Dubrovnik Ship/Visitor Limits??!! Status?

Just be aware that Dubrovnik is starting to aggressively quota day visitors, so if two cruise ships arrive on the same day and the other arrives earlier than SS it may be problematic.

On another board, the above interesting warning about Dubrovnik was raised. I did check a little more. From the fairly-respected Bloomberg News on August 24, they had this headline: “Croatia Has a Plan to Avoid the Tourism Backlash” with these story highlights: “Croatia is seeking to shift away from its tried-and-true model of packing in tourists in favor of increasing visitors’ overall spending, dealing a potential blow to cruise and budget holiday operators. The former Yugoslav republic has long catered to ship operators. Now it’s also witnessing a surge fueled by fans flocking to the historical port city of Dubrovnik, which featured in the last Star Wars film and serves as King’s Landing in the HBO television series Game of Thrones.”

This story has a number of quotes from the Mayor of Dubrovnik and notes their "plan is to limit the number of cruise ships to two per day and about 4,000 passengers, from the current situation where up to six dock."

The cruise industry is not happy with this potential "plan". What is unclear is as to whether this idea is totally finalized and when legally it would start, how it would be enforced, etc. In reading more, this Mayor just took office in June and it seems much that this potential is still in "play" as to when and what happens next. The Dubrovnik Mayor would like to have more people stay longer in his town and not just be day-visitors on a cruise ship. He encourage ship to stop as some nearby, but less used ports, etc.

Any other insights, details, information, etc., as to when and/or how likely these limits are going to happen?

Full story at:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-24/croatia-seeks-quality-over-quantity-as-tourism-backlash-grows

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Super loved Dubrovnik!!! See more details and lots of great visual samples/examples at this link. Have had over 37,958 views on this posting and appreciate those who have tuned-in and dropped by.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

Since I am a local resident, I must admit that I am very biased. The town is trying to regulate ship arrivals, this is not only for residents but also cruisers. When our very small old town has more than 9,000 guests inside the city wall, it is impossible for proper movement. Walking the Stradun, our main promenade, should take about 15 minutes at a easy pace. When the same stroll takes more than one hour, then you must agree that it is far too crowded. Our Pile gate entrance is a very narrow entry point, last week it took 45 minutes to reach that point. Our new mayor wants to make the town accessible so everyone can visit and enjoy the historical and cultural sites. There have been postings from guests who have referred to my beloved Dubrovnik as Disneyland and complain about the amount of people. I wonder why since they are the guests and part of the crowds. Those comments, I must admit, hurt me deeply for I only see the wonder and beauty of Dubrovnik....during the winter.

Since I am a local resident, I must admit that I am very biased. The town is trying to regulate ship arrivals, this is not only for residents but also cruisers. When our very small old town has more than 9,000 guests inside the city wall, it is impossible for proper movement. Walking the Stradun, our main promenade, should take about 15 minutes at a easy pace. When the same stroll takes more than one hour, then you must agree that it is far too crowded. Our Pile gate entrance is a very narrow entry point, last week it took 45 minutes to reach that point. Our new mayor wants to make the town accessible so everyone can visit and enjoy the historical and cultural sites. There have been postings from guests who have referred to my beloved Dubrovnik as Disneyland and complain about the amount of people. I wonder why since they are the guests and part of the crowds. Those comments, I must admit, hurt me deeply for I only see the wonder and beauty of Dubrovnik....during the winter.

Appreciate this helpful and interesting update from Dubrovniktravelady. I would not call you "very biased". This is an understandable and challenging situation for Dubrovnik and other such historic, popular cities. Lots of serious pro/con factors involved.

When we visited wonderful Dubrovnik in June 2011, our 2800-passenger ship was the only major one in port that day and the weather was not too hot. Lucky!! It made for a super enjoyable day there. The days before and after our visit had nearly three times as many ship passengers flooding this historic city. From my picture below, you can see that the approach to Pile Gate was easy and very manageable. Lucky again!!

Does Dubrovniktravelady or anyone else know the details as to when and how these decisions will be made to when and what will be done? And how it will be enforced?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 185,587 views for this posting.

This was my view of the Dubrovnik’s Pile Gate their grand western entrance to the walled city. It was constructed in 1537. As shown, busy, but not too crowded during our day here.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

Here was my view of the Stradun or Placa, a 300 meter-long, limestone-paved, pedestrian main shopping street of Dubrovnik. This was taken as I was starting the walk around the walled town in an east-west direction.:

There is no way to find out how and when reducing the visitor count will go into effect. Our new Dubrovnik Mayor is a good man and he has put out several ideas. Limiting the amount of ships arriving is his biggest priority. I do not know how much weight he has and how much the political thieves in Zagreb will try to force more ships. We do hope there will be a reduction of daily arrivals by next season. We have only 4 ships arriving on Friday, 13 October and more than 10,000 cruisers. It is far too many people for our small old town. I am so looking forward to November, cool weather and very few tourists.

TLC, here is the latest news from our Mayor.

http://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/21517-frankovic-remains-firm-sends-letter-to-cruise-lines-international-association

TLC, here is the latest news from our Mayor.

http://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/21517-frankovic-remains-firm-sends-letter-to-cruise-lines-international-association

Appreciate these important added details and this link. Clearly it sounds as if this is still a "work in progress". Hopefully, the local officials, the national leaders and the cruise folks can work out a good plan for the future. For a delightful, but very small area such as Dubrovnik, an effective solution is needed. Success can be a challenge.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 219,201 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Thank you Terry for your kind thoughts and words, I do so appreciate it. You were lucky enough to visit on a very good day and had the opportunity to really enjoy our historical sites. However the days when we have more than 10,000 guests, it is painful for all of us. Many are going to believe this is about money, but it is about our status with UNESCO and our history and culture. We do not want to loose either. I will keep you posted.

We visited Dubrovnik this year in early June on Celebrity Constellation. We were amazed at it's beauty and highly impressed with its historical significance, it's people and culture. There are reasons it is so popular. The day we went it was very very crowded so I can see why the mayor is taking more control of the situation. I applaud that!

We visited Dubrovnik this year in early June on Celebrity Constellation. We were amazed at it's beauty and highly impressed with its historical significance, it's people and culture. There are reasons it is so popular. The day we went it was very very crowded so I can see why the mayor is taking more control of the situation. I applaud that!

We were in Dubrovnik on the Constellation in July and there were two ships and the old city felt crowded. They should limit the ships. We enjoyed Cavtat, the Old City, and Lokrum Island (which was nice for a swim after climbing those walls earlier in the day).

Yes we agree that the ships should be limited. This is what our new mayor is trying to do for next year. Limit the ships so that there are only 4,000 cruisers arriving. Keep in mind we also have many European guests arriving, so we must have room for all. There must be a good solution for everyone. Thank you for your comment.