It’s not every day you see a mayor take to the seas to challenge a massive cruise ship. But a new video has surfaced showing just that off the coast of France.
Christian Estrosi, major of Nice, France, and president of the Nice-Côte d’Azur Metropolis, boarded a police boat on July 3, 2025, to confront the captain of Royal Caribbean’s 137,276-gross-ton Voyager of the Seas.
However, the crew refused to allow the mayor to embark the vessel, which had dropped anchor in Villefranche-sur-Mer, the port used for Nice.
“Where is the captain?” Estrosi told a ship officer. “I am the President of the Metropolis, and you are not allowed to be here.”
The mayor was attempting to deliver the city’s new cruise restrictions to the captain. Proposed in January 2025 and enacted on July 1, 2025, the new rules cap ship arrivals to 2,500 passengers in Villefranche, 450 in Nice, and only one ship per day with a maximum of just 65 ships per year.
Nice’s Cruise Ban
- Caps arrivals to 2,500 passengers in Villefranche
- Only 1 cruise ship per day
- Caps arrivals to 450 passengers in Nice
- No more than 65 cruise ships per year
Voyager of the Seas, sailing a 7-night Western Mediterranean route from Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, arrived with 3,100 passengers, inciting ire with the mayor, who demanded the vessel leave port.
“All shipping companies are already fully informed,” Estrosi said. “If the ship does not raise anchor, we will prosecute.”
The ship continued its 13-hour call in the port and has continued to Corsica. It will arrive in Italy on July 5 and conclude its journey on July 7.
Attempts to Stop Overtourism
Mayor Estrosi first proposed his ban on large cruise ships on January 21, 2025, citing environmental concerns for the beautiful French coastal port. Neighboring Cannes, France, is considering a similar ban.
Although the mayor signed a bill into effect that ban all ships carrying more than 900 passengers on January 29, he received pushback from the local business and altered his proposal to the current structure in March.
The video, shared by local media, is just one of numerous videos illustrating popular European destinations pushing back on overtourism in the summer of 2025.
Visitors to Barcelona have been attacked with water pistols, major attractions like the Louvre Museum in Paris have shuttered due to worker strikes, and locals in Mallorca have been directing visitors to “fake” dangerous beaches.
The ban on cruise ships in Nice is not a first either. Venice banned cruise ships over 25,000 gross tons from entering its historic city center via the Giudecca Canal since August 2021.
The city also began charging day-trippers, including those disembarking from nearby cruise ships and tendering to port, a €5 fee on high-traffic days. (Doubled to €10 if not paid in advance.)
Similarly, Barcelona began a daily cap on ships in October 2023. Only seven ships per day can dock in the city and just three are allowed to use the central port terminals near the city center.
Earlier this year, a passenger cap took effect in Santorini, Greece. It limits guests to 8,000 per day. It also launched a new passenger fee on July 1,2025, that charges guests up to €20 during peak season.
Amsterdam, which already banned the construction of new cruise terminals and relocated its central terminal away from the city center, voted to halve cruise ship visits in June 2024. Starting in 2026, it will only allow 100 passenger vessels per year.
While Royal Caribbean defied Nice’s new law, most cruise lines have altered course and only smaller, luxury ships are expected to arrive in Villefranche, such as Silversea’s 388-passenger Silver Whisper and SeaDream Yacht Club’s 112-guest SeaDream II.
Voyager of the Seas is currently scheduled to return to area on September 25, 2025, and if it does not skip the port will most likely be met by Mayor Estrosi again.
