The popular French Riviera city of Nice may not begin banning all large ships in July as previously considered.
Following local pushback against Mayor Christian Estrosi’s plan to ban all ships carrying more than 900 passengers beginning July 1, 2025, the mayor is now submitting a new plan with far less restrictive guidelines.
According to reports, Estrosi recently consulted with local leaders, including businesses that rely heavily on cruise tourism, to hear their concerns. He is now preparing to submit a somewhat less restrictive plan for the port authority’s consideration on March 7.
Under the new plan – full details of which are not yet available – up to 65 ships, each carrying up to 2,500 guests, would be permitted to anchor in Villefranche-sur-mer, a deep harbor tender port just slightly east of Nice.
While only one ship would be permitted at a time, this is a significant shift from the proposed ban on all ships with more than 900 guests.
The new plan is intended to provide a compromise “between public health interests and supporting the local economy.”
Estrosi has been vehement in his condemnation of the cruise industry, using strong and less-then-complimentary descriptions of the ships and their passengers in his discussions of the earlier proposed ban.
Estrosi has said, “[Cruise ships] consume nothing and leave their waste behind,” and has called larger vessels nothing but “floating buildings.”
Local environmentalists are already raising an uproar about Estrosi’s upcoming compromise proposal.
“The Mediterranean isn’t a trash bin and our coast shouldn’t be sacrificed to satisfy the economic interests of a few,” local environmental leaders said in a statement.
Their sentiments are not uncommon, as environmental concerns about ever-larger vessels carrying thousands of guests have prompted similar restrictions and outright bans in many regions.
Port cities that have already enacted similar full or partial bans on large ships include Barcelona, Spain; Venice, Italy; Sitka, Alaska; and Bar Harbor, Maine.
Visiting Nice on Cruise Ships
Nice is one of the most popular port destinations on the French Riviera and a stop many travelers look forward to on a variety of Mediterranean itineraries.
With the new adjustment to Estrosi’s proposal, many currently scheduled sailings would now be unaffected, including smaller luxury ships that have fewer guests aboard and show travelers generally spend even more when visiting a port.
Under the previous proposal, ships such as the 2,081-guest Queen Victoria, 2,076-guest Marella Discovery, and 1,200-guest Oceania Vista would all have been required to divert to a different port, but now each ship could still visit Nice.
Some of the largest ships planned for the port, however, would still need to find an alternate destination – such as the 3,602-guest Voyager of the Seas, the 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox, and the 3,096-guest Azura.
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Cruise travelers who still want to visit the city amid the controversy of passenger caps, ship bans, and size limitations may want to investigate sailings aboard smaller vessels and luxury lines. At this time, there is no consideration to ban ships from Nice entirely, only the larger vessels are likely to be impacted.
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is working to embrace the compromise in favor of cruise ships and the substantial economic benefits they provide to different regions.
It is possible, however, these proposals will still be adjusted or face additional opposition from both sides. Such a power struggle never bodes well for tourists – many of whom may end up being charged visitation fees or assessed additional taxes as part of their cruise fare.
