Bar Harbor voters back tougher restrictions on cruise ships

[chengkp75]

34 minutes ago, flamingos said:

That is not a concern of the current administration.  🙂  What surprised me is how quickly the other port authorities caved when they were cut out of the new law.  😞

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the law still covers most of the ports in Florida (many that don't deal with cruise ships), not just Key West.  And, of course, the major ports were fine with the new law that didn't apply to them, just follow the money.  They didn't "cave", they accepted the exemptions as their "right", as major players, not some podunk little port.

[flamingos]

5 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the law still covers most of the ports in Florida (many that don't deal with cruise ships), not just Key West.  And, of course, the major ports were fine with the new law that didn't apply to them, just follow the money.  They didn't "cave", they accepted the exemptions as their "right", as major players, not some podunk little port.

 

 

The Legislature at one point this year tried to tailor language to address only Key West’s rules, but fears that would be indefensible in court nearly sunk legislation near the end of Session.

Sen. Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican, brought the matter back through an amendment to a transportation bill. The new wording made clear preemption applied to all ports in the state, but only to voter measures, and only those related to maritime commerce.

 

 

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/438656-gov-desantis-tanks-key-west-cruise-rules/

[timf2001]

On 11/11/2022 at 7:06 PM, Ashland said:

We have an Canada/NE itinerary for Oct 2023 onboard Liberty so am I to assume that Bar Harbor will be a no and when will RCI notify us about this change?

The initiative is supposed to permit any existing port bookings to continue as scheduled, so your itinerary will likely remain unchanged.  Fall 2024 is when the changes would start to come into effect for cruise lines that haven't already confirmed their schedules.

[fenton04]

With apologies to Gordon Lightfoot.

 

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down 

of the town they call Bar Harbor

the town it is said never gives up a bed

to passengers of the gloomy cruise ships.

[Joebucks]

On 11/10/2022 at 9:16 PM, DirtyDawg said:

Agreed. It seems like some of our fellow cruisers are taking this vote personally. The good people of Bar Harbor don't hate us as individuals. We cruisers are like my three year old granddaughter. We are  sweet, inquisitive, funny and a sheer joy to spend a day with except for the one or two temper tantrums, of course. 😉

 

But I'm not so sure I'd want to spend a day with 5,000 of her and her friends.  😵

 

 

Actually, it very much is they hate the individuals. Let's be honest, a cruise ship can bring many undesirable people that would otherwise never come to that city. I like how there's always two reasons behind this (sometimes three with "environment"). Usually it's "they don't spend anything" or "they overwhelm the city". So I guess they're all just standing in the street, bringing the cities' operations to a halt. The 1000 passenger limit is ensuring only the elite ships can come, with the customers with the most money.

 

Think of the kind of citizens in these small, beach, towns. They are usually wealthy, and love the exclusivity of the town. They don't want you there.

 

On 11/9/2022 at 4:07 PM, time4u2go said:

Agreed.  The people that live there should be the ones to decide what's best for their city.

 

I'd like to see if you're still singing that same tune as populations continue to grow while more cities decide they don't want tourists. I mean, if given the choice, who WANTS tourism besides shops and restaurants?

 

Cruise companies have a big problem to solve if this keeps happening. Fortunately for them, places like the Caribbean and Bahamas rely on tourism to survive. American towns are full of money and influence to keep you all out.

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, Joebucks said:

Think of the kind of citizens in these small, beach, towns. They are usually wealthy, and love the exclusivity of the town. They don't want you there.

Tell that to the residents of Bar Harbor who have an average household income of $68,000.

[DirtyDawg]

11 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

Actually, it very much is they hate the individuals. Let's be honest, a cruise ship can bring many undesirable people that would otherwise never come to that city. I like how there's always two reasons behind this (sometimes three with "environment"). Usually it's "they don't spend anything" or "they overwhelm the city". So I guess they're all just standing in the street, bringing the cities' operations to a halt. The 1000 passenger limit is ensuring only the elite ships can come, with the customers with the most money.

 

Think of the kind of citizens in these small, beach, towns. They are usually wealthy, and love the exclusivity of the town. They don't want you there.

 

LOL. They may not want you there but they LOVE me. 😁

[not-enough-cruising]

On 11/10/2022 at 9:06 AM, Charles4515 said:

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

While I agree with the premise of your statement; you must agree that no company in existence has reserves or contingency plan for ZERO revenue for over 6 straight quarters PLUS the refund of the vast majority of revenue (fares) collected for the previous 3 quarters or so. 

[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

I'd like to see if you're still singing that same tune as populations continue to grow while more cities decide they don't want tourists. I mean, if given the choice, who WANTS tourism besides shops and restaurants?

I absolutely would still be singing that tune!  I believe in local control over what goes on in a municipality.  I always have and always will.

