If you’re planning a Mediterranean cruise, you might want to double check the details of your itinerary, especially if it includes a stop in Nice, France. Starting this summer, the southern French city, famous for its picturesque coastline along the Côte d’Azur, could soon ban large cruise ships from docking or anchoring in its waters. The move is part of a growing effort by the city’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, to combat overtourism and mitigate the environmental impact of large vessels.
Estrosi’s proposal specifically targets cruise ships that carry more than 900 passengers or exceed 190 meters (approximately 620 feet) in length. He argues that these vessels are a form of “low-cost tourism,” which, while lucrative in the short term, contributes significantly to pollution and often leaves little economic benefit to the local community. “Tourism, yes, overtourism, no,” Estrosi stated in a speech to Nice residents earlier this year. “The cruises that pollute and dump their low-cost clientele who consume nothing but leave their waste behind… these cruises have no place with us.”
This is not a sudden decision for the city of Nice. For several years, Estrosi has been vocal about the issues caused by large cruise ships, particularly the pollution from their emissions and waste. Unlike many other Mediterranean cities, Nice’s port is nestled among residential streets, making the environmental and noise pollution much more noticeable to the city’s residents. This has led to restrictions in recent years, including curtailing the once-regular Nice to Corsica ferry schedule.
While the impact on Nice itself may be limited since geography and location already make it rare for very large vessels to dock its neighboring town, Villefranche-sur-Mer, is expected to bear the brunt of the change. Villefranche is home to one of the deepest natural harbors in the Mediterranean, making it a popular stop for large cruise ships. Ships carrying up to 3,500 passengers, the current capacity ceiling, regularly anchor in the bay. Villefranche is also part of the Nice metropolitan area, so the new regulations will have a significant knock-on effect on this small town’s economy.
If the ban passes, cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, Cunard, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Viking will be the most affected. Viking, in particular, operates ships that typically carry up to 930 passengers, just above the proposed limit. The city is reportedly already in discussions about which cruise visits to cancel and which, if any, can go ahead this summer.
This decision is not without its controversy, especially among local business owners who rely heavily on the tourism brought in by these large ships. Jonathan Schneider, the owner of the Gelateria di Corsica, a popular ice cream shop located just across from the Villefranche cruise terminal, expressed concern that the ban could severely impact his business. “Cruise passengers make up 20 percent of our business,” he said. The extension of the traditional Mediterranean cruise season into winter had allowed him to stay open longer, but now, he fears, that could be at risk.
Interestingly, smaller cruise lines, such as Sea Cloud Cruises, Windstar, and Atlas Ocean Voyages, will remain unaffected by the ban. Estrosi has stated that he plans to invest €7 million ($7.29 million) into the electrification of ports, allowing smaller vessels to plug into shore power to reduce pollution. He also proposes building a dedicated “high-end” maritime terminal specifically for these smaller ships, which could bring a different class of tourists to the region.
The ports of Alpes-Maritimes, the region encompassing Nice and Villefranche, welcomed 670,000 cruise passengers in 2023, with Villefranche-sur-Mer seeing 70 cruise ship visits that year, a significant drop from 200 visits in 2010. By comparison, Cannes, another city on the Côte d’Azur, welcomed 174 cruise visits.
This bylaw, however, still has to be voted on by the regional authorities, so travelers and the cruise industry alike will have to wait for confirmation before making any changes to their plans. If it goes through, the decision could set a precedent for other Mediterranean cities grappling with the challenges of overtourism and environmental responsibility. For now, those planning to cruise the Mediterranean should stay informed, as the winds of change blow across some of the region’s most iconic ports.
