As I said in my first article about the air and water pollution generated by cruise ships, I have never been seriously tempted to go on a cruise. I prefer to experience new places based on my own program and at my chosen pace. Until a few years ago, however, I thought of cruise ship vacations as a personal preference. Then, after learning about all their serious problems, I’ve concluded that the cruise industry is one of the most malevolent forces on the planet.
Cruises are dangerous for wildlife
Beyond air and water pollution, cruise ships are dangerous for marine wildlife. Many marine animals are killed or injured when they are hit by large ships or their massive propellers and thrusters. The underwater noise from cruise ships interferes with communication between whales as well as their navigation abilities. Cruise ships can be the source of invasive species, and cruise ship anchors can damage coral reefs.
Cruise ships make a lot of noise
Noise pollution is one of the many negative impacts that cruise ships have on the ports they visit. Cruise ships often dock near residential areas where the sound of their engines and the sounding of their horns disturb the residents. Many cruise ships leave their engines running while in port which creates an unpleasant background noise all day and all night. The buses and other vehicles that carry the large number of passengers from the dock to nearby tourist hot spots often move through normally quiet residential areas.
Cruises cause overtourism
Cruise ships are the most visible cause of the many problems associated with overtourism when they disgorge thousands of passengers into port cities in the morning or early afternoon only to return to the ship in time for dinner. These passengers often spend very little money in the destinations, yet jam historic streets, monuments, cafes and shops, creating an unpleasant experience for residents as well as for visitors who may be staying on land and spending money locally.
Cruise ships are unhealthy places
Large cruise ships have 2,000 to 7,000 passengers plus crew. That’s a lot of people living in close quarters for long periods. This is a good environment for the spread of infectious diseases ranging from norovirus to the coronavirus. It is challenging for cruise ship personnel to maintain food safety standards, especially with the wide use of buffets and other always available food options.
Cruise companies operate outside the law
Most cruise ships operate under the esoteric rules of maritime law. This means that, once outside a country’s territorial waters, the laws of the country where the ship is registered apply. Most cruise ships are registered in countries with lax regulations such as Panama, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Malta. This means that it can be very complicated and unsatisfactory if you are a victim of crime or have reason to pursue a civil action while on board a cruise ship.
Cruise companies don’t pay taxes
Most cruises ships are owned by large multi-national corporations who register their vessels under flags of convenience to avoid taxes. Many of the ports of call for cruise ships are in the US and Europe, and most passengers are American or European, yet these first world countries receive little or no tax revenue from these no-nation corporate freeloaders. Instead, the cruise ship companies pay very small amounts of tax to the flags of convenience countries that offer sweetheart deals to greedy and unscrupulous cruise ship corporations.
Cruise companies are bad employers
Cruise ship corporations exploit the low wage and poor employment protection available in the flags of convenience countries where the ships are registered. Many of the crew on cruise ships are from the Philippines or India. These employees work for lower wages, longer hours and poorer working conditions than would be required if the crew were from the same countries as the passengers — more than half of all cruise ship passengers are from the US.
Final comments
As I stated previously, some cruise ships may be better than others, and some bad practices of the past may have been improved slightly in recent months.
Have I convinced you that cruise ships are not just bad for the environment, but also do considerable harm in other ways as well? Do you have anything to add to my summary?
Yes, generally , I agree with you mostly ! The positives that I can think of are the fact that a lot of would be tourists aren’t very good at organizing and coordinating a trip , let alone a voyage or tours of various locations all with the comfort of returning to your own private bedroom and accommodations only to awaken at a new and different experience the following day . I’m sure that there are some monetary rewards for the locals at all ports of call . I remember all the concerns in Vancouver during the pandemic , when the cruise ships threatened to bypass the port and all the financial worries that accompanied that possibility . Generally though , I agree about all the pollution , noise and damage that he fleet of motorized , floating hotels create .
Thanks, Ed, for being the first to comment on my newly-hatched blog. When examined comprehensively, the economic impact of cruise ships on their ports of call are negative. I’ve read such a report about the cruise ships coming into Victoria, BC. Once the impacts of localized pollution and noise are taken into account, the overall economic impact is negative. Not only that, but the benefits help very few local businesses.
Well, Billy, I’m so very honoured to be your first ! Lol Turns out , I’m a virgin too ! It’s my first blog response ever 😁
First blog response ever! Wow!
And the beat goes on…
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will be the biggest ship ever built. The ship is more than 365 metres long and boasts six waterslides, seven pools, nine whirlpools, more than 2,000 staterooms, and has the potential to carry a maximum of 7,600 guests.
This makes me really sad.
This is what a tour guide from Ecuador said:
“On the Galápagos Islands we don’t see a penny of the money the majority of the cruise companies make. This is the sad reality of tourism in Galápagos.”