Bar Harbor voters back tougher restrictions on cruise ships

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

That does not make them a "greed for profit" company.

Companies get greedy and build too much capacity. The cruise companies are building larger and larger ships. When there is an oversupply because of that greed they can fail. The oversupply could be causesed by recession or natural disaster, war etc. it would not be surprising if one of the mainstream cruise lines fails.

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, fenton04 said:

Someone missed the part when the cruise industry was SHUTDOWN during the great toilet paper shortage (COVID).

A possible natural disaster, like the pandemic should be built into business plans. Companies in other busness built up reserves to weather the crisis. 

[Charles4515]

31 minutes ago, Keksie said:

They could try to reverse the decision but once the infrastructure that is in place for the ships is dismantled it might not be that easy to bring it back.  The ships will have replaced Bar Harbor with another port and may not need/want to return. 

 

Just the restaurants not being able to push their lobster rolls and blueberry pies can have a ripple effect on the local economy.  Not as many lobsters needed, not as many blueberries needed, not as many wait staff needed.  

Why would they dismantle to infrastructure? There will still be ships that go there. There are a large number of ferries. As I recall the inrfrastucture was not fancy. It was probably there before cruise ships. There are a limited number of ports available in the NE so I don't think  getting ships back would be a problem but I don't think they will want the large ships back.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Charles4515

[time4u2go]

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Why would they dismantle to infrastructure? There will still be ships that go there. There are a large number of ferries. As I recall the inrfrastucture was not fancy. It was probably there before cruise ships. There are a limited number of ports available in the NE so I don't think  getting ships back would be a problem but I don't think they will want the large ships back.

Agreed.  It's not like there's a lot of "infrastructure" there anyway that relates to large cruise ships as opposed to ferries and other smaller boats.

[Tree_skier]

It's amazing that a town like Sitka, Alaska with its 8400 people can easily handle three cruise ships but somehow Bar Harbor can't.  That being said, goodbye Bar harbor. I believe in giving people what the want.

 

There are some great options out there that have already been mentioned.  A Canada/NE cruise is the next on my list to book when the next batch on Itineraries is released.  It'll be interesting to see what option the cruise lines go with. 

[nelblu]

4 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

It's amazing that a town like Sitka, Alaska with its 8400 people can easily handle three cruise ships but somehow Bar Harbor can't.  That being said, goodbye Bar harbor. I believe in giving people what the want.

 

There are some great options out there that have already been mentioned.  A Canada/NE cruise is the next on my list to book when the next batch on Itineraries is released.  It'll be interesting to see what option the cruise lines go with. 

Maybe they can re-jiggle the Anthem's 9 niter to the Caribbean instead of NE/Canada.  Possibly, have their luxury brand "Silverseas cruises fulfill the itinerary.

[Tree_skier]

8 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Maybe they can re-jiggle the Anthem's 9 niter to the Caribbean instead of NE/Canada.  Possibly, have their luxury brand "Silverseas cruises fulfill the itinerary.

Silversea already does NE/Canada.  They are primarily one ways. Either QC to NY or NY to QC.  Hilariously, in the context of this thread,  they don't go to Bar Harbor.  Bar Harbor, while interesting, isn't that special apparently.  

[Tree_skier]

My hope for a replacement is Newport, RI.

 

I've never been to RI. It'll be great to check off another state on my list.

[Keksie]

44 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Companies get greedy and build too much capacity. The cruise companies are building larger and larger ships. When there is an oversupply because of that greed they can fail. The oversupply could be causesed by recession or natural disaster, war etc. it would not be surprising if one of the mainstream cruise lines fails.

It isn't greed it is business.  If the cruise companies have misjudged their business model and cannot fill the ships then one or more may fail. That is supply and demand.  You seem to forget that a lot of companies got subsidies to weather the pandemic while cruise ships (which are foreign flagged) did not.  

[Keksie]

Just now, Tree_skier said:

My hope for a replacement is Newport, RI.

 

I've never been to RI. It'll be great to check off another state on my list.

When I was a kid we drove through RI looking for a hotel one night.  No vacancies so we ended up driving to another state.  

[Tree_skier]

2 minutes ago, Keksie said:

It isn't greed it is business.  If the cruise companies have misjudged their business model and cannot fill the ships then one or more may fail. That is supply and demand.  You seem to forget that a lot of companies got subsidies to weather the pandemic while cruise ships (which are foreign flagged) did not.  

I find it odd that some think it is greed for a business to maximize profit.  

 

If any fail, it won't be Royal, their share price has been the strongest of all the major lines.  If any fail, all the others thrive in the short term picking up the business left hanging by the failure.

 

At the end of the day, I suspect that the the major lines make it.  

[alfaeric]

33 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

It's amazing that a town like Sitka, Alaska with its 8400 people can easily handle three cruise ships but somehow Bar Harbor can't.  That being said, goodbye Bar harbor. I believe in giving people what the want.

 

There are some great options out there that have already been mentioned.  A Canada/NE cruise is the next on my list to book when the next batch on Itineraries is released.  It'll be interesting to see what option the cruise lines go with. 

It’s not that they can’t, as they have been for a very long time. 
 

it’s that they don’t want to. Given they have land based tourists, they also don’t need the ships. 

