A Storm Over Ports for Big Cruise Ships

Bucking the industry’s “bigger is better” trend, Bermuda is laying out the unwelcome mat for megaships.

Ewart Brown, Bermuda’s transport minister, said his country doesn’t want the new generation of massive cruise ships that can carry up to 3,000 passengers, because of environmental and infrastructure concerns. He said Bermuda, which cultivates an upscale image, could comfortably handle 1,500-passenger ships.

The British territory currently allows only five ships, the largest of which is the Nordic Empress, with a capacity of more than 1,500, to visit on a regular weekly basis, Tourism Minister David Allen said last week during a visit to Southern California. Larger ships such as the Carnival Inspiration (capacity 2,040) call occasionally.

New ships like Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Voyager of the Seas can carry 3,000 or more passengers.

The rapidly expanding cruise business has recently provoked grumbling from other once-compliant ports, including Juneau, Alaska, where voters last fall opted to slap a $5-per-passenger fee on visiting cruise ships. Campaign organizers there said a doubling of cruise business is taxing city services.