Good news for travellers who want to miss the large amount of one day cruise ships in Dubrovnik during high season. Have been informed by a high offical from the local tourist bureau that the total amount of ships, in one day, have been limited to a grand total of 5. This past season we had as many as 10 to 12 in port which there were close to 30,000 cruisers wandering around our small town. Very good news for Dubrovnik and for those of you who are planning on spending more than a few hours in town.
Dobrodosli

Good news! Thanks for letting people know. And good for civic leaders in taking such action.

Hallelujah! After being there one day with a million other cruisers I was crushed to see what the cruise industry had done to that wonderful gem of a town. So glad to hear this.

Good news indeed. I was there last summer and felt completely swamped with cruise ship passengers. Never again. I hope other ports adopt the same policy. Even 5 ships is a lot when they are so huge.

I agree - good news but not great news! Even five sounds high. I think there was only one in port when I was in Dubrovnik back in 2004, and even that swamped the town. Of course, the absolute number of ships isn't as important as their size - five ships with 500 passengers each equals one big ship with 2,500!

There will still be mega cruisers, but cutting down from 30,000 to 7,000 is a good beginning. The biggest problem with cruisers is that they don't spend any money, just buy an ice cream and wander. Some even go back to the ship for lunch, doesn't help our economy at all. However the Restoration of Dubrovnik does receive a Euro for each passenger arriving. This is the money is used to restore many areas of town back to something origianl. For example during the Communist years, they paved over the lovely stone walk in the Pile area with black gunk. We've begun to restore it back to stones. You must also understand that Dubrovnik does not get to keep all the income from high season. Not all businesses are private, some are still owned by the gov.
Baby steps, this country was fighting for it's indenpendance just a few short years ago.
By spreading out the ship arrivals, the town won't filled with cruisers on Saturday and Sunday during the season.
Dobrodosli

Fantastic news. I can imagine you must be overwhelmed by tourists, Dubrovniktravelady!

It is a great start ...

I really sympathise with this cruise-ship problem, especially when the passengers don't spend money onshore and help the local economy. It seems the only companies who benefit are the cruise lines. Last summer I did most of my sightseeing in Dubrovnik between 6-9am and after 5pm, it was just impossible to get about in between. The crowds in the narrow streets were overwhelming. I don't know what the solution is for the independent traveller, except to avoid cruise-ship places.

I have news for you, as a cruiser who visited Dubrovnik as part of a cruise. It isn't that much fun for the cruisers either! I can't stand the crowds, and can tell you I was charmed by Dubrovnik. I had no idea I would like it so much, as I hadn't heard a lot about it, but we came back the next year for a land vacation. I think many European cities should limit ships docking. I've seen the same problem in Santorini, Lisbon and Monte Carlo, to name just a few. Good for Dubrovnik and the people who live and visit there!

Wouldn't it be nice if this caught on in Venice?

Holly - exactly what I said when I was IN Venice. the sight of an overlarge cruise ship coming into Venice and just dwarfing the buildings was horrendous - never mind the crowds!

We enjoyed sitting at the Buza Bar watching the little boats take the cruisers back to the Mother Ship. They never knew what they missed by not spending a few evenings in beautiful Dubrovnik.

Tom, I absolutely agree. Dubrovnik was just magical in the evenings.

Tracy

Err excuse me but cruise ship passengers have as much right to visit the town as do "landlubbers". Well why not ban ferry passengers as well! OK clearly there has to be controls on numbers. And for whatever reason cruise ships have been targeted. Not for amount spent. 30,000 euro received in fees (per day?) plus whatever is spent by passengers adds up to a nice, tidy sum for the locals. But the way some people on this forum look down their noses at them seems to suggest they have more of a right to be there than cruise passengers. Get over yourselves - your tourists too!

Yes you're correct the cruise passengers have rights too. However the amount arriving on Saturday and Sunday was too much for our small town.
As for the fees, how much do you think it costs the town to clean up after the passengers leave the old town? We wash the Stradun down every morning, and literally clean the old town up from the many tourists. And you should read carefully as the huge amount of tourists were arriving only 2 days of the week.
Again I must mention that Dubrovnik does not get to keep all of their income from tourists. It goes to the government to help with our rebuilding and infrastructure. The war only ended here a mere 10 years ago. We have come a long way since then and I believe we are due every Euro we receive.
As a resident of Dubrovnik I am thrilled the cruises ships will be held to a DAILY minimum of 5. Those of you who wish to visit Dubrovnik can now have the time and opportunity to capture the essence of our town.

Dobrodosli

If we're going to talk about rights, which is probably a bad thing to do, any port has the right to determine which ships get to use its facilities and when and at what price.

But I'm not sure why you would want the "right" to effectively destroy the ambiance of the place you've come a long way to see. Some towns are big enough to absorb an influx of several thousand additional tourists at one go, without losing their charm. Dubrovnik isn't one of them.

Could be the poster above is related to the third poster on this link. I floated this idea a few weeks back and was surprised at the response. I rest my case.
Greek Islands/Cruise ships

I have to put in my thoughts in. I visited both Venice and Dubrovnik last year on a cruise ship, and have done more than 10 cruise vacations. I also live in a tourist area in the US. We live near a ski resort and every winter our small area is used as a pass through to the ski lodge. They ruin our small roads, run us off the road with their big SUVs, get stuck in the snow in their little cars and require our local resources to get them out. They spend almost no money, and the resort is in a different state so we see no money from taxes paid. I greatly understand how Dubrovniktravelady feels. I strongly believe that the local community should have full control over what ships have access and when. And it’s not an argument between cruisers and landlubbers. It’s that there are too many people at one time. If 30,000 visitors showed up in busses in an hour period that would have a worse impact and then the local bureau would have to regulate that. We as VISITORS need to respect the rights of those that live in the areas we are lucky enough to see. No one has the "right" to visit any place unless invited. Yes they need the tourist money, but no we shouldn't kill the places we love to go to while we’re at it. I love visiting Linderhof in Bavaria. 20 years ago it wasn't so crowded and now the crowds are so high they've had to install permanent crowd control lanes in front of the castle. Ugly! But it happens. Dubrovniktravelady, I’m looking forward in Sept 2010 to visiting Dubrovnik by land. Easily the best shore excursion we have ever taken was in Croatia to a local farm to sample food, wine, and local music. I bought a music DVD which I greatly enjoy listening to. We also bought local goods from street vendors down near the water just outside the wall. What a beautiful a town and what a terrible price paid by the people there. Please keep us informed.

norrisken:
Please make sure you contact me directly before September 2010. It would be a pleasure to spend some quality time with you and your family, guests, ?? while in Dubrovnik.
We must meet for a Makiato or something stronger. This summer I will be making a lovely after dinner drink from walnuts, a secret family recipe.
Thank you for your thoughts, exactly what I tried to convey.
Could you be close to Tahoe?

Dobrodosli

i agree with thursdayd. talking about 'rights' is silly in this case.

just as any city or country, db has the right to put rules around the use of its ports. cities always have controls on the use of their roads, parking, airports, ports, waterways, etc. do you think that airplanes can land in any airport at any time and in any numbers just because there might be passenger demand?

a cruise ship does not have the RIGHT to plop down anywhere it wants at any time. i'm sure that there is massive revenue brought in to db even if the cruisers only buy ice cream and walk around....e.g. port fees, services performed for the ship, etc. good for db in looking at the longer term impact on db's reputation as a destination. i, for one, have posted many times about the negative atmosphere created by the crush of visitors that sweep in and leave all at once. it makes db a museum rather than a real city.