Amsterdam Plans to Ban Large Cruise Ships: What to Expect

Table Of Content

• The Loathe Boat: the honking cruise ships ‘ruining’ Istanbul’s port
• The Straits Times
• Sinking feeling: cruise ships chart return to Australia amid emissions concerns
• Sky News Services
• Amsterdam Bans Cruise Ships to Combat Pollution and Overtourism
• War On Cruise Ships? Amsterdam Latest Port To Limit Or Ban Cruise Liners
• Ships Visiting Amsterdam

By banning cruise ships in the city center, Amsterdam is following in the footsteps of Venice. The Italian government in 2021 banned large cruise ships weighing over 25,000 tonnes in Venice’s historic lagoon to protect the site. “There is certainly no immediate ban on ships, let alone an immediate closure of the terminal,” Dick de Graaff, director of Cruise Port Amsterdam, said in a statement sent to AFAR.

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Another Major City Has Just Banned Cruise Ships: Here's Why.

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The Loathe Boat: the honking cruise ships ‘ruining’ Istanbul’s port

The cruise ship ban was proposed to address ongoing concerns about pollution and over-tourism in Amsterdam. If enacted, the legislation would move the Dutch capital’s cruise terminal outside the city and no longer allow ships to dock in the central district. The new ban on cruise ships in the city’s center wouldresult in the closure of the central terminal on the River IJ, but thegovernment is considering plans for an alternate site, with no decision imminent. As part of an effort to curb overtourism and alleviatedamage from pollution, government officials in Amsterdam have banned cruiseships from docking in the city center. Besides, the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, stressed that she plans to limit the number of cruise passengers in the city if she is re-elected in May. In addition, the Mayor of Marseille, France’s biggest cruise port, also talked about cruise lines, stressing that they are suffocating the city with air pollution.

The Straits Times

The world's largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas by Royal Caribbean, will set sail for the first time in January 2024. The ship includes 20 decks, seven pools and a waterpark, will carry almost 8,000 workers and passengers and tickets start at $1,851 per person. As per the new regulations, sex workers must now close their venues at 3 a.m., with bars and restaurants forced to close at 2 a.m. On Fridays and Saturdays and new visitors no longer permitted to enter the old city center after 1 a.m. TPG has contacted Cruise Port Amsterdam and several cruise operators, including river lines, for more details on how the ban may affect scheduled cruises to the city and will update this story when we hear back.

Sinking feeling: cruise ships chart return to Australia amid emissions concerns

One 2021 emissions study found a single big cruise ship produced the same pollution levels in a single day as 30,000 trucks. The city has also long tried to control the crowds in its red-light district, where rowdy groups of tourists often cause disruptions to local residents. Several media reports have come out recently about the city of Amsterdam banning cruise ship from the downtown area, but those reports are not entirely accurate. Amsterdam’s decision follows a similar move implemented in Venice, Italy, in 2021, when authorities decided to ban ocean cruise ships weighing more than 25,000 tons or longer than 530 feet from entering Venice’s fragile lagoon. “As a result, sulfur emissions have fallen by 80 percent” in Venice, stated Rooderkerk.

Amsterdam Bans Cruise Ships to Combat Pollution and Overtourism - Smithsonian Magazine

Amsterdam Bans Cruise Ships to Combat Pollution and Overtourism.

Posted: Thu, 27 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

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Cruise Port Amsterdam also notes that there is no policy proposal yet made impacting cruise ship calls, nor is there any timeline mentioned for such drastic changes. While it is possible that a new port location is being investigated, but the port has no information about that option at this time. The council has been trying to scrub up the city, banning cannabis smoking on the streets of the red-light district. Alternative sites from cruise ships have been considered, though no decision has yet been made on where it could be placed.

According to CLIA, of the more than 21 million visitors that Amsterdam receives each year, about 1 percent arrive by cruise ship, with cruise tourism contributing around 105 million euros to the city annually. Politicians in the Dutch capital said cruise ships were "incompatible" with their sustainability ambitions for the city, which, despite its relatively small size, is one of the most visited in Europe. Santorini—Santorini started limiting the number of cruise ship passengers allowed per day to 8,000 in 2019.