[bigeck]

2 hours ago, Keksie said:

There will be a ripple effect for sure.  Less tourists = less money.  No ships = no jobs related to the cruise ships such as tender operators.  Add to all that the closures during the pandemic and the recession = businesses cutting back or going out of business.  During the off season = less local money for discretionary spending = more cutbacks.  Time will tell whether the vote for less tourists was worth it.

Waiting to see how Venice done this year. I bet a lot wouldn't travel from Ravenna. A train to Bolognia airport is a lot easier. Thats what I'll be doing next year.

[time4u2go]

14 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Waiting to see how Venice done this year. I bet a lot wouldn't travel from Ravenna. A train to Bolognia airport is a lot easier. Thats what I'll be doing next year.

Venice is doing fine without cruise ships.  In fact, they are still so overrun with tourists that they will be adding a fee for people visiting just for the day.

[RedIguana]

So basically a municipality wants to limit my rights as an American to freely travel over the oceans, rivers, and waterways of the US, and to restrict my access to federal, state, and county roads in the great state of Maine, all the while reserving themselves the right to use all of said amenities for themselves, including commercial activities on the same waterways they want to restrict me from (hmmm...lobster anyone?).

[time4u2go]

2 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

So basically a municipality wants to limit my rights as an American to freely travel over the oceans, rivers, and waterways of the US, and to restrict my access to federal, state, and county roads in the great state of Maine, all the while reserving themselves the right to use all of said amenities for themselves, including commercial activities on the same waterways they want to restrict me from (hmmm...lobster anyone?).

I thought this was a restriction on cruise passengers, and not on people that access the area by roads.

 

Anyway, they're not preventing people from using any oceans, rivers, or waterways (or roads).

[squadron]

20 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

Portland, Maine also had a similar ballot question on Tuesday but it did not pass.

I visited Portland on a Snowbird cruise 4 years ago and enjoyed my day there - however Bar Harbor merchants made it clear that they didn't like tourists  but  accepted payment for overpriced meals and souvenirs .  One merchant actually said he was glad we were the last ship in.

[RedIguana]

4 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I thought this was a restriction on cruise passengers, and not on people that access the area by roads.

 

Anyway, they're not preventing people from using any oceans, rivers, or waterways (or roads).

Cruise, ferry, boat, paddleboard...all arrive by waterway to the Bar Harbor area, which is just chalk full of pavement not paid for by Bar Harbor, which just may go to a pretty famous National park. The problem is they want to restrict my access not even based on how I arrive, but how many others arrive via the same conveyance, with no regard to limiting access to others based upon their conveyance. How I arrive or how many others arrive with me should in no way restrict my rights as an American to freely travel all areas of the United States open to the general public, especially when it is a municipality trying to restrict those rights.

Now if they can find some way to actually restrict shipping, that is another story.

[bigeck]

32 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Venice is doing fine without cruise ships.  In fact, they are still so overrun with tourists that they will be adding a fee for people visiting just for the day.

Glad I done the 12 night cruise from Barcelona a few years ago. Included overnight in Venice. Sailed in at 2.30pm and out as it was started to get dark at 8.30pm

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

My hope for a replacement is Newport, RI.

 

I've never been to RI. It'll be great to check off another state on my list.

Stopped in Newport on Premier SeaBreeze August 2009.  I remember that my daughter and I rented bikes and there was a hold up returning the bikes and we almost missed the ship.

 

Also visited Newport in August 2021 on a day trip from Cape Cod (Falmouth).

 

Recently drove through RI on the way home from Boston (end of Voyager TA cruise).

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Another_Critic

[HappyTexan44]

37 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Venice is doing fine without cruise ships.  In fact, they are still so overrun with tourists that they will be adding a fee for people visiting just for the day.

 

Venice doesn't even want land tourists, or the Carnival.  

 

[nelblu]

3 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Glad I done the 12 night cruise from Barcelona a few years ago. Included overnight in Venice. Sailed in at 2.30pm and out as it was started to get dark at 8.30pm

Did 4 of them and enjoyed them all.  Glad we did this itinerary.  When Royal replaced the Brilliance class with the Vision class, the balcony cabins pricing went thru the roof due to the lack of them.

[RedIguana]

56 minutes ago, bigeck said:

Waiting to see how Venice done this year. I bet a lot wouldn't travel from Ravenna. A train to Bolognia airport is a lot easier. Thats what I'll be doing next year.

 

41 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Venice is doing fine without cruise ships.  In fact, they are still so overrun with tourists that they will be adding a fee for people visiting just for the day.

Different country, different government structure. I cannot use the same statements for Bar Harbor as Venice, or any non-American port for that matter. It is the American municipalities that attempt to restrict tourists strictly by cruise ship conveyance vs overall numbers that slightly upsets me. I mean, as a native Floridian, I would have loved to have seen growth in Florida and The Keys shut down 40 years ago. But this is America, and citizens do have the right of travel and residency.

Edited November 10, 2022 by RedIguana
I justzt has spellling izzues

[time4u2go]

6 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

Venice doesn't even want land tourists, or the Carnival.  

 

They do want land tourists, but not quite so many.

 

What is "the Carnival"?

[HappyTexan44]

6 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

They do want land tourists, but not quite so many.

 

What is "the Carnival"?

Mardi Gras celebration.   I used the anglicized version of Carnevale.