Cruises keep getting greener. Here’s what the new rules mean for your trip.
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When Carolynn Lenhard of Hamilton, Va., booked a cruise in 2022, she couldn’t wait for its stop in Venice. Then, an unwelcome surprise: Thanks to a ban on ships of a certain size at the port of Venice, her ship would instead anchor in nearby Trieste.
“We were disappointed, but we still had a good time," she said. When she cruised again last October, she tacked on extra days in Venice. As cruise ports and operators face growing concerns about overtourism and environmental damage, they’re making major changes.
Here, what new restrictions mean for your next trip. The Adventure of the Seas cruise ship, which can carry more than 3,000 passengers, in Bar Harbor, Maine, in 2018, before new visitor limits were imposed. Certain ports are attacking the overtourism problem by capping the number of people that are allowed off the ship.
Starting in April, Bar Harbor, Maine, will limit cruise visitors to 1,000 a day, while Juneau, Alaska, will introduce caps of 16,000 daily (12,000 on Saturdays) in 2026. What This Means: “If a destination is inaccessible, [the cruise lines] move the ship," said Robert J. Kwortnik, a professor at Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration.
Adjusting to the new caps, just two of eight of Virgin Voyages’ new Alaska sails feature Juneau stops. The giant MSC Orchestra is escorted out of Venice’s harbor in 2021. Venice recently banned ships of a certain size from its port.
Expect to see big European destinations fall off popular itineraries. Amsterdam will slash annual arrivals to 100 ships by 2026, while Venice’s restrictions mean you’ll likely see more trips with stops at nearby Ravenna and Trieste. What This Means: Your dream itinerary could change, so
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