Key West could vote no mega ships

[xDisconnections]

Approved.

 

https://www.wlrn.org/2020-11-04/key-west-votes-to-limit-number-of-cruise-passengers-and-ship-size 

[Cruise Gopher]

I think they are really going to regret this. What a blow to their local economy. Especially during a time when they need all the tourism spend they can get. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by SkierRobUMN

[bouhunter]

1 hour ago, SkierRobUMN said:

I think they are really going to regret this. What a blow to their local economy. Especially during a time when they need all the tourism spend they can get. 

Obviously the local's feel otherwise.  And it was their decision.  Key West will survive it always has.  We'll be there a few times in January and won't miss the cruise crowds.

Edited November 4, 2020 by bouhunter

[flamingos]

2 hours ago, SkierRobUMN said:

I think they are really going to regret this. What a blow to their local economy. Especially during a time when they need all the tourism spend they can get. 

 

I don't think they will.  There is a balance between being a tourist town and being a place to live; I hope this works for them.

[NavArch64]

We are booked on Radiance OTS for a Key West call in the Fall of 2021. I presume that this is now not allowed. RCI will have to adjust the itinerary. Any thoughts?

[bouhunter]

24 minutes ago, NavArch64 said:

We are booked on Radiance OTS for a Key West call in the Fall of 2021. I presume that this is now not allowed. RCI will have to adjust the itinerary. Any thoughts?

There are going to be some legal challenges to it.  But for now I wouldn't plan on stopping in Key West.  As for itinerary changes, that's going to be most or all of 2021 cruises 🙂

 

[grandgeezer]

5 hours ago, SkierRobUMN said:

I think they are really going to regret this. What a blow to their local economy. Especially during a time when they need all the tourism spend they can get. 

 

It's nice to see someone care more about public safety and the quality of life over the almighty dollar.

[BeachDiva101]

My guess is the RCI will replace key west with their private island coco cay.

[firefly333]

17 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

 

It's nice to see someone care more about public safety and the quality of life over the almighty dollar.

A balanced city govt budget is nice too lol. Most are in deficit right now because of covid. 

 

People might care about quality of life, but when their taxes are raised they scream. 

[NavArch64]

Would RCI include Coco Cay with Labadee on the same itinerary?

Edited November 4, 2020 by NavArch64

[Cruise Gopher]

31 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

 

It's nice to see someone care more about public safety and the quality of life over the almighty dollar.

 

12 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

A balanced city govt budget is nice too lol. Most are in deficit right now because of covid. 

 

People might care about quality of life, but when their taxes are raised they scream. 

Exactly! The two need to go hand in hand. Key West needs the tourism revenue or else that revenue will need to come from somewhere else (taxes). 

[The Grumpus]

Amazing they wouldn't table this given the horrible 2020 they've had.  If this doesn't somehow get overturned in court, it will be the final straw for many business's on and around Duval.  People that will still head there we'll probably see a lot of space for rent signs in the coming months.

[SG65CB]

1 hour ago, NavArch64 said:

Would RCI include Coco Cay with Labadee on the same itinerary?

 

Yes, I was looking at cruises yesterday (for summer 2021) and saw at least one with this itinerary. 

 

Edit: Found it, Allure of the Seas has 9 sail dates from May-August 2021 that hit Coco Cay and Labadee. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by SG65CB
New info

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

A balanced city govt budget is nice too lol. Most are in deficit right now because of covid. 

 

People might care about quality of life, but when their taxes are raised they scream. 

 

This wasn't jammed down their throat, the residents voted on it and it had over 60% of the voters agree to it. I'm sure they knew the ramifications before the vote. If not, shame on them for voting at all.

[livingonthebeach]

The voters have weighed the loss of cruise revenue against the environmental benefits of banning large cruise ships. 

 

Living very close to Key West, and having been there several times and spoken to the locals, the majority prefer the land tourists (who spend several days on hotels, restaurants and shops) to cruise line passengers that disembark for a few hours and spend very little to nothing. 