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War On Cruise Ships? Amsterdam Latest Port To Limit Or Ban Cruise Liners

"In addition, cruise ships in the city center do not fit into Amsterdam's task to reduce the number of tourists. In other words, Amsterdam sails better without cruises." The proposal, which was adopted by a large majority in the city council on Thursday, aims to close down the ocean cruise terminal near Amsterdam’s central rail station and move it further from the city to an undetermined location. No clear timeline has been set, however, and Cruise Port Amsterdam, which operates the terminal, said it is waiting for more information regarding next steps. “Polluting cruise ships are not in line with the sustainable ambitions of our city,” said a statement from the centre-right party D66, which runs the city with the social democrats PvdA and GroenLinks environmentalists.

Ships Visiting Amsterdam

In addition, Amsterdam has a reputation as one of Europe's most notorious cities, famed for its cannabis cafes and red light district, with around 22 million tourists flocking there every year. In recent years, city officials have sought to reinvent the image of the Dutch capital by reducing party tourism and upping their sustainability stakes. Officials see banning cruise ships as an easy win for Amsterdam's ambitious sustainability target of becoming completely emission-free by 2030.

The future of cruise ships in Amsterdam may not be as clear as recent council statements indicate. The city has also placed on a ban on smoking cannabis in public and has reduced alcohol sales in some areas of the city center. “The city’s executive branch still needs to work out the details and it was unclear when the measure might be implemented. For now, he said, “It is business as usual at the terminal.” Cruise Port Amsterdam also operates the river cruise terminals near the city center, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether those docks would need to move as well. While Barcelona has not outright banned cruise ships, it has made efforts to limit the number arriving in its docks.

“The municipality of Amsterdam is going to investigate how this proposal can be implemented,” she wrote. Amsterdam is a popular port of call on northern European itineraries, or specialized cruises visiting multiple European capital cities. It is also often part of Scandinavian, Nordic, and Baltic Sea itineraries, as it provides a convenient port of call en route to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or Finland.

In addition, according to a report by Bloomberg, the Dutch capital attracts over one million tourists on average each month, thus surpassing its population of over 800,000. It must be noted, however, that the vote is a recommendation only, and there is no impact at this time on scheduled cruise ship calls to Amsterdam. Amsterdam has become a victim of its own popularity, attracting 20 million annual visitors - some drawn by its party city reputation. Politicians said the vessels were not in line with the city's sustainable ambitions. Mayor Femke Halsema has been spearheading a campaign to discourage visitors from taking what she has called a “vacation from morals”.

The cruise ship ban will result in the closure of the city's central terminal on the River IJ, near Amsterdam's main train station. In February, the council also banned people from smoking cannabis in the streets of the city's famous red-light district and ordered bars and restaurants to shut by 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world.

The proposal to ban cruises had been put forward by the Democrats 66 party, which oversees the city alongside the social democratic PvdA and the GroenLinks environmentalists. Ultimately, cruise lines are skeptical that ships will be completely barred from docking in Amsterdam. Amsterdam, which added that it was seeking to keep hotel stays by tourists to under 20 million per year, saw its highest number of visitors before the pandemic in 2019, when there were 25.2 million hotel stays, according to the city’s data. A report from Deutsche  Welle says that about 300,000 cruise ship travellers head to the Dutch capital every year.

Santorini also saw spikes in air pollution in 2018, according to The Independent, which the Hellenic Ornithological Society blamed on the cruise ship industry's use of heavy fuel oil. Venice—The Italian city banned cruise liners in 2021 to protect the environment and its heritage, Reuters first reported. Ships that weigh more than 25,000 tons are no longer allowed down the Giudecca Canal, which passes the Palazzo Giustinian Recanati, several famous churches and the Dogana da Mar art gallery.

And in March, Amsterdam launched a “Stay Away” campaign to discourage tourists planning drug and alcohol-fuelled parties. Amsterdam has been searching for any way to rein in the number of tourists that visit the city every year. The changes come at the time when Amsterdam has been announced as Europe’s best capital city to be a tourist in by VisaGuide.World, leaving behind capitals like Rome and Paris. The same source emphasises that the IJ Terminal, located on the waterfront near the capital’s rail station, will now have to move outside the city. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has made a statement clarifying the reports and explaining ongoing discussions about port facilities, improvements, and the potential for relocation. In a separate development, Amsterdam has announced plans to beef up night-time culture for young people.