As of: February 29, 2024, 3:07 p.m
By: Franziska Kaindl
Comments
Press
Split
The rules for visiting Venice are becoming increasingly strict, especially for cruise tourists.
Norwegian Cruise Line is now pulling the ripcord.
The Norwegian Cruise Line, based in Miami, is currently the third largest cruise line in the world with a market share of 9.4 percent, as data from the industry portal
Cruise Market Watch
shows.
However, in 2024 and 2025 it will no longer bring guests to the lagoon city of Venice.
The company cites the increasingly strict rules for large cruise ships as the reason: “While we have made every effort to maintain these connections to Venice, the tender operations and the overall experience we offer our guests no longer meet the standards we expect a spokesman said, according to the online portal
Travel + Leisure
.
Cruise ships have been banned from Venice's old town since 2021
For many years, large ocean liners sailed directly past the central St. Mark's Square to Venice and washed thousands of day tourists into the narrow streets.
Due to the feared impact on the environment and the substance of the old town, UNESCO threatened to put the lagoon city on the list of endangered world cultural heritage sites.
The long-planned ban took place in 2021, which would direct cruise ships with over 25,000 tons to the opposite port at Marghera.
Shipping companies such as Norwegian Cruise Lines then relied on tender boats to bring tourists to the lagoon city.
Large cruise ships are no longer allowed to pass St. Mark's Square in Venice.
© Markus Mainka/Imago
But there are even more restrictions: starting this summer, day tourists will pay an entrance fee of five euros each to visit Venice.
This applies on several weekends in the high season and is intended to keep the crowds of visitors to a minimum.
There is also a ban on guided tour groups with more than 25 people.
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Norwegian Cruise Line is relying on alternative stops for the time being
This year, Norwegian Cruise Line will replace the stop in Venice with a stop in Ravenna (Italy), Rijeka (Croatia), Zadar (Croatia) or Koper (Slovenia), depending on the cruise itinerary.
From 2025, the replacement will be either a day at sea or another port, which has not yet been decided.
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“We recognize that Venice is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, valued by both our guests and our crew, and are therefore aware of the inconvenience and frustration that this disruption may cause,” says the NCL Spokesperson according to
Travel + Leisure
.
What will come after 2025 is not yet known.
However, the rules for cruise ships in Venice could be relaxed considerably again from 2027, as the
Ships and Cruises
industry portal reports.
It is planned that medium-sized ships with a length of up to 250 meters and a maximum gross tonnage of 60,000 tons will be allowed to dock at the lagoon city again
Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, President of the Port Authority of Venice and Chioggia, informed.
This plan is supported by Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice.
However, the ships will still not sail through St. Mark's Square, but instead through the Vittorio Emanuele III Canal.