  20. Cruise Ship Ban

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  24. Carnival Cruise Line to Temporarily Move Baltimore Operations to

    Carnival Legend's next seven-day itinerary on March 31 will then operate from and return to Norfolk. Guests on the current and upcoming cruises are being informed of this change. "Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

  25. Inside Icon of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship

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  28. Cruise lines working an alternatives for upcoming Baltimore stops

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  29. Dali ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse was in prior accident

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  30. Oceania's newest ship will sail 180-day world cruise in 2026

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