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Old 08-25-2015, 11:09 AM   #94
BandB
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City: Fort Lauderdale. Florida, USA
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 21,449
Quote:
Originally Posted by O C Diver View Post
While I had not thought about it seriously before, there's very few places that cruise ships frequent that I want to return to......none when a ships in port. The business is like a cancer consuming the local character of the port and making it resemble every other place the ship stops. Only the names on the tee shirts are different.

Ted
Well, let's see....Fort Lauderdale. Miami, so guess I can't say that. Now as to smaller towns with cruise ships, I have mixed feelings. I like the fact that these ports often have amenities they otherwise wouldn't. Someone mentioned jewelry stores and I think gift shops, but I am fine with those. Shops that would otherwise not exist in these areas and we do our shopping before and after the cruise traffic. The part I dislike is having to stand in line somewhere behind the cruise traffic, but then I come back later. As to consuming the character, they do in some ways, but sometimes that character they consumed was huge unemployment, no business activity. We know in Alaska some of the seaplane tours and the scenic charter excursions we took advantage of might well not exist were it not for cruise ships. We also found that if you really wanted the "local character" you didn't have to wander far away. The cruise ship traffic is generally limited to a very small area. We love exploring the small towns visited by very few, but we also don't mind the cruise ship ports.

All economic development, which cruise ship ports are, changes the local character, but I wouldn't use the word consume. Tourism, in whatever form, transforms areas. However, we are tourists so somewhat ok with that. Mostly when I see locals benefiting then I'm happy.
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