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Tell that to the residents of Bar Harbor who have an average household income of $68,000.

 

https://www.movoto.com/bar-harbor-me/

 

Go ahead and look at the prices of properties for sale. You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore. Those homes cannot be afforded on $68k household salaries.

[squadron]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Tell that to the residents of Bar Harbor who have an average household income of $68,000.

Yet the time I visited I felt  a non welcoming vibe but merchants were happy when overpriced souvenirs were purchased.  

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore.

LOL. You are kidding about him........right?  

[fenton04]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

https://www.movoto.com/bar-harbor-me/

 

Go ahead and look at the prices of properties for sale. You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore. Those homes cannot be afforded on $68k household salaries.

Wow!  Talk about MOVIN ON UP!!!

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

https://www.movoto.com/bar-harbor-me/

 

Go ahead and look at the prices of properties for sale. You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore. Those homes cannot be afforded on $68k household salaries.

Edited November 14, 2022 by not-enough-cruising

[mpdog42]

On 11/9/2022 at 5:52 PM, fenton04 said:

I bet the citizens of Bar Harbor would amend this if Royal promised to only sail Electric cruise ships to their port.  Less of a carbon footprint.

Who wants to visit a bunch of Yankees anyway😀

[fenton04]

34 minutes ago, mpdog42 said:

Who wants to visit a bunch of Yankees anyway😀

Kind of had my eye out for some cheap fresh lobster.  Pretty hard to get here in the Midwest.  Home of the gooey butter cake and toasted ravioli.

[mpdog42]

3 hours ago, fenton04 said:

Kind of had my eye out for some cheap fresh lobster.  Pretty hard to get here in the Midwest.  Home of the gooey butter cake and toasted ravioli.

True. but i 'vote" with my dollars as the saying goes, especially these days!...A lot of cruises from Florida and Texas in my Future!!

Edited November 14, 2022 by mpdog42

[chengkp75]

10 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

https://www.movoto.com/bar-harbor-me/

 

Go ahead and look at the prices of properties for sale. You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore. Those homes cannot be afforded on $68k household salaries.

Funny you should say that, as I live in coastal Maine.  I also know year round residents of Bar Harbor, and I know the demographic of summer homes there.  I also know first hand, the inflation of home prices over the last two years, due to demand from people wanting to move to Maine to work remotely.

[chengkp75]

9 hours ago, squadron said:

Yet the time I visited I felt  a non welcoming vibe but merchants were happy when overpriced souvenirs were purchased.  

Any Yankee worth his/her salt will gladly separate someone "from away" from their money.

[nelblu]

5 hours ago, fenton04 said:

Kind of had my eye out for some cheap fresh lobster.  Pretty hard to get here in the Midwest.  Home of the gooey butter cake and toasted ravioli.

They are not as cheap as you think they are.

[chengkp75]

12 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

https://www.movoto.com/bar-harbor-me/

 

Go ahead and look at the prices of properties for sale. You must not have ever been to New England cities near the shore. Those homes cannot be afforded on $68k household salaries.

The figure I quoted is from the US Census Bureau:

 

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/barharbortownhancockcountymaine

 

And, you may find that the median "owner occupied" (as opposed to summercators) is $297,000, and the median rent is $881.

[fenton04]

56 minutes ago, nelblu said:

They are not as cheap as you think they are.

Most likely fresh.  We are pretty much relegated to frozen lobster around these parts. As a opposed to the fresh St. Louis style spare rib slowly hickory smoked to tasty, tender, and perfection.

[Tatka]

On 11/9/2022 at 3:11 PM, reallyitsmema said:

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

I was surprised this September when I’ve heard about this. I am not surprised vote didn’t pass. Portland isn’t really a Mecca of tourism and can use additional income.

 

 

[chengkp75]

16 minutes ago, Tatka said:

I was surprised this September when I’ve heard about this. I am not surprised vote didn’t pass. Portland isn’t really a Mecca of tourism and can use additional income.

 

 

Cruise passengers amounted to just under 300,000 for Portland this year.  That is out of 5.4 million tourists who visit the greater Portland area each year.  While I didn't agree with the ballot initiative, I think there should be a limit on passengers/day, as we had 8000 one day, in a city with a population of 68,000.

[Tatka]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Cruise passengers amounted to just under 300,000 for Portland this year.  That is out of 5.4 million tourists who visit the greater Portland area each year.  While I didn't agree with the ballot initiative, I think there should be a limit on passengers/day, as we had 8000 one day, in a city with a population of 68,000.

I agree with a limit. We visited Portland twice via cruise. Once it was on Brilliance and we saw one small American Constitution ship in port, second time it was on Adventure and we were the only ship in port. Three large ships would definitely be too much.