Cruise ships are BANNED from Venice following decades-long battle by residents

so, so pleased!
But don't like the phrase gradually, so much wriggle room.....

The Daily Mail is an excellent newspaper and very sound on politics. But it can sometimes exaggerate. According to the report it is using from the FT, it's not actually a "ban", but more a partial move or re-routing. And it seems the local government aren't in full agreement with the central one on the plan anyway. And its Italy so ....

I'd seen and posted a couple of links on that same report this earlier today but did some more digging and decided to delete it. This article seems to indicate that nothing is set in stone yet so best not to go all Chicken Little.

https://theworldnews.net/gb-news/venice-cruise-ships-could-be-rerouted-from-city-centre-next-month

Three quotes from the Guardian piece above:

“These are Toninelli’s hypotheses … no official solution has been
decided,” said a source at Venice council.

Nicola Ussardi, a member of the No Big Ships activist group, said:
“There’s a lot of chaos surrounding the issue in general. But these
are just declarations, nothing official.”

Nicola Pellicani, an MP with the Democratic party, said: “There is
nothing concrete [in Toninelli’s proposal], either for transitory or
definitive solutions. The promise that this will begin in September is
impossible to maintain. The minister thinks he can move cargo and
cruise ships from one side of the lagoon to the other, as if they were
toy cars.”

I have to wonder about the unintended consequences of the decision. The ships are moved 3 miles away, but how much extra small boat traffic is there going to be to ferry those passengers to Venice? The impact on water congestion could be tremendous without actually reducing the number of visitors. Or, if the cruise lines decide that Venice isn't worth it anymore, how does that impact the employment of the thousands of people that the industry does support such as the Port authority jobs specifically for the cruise lines, and the companies that supply everything from fuel to food for the cruise lines. That's thousands of jobs.

It's going to be more of an issue of infrastructure. Cruise ships do not do well docking at commercial docks, and commercial dock space is booked months in advance. You're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars daily in unloaded cargo, and the corresponding sums in lost stevedore and longshore jobs, for every single cruise ship. I doubt the unions will allow that. Likewise there's nothing currently in place to move the thousands of passengers from one side of the lagoon to the other, no facilities for the replenishment, or bunkering (refueling) of the cruise ships, no latrines, no water, no access for taxies, etc.

I am all for the change, but media is media. The headlines referenced on Cruise Critic state Cruise ships banned from Grand Canal....well, they never sailed in the Grand Canal to start with.
As to phasing in, you've got to expect that you need facilities surrounding this change that needs to be organized, so phasing in is best. Have you looked at where Fusina port is? 25 minutes by car away. It is a container dock, so no toilets, shops, tourist information, local transport, hotels. You may hate cruising and all around it, but the same considerations happen when major airports move....its the supporting infrastructure that takes the longest time to transition.
And the extra time it takes to get from any new terminal in the short term can put a lot of undue stress on travelers with short turn arounds to the airport for tickets already purchased. Sure, not smart to not allow extra time, but people do it regardless. What might have been sufficient yesterday, may not be sufficient next month.
edit: the cruise news article....appears to be a done deal, but references are several hands removed:
https://www.cruisetradenews.com/large-cruise-ships-banned-venice-grand-canal/

KGC and Maria, you both make very good points, IMHO.

I'm not going to hold my breath that moving the big cruisers is going to happen anytime soon. It'll also be interesting to see if that day-tripping tax comes to fruition next month? I've yet to see a report regarding how they plan to collect it so probably wise not to turn blue over that one either.

I'll believe when I see it. It's hard for me to believe that the big cruise lines will ever give up on going to Venice. The Venetians need to stay strong in their demands for change. I hope they are successful.

How about this unintended consequence, let's say the change is made, everything goes smoothly (it's Italy, what could go wrong?), a new cruise port on the mainland, but, now there is no longer a ban on larger ships. More tourists?

The Daily Mail is an excellent newspaper and very sound on politics. But it can sometimes exaggerate.

Sometimes exaggerate! That rag is the king of exaggeration, senstionalism, misinformation and downright lies.

Excellent is the last word I would use to describe it.

Funny how we all read the same article and come up with different
conclusions.

You should compare what is said about and interpreted about this topic on this Forum compared to the RS Europe Group Facebook page. Whether I agree or disagree with comments, this forum is much more thoughtful and informative with their opinions whereas the Facebook page can be all about emotions and the moment.

Wondering if the cruise ship crashing into the Venice dock had anything to do with the decision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyCLhvxpQt0

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/02/729075426/massive-cruise-ship-crashes-into-port-in-venice-injuring-at-least-5
Massive Cruise Ship Crashes Into Port In Venice, Injuring At Least 5
June 2, 2019

I'm really glad that I got to see Venice 40 years ago.

This article is totally misleading.

Nothing has been banned. The matter is still under discussion.

The Minister of Transportation has simply said in an interview that they identified alternative docking locations for about one third of the traffic, but no decision has been made yet.

This newspaper should be called the DailyJunkMail.

It would be impossible for any cruise ship to go up the Grand Canal, which is the canal that bisects Venice. It's too twisty and too shallow. Plus there's the little matter of the bridges.

What they currently do is go through between the Giudecca island and the main island(s). .
https://goo.gl/maps/v54mjL43gsBouyn7A

More power to the Venetians. Those ships are monsters.

This newspaper should be called the DailyJunkMail.

It's typically referred to as The Daily Fail or The Daily Heil. I occasionally dip into the online version for a laugh, particularly the comment sections however it's power to influence its readership should not be underestimated.

I'm really glad that I got to see Venice 40 years ago.

Yes, lucky you. I saw it just 12 years ago in November even then my experience was not like what it sounds like these days.

Here is the story from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-europe-49276730

My feeling is I don't think I would want to be stuck on any cruise ship for a week or two with others like me even if they allowed me to pay to do so

:D This reminds me of Groucho Marx who once wrote: "Please accept my resignation. I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member." We took a river cruise with 190 fellow passengers. I was claustrophobic. Even though I'm thinking the passengers were a cut above the standard riffraff, there were enough of the "great unwashed" to make for some unpleasantness. I can't imagine being on a ship with 3,000.

I'm really glad that I got to see Venice 40 years ago.

I just posted on Facebook a slide of St. Mark's square I took on August 6, 1966. We may return, but there's so much more of Italy to explore that returning to Venice is not high on our bucket list. Part of our selection criteria now is to get as far away as possible from cruise ship ports.

August 6, 1966?
You visited and 3 months later, on Nov. 4, the greatest flood of the century hit Venice (and Florence).

August 6, 1966?
You visited and 3 months later, on Nov. 4, the greatest flood of the century hit Venice (and Florence).

Yes, Roberto. We were in Florence on August 10-11. We got to see the original gates of Paradise doors. That night a little 14 year old girl and I (I was 15 at the time). Shared our first kiss. Last night we went to a nice restaurant to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary.

Facebook coughed up a post I made three years ago about Venice. I still have all the slides from that trip and had posted 6 I took in Venice. When I originally posted it, one of the other members of our group shared his remembrance of Venice. He thought it was run down and dirty. He was not impressed. I have a more favorable memory.