 

Sure there will be lost revenue to the port and the shops, bars and restaurants along Duval Street, but the majority of the citizens feel they can forego this revenue without suffering a significant economic loss. 

 

The Conchs might live to regret this decision down the road when the full effects of the loss of revenue are know.  They may also alienate the cruise lines that were depending on the port for the simulated cruises.  The downside is, if and when they change their minds, the cruise lines might just turn their back on them. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by livingonthebeach

[helen haywood]

Post #125 explains that there will be a hearing to decide if these proposed changes are even legal...so it’s not a done deal yet.

[twangster]

When you consider a limit based on 1,300 combined crew and guests they are effectively banning most cruise ships.  

 

Silversea, Azamara, Seabourne etc. have fleets that qualify under that limit but many of those ships don't sail from South Florida on a regular basis.

 

The amendment to prioritize ships based on health and environmental violations leads to a lot of questions.  While the CDC has VSP exams for health reporting, they don't rate ships compared to each other, they simply report results.  Someone is going to need to correlate that data in a ranking. 

 

Ships that spend time overseas are only subject to VSP exams when they come to America so by default they should have fewer violations based on fewer exams compared to a ship that spends more time in U.S. waters.  How will they normalize the data to reflect that? 

 

Does a VSP violation for having a sign six inches out place near a sink carry the weight as a violation for mold in a galley? (both are actual VSP violations are noted by reading the VSP results)

 

Collecting environmental violations and ranking ships based on violations appears problematic.  A violation for a ship in Norway may not be documented the same as a violation for a ship in Russia. Will an environmental violation from 20 years ago for a ship that has been scrapped still count against a cruise line? 

 

Who is going to do all the data collection, normalization and ranking?  Will the City of KW now need to build a team to accomplish this or partner with an external business to rank cruise ships of the world?  Who pays for that?

Edited November 4, 2020 by twangster

[Seville2Cabo]

I wonder how many voters to ban ships were cast by people that moved to key west knowing that the cruise ships were there. Like the person who buys a house on the golf course and complains of all the golfers going by. 

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, NavArch64 said:

Would RCI include Coco Cay with Labadee on the same itinerary?

I'm thinking there are only so many berths at these islands. I'd love to hit just one private island out of Galveston.  Be great if they could change us to one. I'm assuming the reason is only so many ships a day can dock there.

[cruisegirl1]

3 hours ago, NavArch64 said:

Would RCI include Coco Cay with Labadee on the same itinerary?

There are several  7 night Allure and Harmony sailings  in 2021 that visit both Coco Cay and Labadee on the same  cruise.   

 

M

[time4u2go]

5 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

It's nice to see someone care more about public safety and the quality of life over the almighty dollar.

Agreed.  It's not like this was voted on by outsiders.  The voters know the ramifications.

[NCMtnBoys]

5 hours ago, NavArch64 said:

Would RCI include Coco Cay with Labadee on the same itinerary?

I had a 5 night Explorer cruise booked for Jan 2021 that stopped at ONLY Coco Cay and Labadee. I did a L&S to Mariner for the same date in 2022 but that cruise stops at Coco Cay and Cozumel. 

[George C]

On 7/12/2020 at 12:27 PM, firefly333 said:

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 

Our February cruise on Liberty of the seas still list Roatan as a port.

[Iamcruzin]

12 hours ago, SkierRobUMN said:

I think they are really going to regret this. What a blow to their local economy. Especially during a time when they need all the tourism spend they can get. 

Key West is a destination on it's own.   A hit and run cruise stop  probably doesn't bring in as much compared to what the hotels and Airbnbs bring in from people who stay a few days. 

 

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, BeachDiva101 said:

My guess is the RCI will replace key west with their private island coco cay.

Those private islands aren't going to be so private. Every time a port closes someone is always sending the ships to the two private islands and Cozumel.