Cruising - the future?

The last few months have seen residents of various ports across the world campaign against the ever-growing size and number of cruise ships calling. Barcelona, Marseille and of course Venice have been the most vocal up till now, citing everything from air pollution to environmental damage. Marseille has a higher incidence of lung disease and throat cancers and shipping is estimated to account for 10% of city’s air pollution. While Barcelona has topped a list of 50 European ports for the amount of air pollution produced by cruise ships, according to a 2017 report - hardly surprising when there can be as many as seven ships a day in port. 

Barcelona

Venice has hard several recent incidents of cruise ships losing  steering control in the sensitive Guidecca Canal that leads into the port and the risk of major damage to one of the world's most beautiful cities is very real. 

Now is the time for the release of cruise itineraries for 2020-21 and it is very noticeable how little the Mediterranean features and how many cruise ships will be sailing to Norway in the next few years. P&O's new 5000-passenger Iona will be operating 7-night fjord cruises all through her first summer season in 2020. Cunard has no less than 13 Norwegian cruises in the next two years, from summer in the fjords to Northern Lights voyages in the autumn and spring. Fred Olsen are offering over 30 cruises to Norway 2010-21. Add in P&O's 25 cruises in 2020, Princess Cruises' 22 or so plus NCL, MSC, CMV etc etc... and very soon the fjords will be like the Caribbean in winter. 

I can just imagine the shudders going through the itinerary planning departments then when suddenly it is announced that Norway's Green Party is uniting against cruise ships, proposing to stop all cruise calls to Oslo by January 2022. Norway is such a stunningly beautiful country you cannot blame them in wanting to keep it that way. You can read the full article here
https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/21576-norwegian-green-party-unites-against-cruise-industry.html .

It is easy to wonder just where cruises will be able to go soon, but there again, perhaps the cruise lines are not that worried, after all - many suggest the ship IS the destination and are happiest when passengers are all on board, spending money in bars, shops and spas.  Interesting times ahead I think.