Port of call: Key West. Is it still there?

[Mr Mannn]

Someone on this board said the locals were having an election Nov 2020 to see if they would keep it open to cruise ships or not.

Anyone following that election? Thanks.

 

[Capt_BJ]

short answer .. voters said cruise ships should take a hike . . .

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Someone on this board said the locals were having an election Nov 2020 to see if they would keep it open to cruise ships or not.

Anyone following that election? Thanks.

The measures all passed to restrict cruise ship traffic. Last I read was the vote was being questioned as to it's legality.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/11/20/key-west-ban-large-cruise-ships-officially-becomes-law

https://thepointsguy.com/news/key-west-cruise-ship-ban/.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/2021/01/florida-senate-bill-426-targets-key-west-cruise-ban/

 

[Mr Mannn]

Wah. I was hoping for the opposite. Thanks gang!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Wah. I was hoping for the opposite. Thanks gang!

Of course, it's academic as no cruise lines are going there currently anyway.

 

[Snowwhyt]

short answer .. voters said cruise ships should take a hike . . .

Were they letting in smaller ships. Like maybe the magic and the wonder? What’s diamonds international going to do just sell to the Fish market crowd now?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Were they letting in smaller ships. Like maybe the magic and the wonder? What’s diamonds international going to do just sell to the Fish market crowd now?

I pulled this from one of the links I provided:

One of the referendums prohibits cruise ships with more than 1,300 passengers from docking in Key West. That would affect even the smallest ships from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line.
A second referendum limits the number of daily cruise ship visitors to 1,500.
A final referendum gives docking priority to cruise lines that have the best health and environmental records.

The Magic/Wonder have a passenger load of 2700 passengers, so they wouldn't be allowed to dock.

 

[cmph]

What’s diamonds international going to do just sell to the Fish market crowd now?

LOL! I always wonder how any of those do enough business to keep so many of them open all over the place.

One of Shmoo's links said "The effect of the referendums, if they are allowed to stand, will be to transform Key West into a small-ship cruise destination that mostly caters to upscale vessels." Upscale vessels. Ok. We enjoyed our half-day there (trolley, aquarium, little bit of wandering), but I'm scratching my head at the idea of appealing to upscale vessels.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I pulled this from one of the links I provided:

One of the referendums prohibits cruise ships with more than 1,300 passengers from docking in Key West. That would affect even the smallest ships from Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line.
A second referendum limits the number of daily cruise ship visitors to 1,500.
A final referendum gives docking priority to cruise lines that have the best health and environmental records.

The Magic/Wonder have a passenger load of 2700 passengers, so they wouldn't be allowed to dock.

Well the start up of Disney cruises will be able to meet that number for a while until they ramp upto full capacity. (Which won’t happen very quickly)
25% is 675
30% is 810
50% is 1350
Who knows this could go on for years if new strands keep popping up.

 

[Marc D]

Well the start up of Disney cruises will be able to meet that number for a while until they ramp upto full capacity. (Which won’t happen very quickly)
25% is 675
30% is 810
50% is 1350
Who knows this could go on for years if new strands keep popping up.

Usually, such restrictions are applied using the maximum number of passengers, regardless of how many are cruising on a particular cruise. Considering that cruise lines book their berthing rights years in advance, if the legality of the measure is confirme, they will not sail there anymore.

 

[meryll83]

I read an article that implied the desire by the community for the restrictions was likely to be getting overruled, and in the meantime it wouldn't take effect so no change... but as others have said, hard to know for sure when there's no current cruising there anyway...

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It would be a pretty horrifying precedent of the vote of the local population were overturned in this case.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

With the cruise industry being shut down for nearly a year now, I wonder how the economy of Key West has been doing? Do the citizens, merchants, and restaurant/bar owners enjoy this year-long reprieve from cruise tourists?

 

[TeamRiley]

While a significant number of tourists in Key West were from Ships, only 15% of tourist spending comes from cruisers. The city feels a 15% hit is totally worth it. Covid may have changed that opinion, but I personally don't think it has.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

While a significant number of tourists in Key West were from Ships, only 15% of tourist spending comes from cruisers. The city feels a 15% hit is totally worth it. Covid may have changed that opinion, but I personally don't think it has.

From what I am reading the locals are enjoying it.

 

[figmentfinesse]

Oh no! I have a Key West stop on my April 2022 on the Magic. I wonder if it would be replaced with another stop or just turned into a sea day.

 

[Starwind]

It would be a pretty horrifying precedent of the vote of the local population were overturned in this case.

This article explains both the original local vote and the efforts to pass a state law that would have the effect overturning it by not allowing local governments to regulate state seaports.

https://cruiseradio.net/key-wests-cruise-ship-ban-could-soon-be-reversed/

 

[_auroraborealis_]

This article explains both the original local vote and the efforts to pass a state law that would have the effect overturning it by not allowing local governments to regulate state seaports.

https://cruiseradio.net/key-wests-cruise-ship-ban-could-soon-be-reversed/

It is still a bit of a gross precedent: "you will take these tourists and LIKE IT!!!"

 

[Cheburashka]

It is still a bit of a gross precedent: "you will take these tourists and LIKE IT!!!"

Or from a different perspective, "you will not take people's livelihoods away without passing a state law". It's all in how you look at it.

 

[hrhdhd]

It is still a bit of a gross precedent: "you will take these tourists and LIKE IT!!!"

It's what they tell us here in Orlando.