Well it was bound to happen -With cruising becoming ever more popular and attracting huge numbers of new-to-cruise passengers,   you cant build these mega-ships, fill them with 5000+ passengers and cruise around the world without adding to the mass overcrowding in popular, historic ports of call which are just not built for the growing number  of visitors clambering to their shores.

So now we have situations where Countries are lining up to restrict cruise passengers entering into the more popular ports.

Recently, Dubrovnik’s Mayor has taken the decision to dramatically cut the number of visitors allowed to visit its ancient centre to prevent overcrowding and damage to its heritage sites.  The new limit will be capped at 4,000 people per day inside the Medieval walls .  The Authorities announced in January that CCTV cameras would be introduced to monitor – and, if necessary, stop – crowds passing through the city’s three gates, with the possibility of  cancelling cruise ship stops. They say that these steps are necessary to protect the city’s world heritage status which is at risk from the unchecked growth in the number of cruise passengers and day trippers that flood into this tiny city each day. The Mayor is targeting the hundreds of cruise ships that arrive at the port two miles from the Old Town. In 2016, 529 ships called there, bringing 799,916 passengers, up from 475 in 2015 and 463 in 2014.  Last year in August, in one day alone, 10,388 visitors bought tickets to walk Dubrovnik’s ramparts.

Dubrovnik is not the only popular cruise port experiencing tourist overload:

San Sebastián An anti-tourism march is planned.  

Bhutan  There are growing  concerns that over-development and increased tourism could have a detrimental impact on the delicate cultural and ecological balance in the Himalayan kingdom.

My own personal experience on a recent cruise to the Caribbean  was disappointing due to the masses of cruise passengers pouring off of 5 ships in the port in St Lucia! It was chaos, with lines of buses, taxi’s waiting to take thousands of tourists around the island. The water taxi’s and beaches were jam-packed throughout the day.  At each port of call there were at least 3 ships docked, with an average of 3000 passengers on board.

How much environmental damage are we inadvertently causing, in our quest to explore our world?

Makes you think doesn’t it?