Venice off the cruise map for post-lockdown itineraries

Italy was one of the first countries to end its coronavirus cruise ship ban, lifting restrictions on August 15 and seeing MSC Cruises resume sailings out of Genoa a day later, onboard the operator’s flagship MSC Grandiosa.

Costa Cruises returned to the water on September 6 with Costa Deliziosa sailing out of Trieste while a second MSC ship, the slightly smaller MSC Magnifica, re-commenced cruises out of Genoa on October 19.

Despite departing from Trieste, a 90-minute train ride from Venice, and Genoa on the north-west coast, and calling at the Italian ports of Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia, neither MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises have put Venice on their post-lockdown itineraries.

La Serenissima, as Venice is lovingly known, has long been a highlight of any Italian cruise – in 2019, cruise ships brought 1.61 million passengers to the uniquely watery city’s cobblestone pavements – but after months of shutdown due to the impact of Covid-19, two major cruise companies have effectively turned their back on Venice now that they have been given the green light to raise anchor.

Both cruise lines had failed to respond to a request for comment as to why they had omitted Venice.

MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises aren’t the only cruise lines to steer clear of Venice. Royal Caribbean, the world's second-largest cruise firm, has announced that its ships won’t be calling at Venice throughout summer 2021. Instead the cruise giant’s liners will be disembarking at Ravenna, approximately 50km (31 miles) to the south, and passengers who wish to visit Venice will be escorted there by bus.

And P&O are only visiting Venice a handful of times in 2022, according to new itineraries that were released earlier this month.

The collective cruise operators’ absence isn’t being mourned by everyone. Activists with No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) threw a party when MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises decided that their ships would instead set sail from Trieste or Genoa upon the resumption of service.

The group, who had warned that they would resort to “sabotage” if super-sized ships returned to Venice, said in a statement: “We said it, we promised it, and this is how it will be: No ship will enter the lagoon for the entire season. No company has the strength to defy our blockade against the return of these ships that are useless, harmful and unsustainable in every respect.”

Certainly environmental campaigners and residents – who have long complained that colossal cruise ships cause environmental damage and flood Venice with day-trippers, who are less valuable to the local economy than visitors paying to stay overnight – have welcomed the change. As have non-cruise tourists.

Tira Shubart, a Londoner who recently visited Venice primarily “to chill,” believes that coronavirus has shown what the future could look like if cruise ships were banned indefinitely.

Shubart told The Telegraph: “I was in Venice during the first week of October and it was great without the crowds and cruise ships. They are just dreadful to look at, as they loom high above Venice's historic bell towers and basilicas. I’d happily see them banned leaving locals in relative peace.”

The clamour against cruise ships has been growing for some time, following a series of incidents last year. In June 2019, a collision between 2,150-passenger ocean cruise ship MSC Opera and Uniworld river cruise ship The River Countess (in which four passengers were injured) heightened calls for a ban with Italy’s environment minister Sergio Costa tweeting at the time that the incident confirmed ships must not pass the Giudecca area.

Then, the following month, the 12-deck, 2,828 passenger Costa Deliziosa came close to colliding with a yacht during a storm.

In response, the Italian government pledged to prevent cruise ships weighing 96,000 tonnes or more from docking in front of St Mark’s Square and to reroute the vessels but concrete steps have yet to be taken.

But not everyone wants to see cruise ship traffic disappear for good. The cruise industry, directly and indirectly, employs around 5,000 Venetians who now face an uncertain future.

In August, furloughed port workers took to the streets to call for cruise lines to return, brandishing banners claiming that as four million cruise-related jobs – from baggage handlers to hotel workers – were being put at risk.

In a statement reported by Italian media, the protestors said: “Calling into question cruises in Venice is not a simple environmental or image issue, you can't play with the future of workers and families.”

It’s a thorny issue according to Angela Giuffrida, a journalist based in Italy and someone who has been following the saga closely.

“It took a pandemic to stop cruise ships from entering Venice's historic centre, despite years of protests against them. Campaigners rejoiced, less so the 5,000 Venetians whose jobs depend on the industry. What is needed now is the much-promised plan to reroute the vessels in a way that both protects jobs and the environment, as well as a clear strategy on how Venice will manage future tourist flows,” she told The Telegraph.