Key West could vote no mega ships

[firefly333]

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23213-key-west-could-ban-big-cruise-ships.html

[molly361]

I can't think of any ships that go there that carry less than 1500 people

[zekekelso]

We’re going to see more of this from ports around the world. Also, if > 1300 passengers is a “mega” ship, what’s a ship with > 5,000?

Edited July 12, 2020 by zekekelso

[TNcruising02]

That should make the port more enjoyable to those who sail there on smaller ships.  It will never be crowded.  I don't really care one way or the other.  Mega ships have a lot of passengers.  I cruised on Harmony of the Seas and we stopped at Costa Maya when another large ship was also in port.  The area was miserably crowded. There were wall to wall people.

[livingonthebeach]

The Duval Street merchants aren't going to be very happy if this passes.  They get a lot of business from the cruise ships.  Tourism is about 60% of the Key West economy.  Guess their dream of becoming the Conch Republic is finally going to come to fruition. 

[molly361]

1 minute ago, livingonthebeach said:

The Duval Street merchants aren't going to be very happy if this passes.  They get a lot of business from the cruise ships.  Tourism is about 60% of the Key West economy.  Guess their dream of becoming the Conch Republic is finally going to come to fruition. 

Yes should be an interesting vote seeing as so many rely on tourists to make a living.  Lived in the Keys for 30+ years

[cruisegirl1]

Key West purists  have been tying to get rid of cruise ships for a while.  It looks like they might be using Covid as a convenient excuse. 
 

M

[davekathy]

Bummer! We currently have a B2B cruise on the Rhapsody booked for March 2021 and Key West is one of our port stops. Oh well, if we can't spend our time and money in Key West while cruising we'll do it where we are welcome. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by davekathy

[firefly333]

I had b2b feb 7 and feb 14. The feb 7th perfect bahamas day was going there. Jewel is smaller, but maybe not small enough 

[zekekelso]

8 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

The Duval Street merchants aren't going to be very happy if this passes.  They get a lot of business from the cruise ships.  Tourism is about 60% of the Key West economy.  Guess their dream of becoming the Conch Republic is finally going to come to fruition. 

But how much of that is from cruise passengers? I love being a cruise passenger, but if we’re mayor of a tourist spot I‘d heavily focus on overnight guests, at the possible expense of cruisers. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by zekekelso

[firefly333]

I keep seeing my cruises up in smoke. Roatan says into 2021 no cruise ships. 

 

Pretty soon my ports will all be Belize who doesnt care or mexico out of Galveston 

[davekathy]

7 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I had b2b feb 7 and feb 14. The feb 7th perfect bahamas day was going there. Jewel is smaller, but maybe not small enough 

Key West would consider the Jewel to big (~ 2,190 passenger count) according to the posted article. 

[molly361]

AND I think that article meant total passengers disembarking per day total, not per cruise ship which would mean only one small ship per day.  Like the above poster said this subject comes up every few years but I don;t remember if it ever got on the ballot before

[livingonthebeach]

5 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

But how much of that is from cruise passengers? I love being a cruise passenger, but if we’re mayor of a tourist spot I heavily focus on overnight guests, at the possible expense of cruisers. 

 

It's perhaps better to have overnight guests at hotels versus "day-trippers" such as cruise ship passengers, however, cruise ship day-trippers contribute to spending at restaurants, bars, shops, tours and museums and their contribution is not negligible. 

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Key West would consider the Jewel to big (~ 2,190 passenger count) according to the posted article. 

Depends how full it sails

[little britain]

Drat: there goes my plans for my significant birthday lunch Celebrations next year...

[livingonthebeach]

According to the Keys Weekly:

https://keysweekly.com/42/shape-up-or-ships-out-key-wests-cruise-ship-debate-heats-up/

"Limit the number of cruise passengers who can disembark in Key West to 1,500 per day; prohibit ships with a capacity greater than 1,300 passengers from docking in Key West; and give priority to cruise lines with the best environmental and health records."

 

A Duval Street merchant was quoted:

"“Between 73% and as much as 95% of our business at this location is specifically cruise ship-driven."

 

[davekathy]

9 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Depends how full it sails

You can say that about any ship, no matter the cruise line. 

[Sunshine3601]

30 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Bummer! We currently have a B2B cruise on the Rhapsody booked for March 2021 and Key West is one of our port stops. Oh well, if we can't spend our time and money in Key West while cruising we'll do it where we are welcome. 

We are also booked on rhapsody for a b2b.  If they limit capacity on the ship we may still be able to visit key west.  We'll see....

[livingonthebeach]

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Depends how full it sails

 

They want to deny disembarkation to ships that have a CAPACITY of over 1300 passengers regardless of the number of passengers on the ship.  This is on the ballot but it doesn't mean it will be voted in.  Surely there will be push back and campaigning against by the merchants. 

[Seville2Cabo]

What’s the attraction to Key West?  We were never very impressed

[Baron Barracuda]

With no cruise ship visits since March should be pretty easy to assess impact on local economy.

[Russ Lomas]

51 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Roatan says into 2021 no cruise ships. 

 

Where did you see this information about Roatan?  I searched online and could not see any mention of Roatan's policies due to COVID.

[livingonthebeach]

10 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

What’s the attraction to Key West?  We were never very impressed

 

Stomping grounds of Ernest Hemingway for one -- Hemingway House, Sloppy Joes, Blue Heaven, etc.  There's the Old Town Trolley and the HO HO.  Duval Street has many quirky boutiques, restaurants and bars. The Lighthouse museum, the Truman Museum, the Southernmost Point.  There's great scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking and the Dry Tortugas. And of course the best Key Lime Pie!  No I don't work for the tourist board. LOL 😃

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We are also booked on rhapsody for a b2b.  If they limit capacity on the ship we may still be able to visit key west.  We'll see....

Looking forward to the cruises, itineraries and ship.