I have a real question here, not trying to start anything. I’ve been in port towns a few times while big ships were docked. The last time was in Lisbon with the NCL Viva. The music and announcements from the top deck were so loud that they shook the entire Alfama district for 3 to 4 hours. I love cruising, but from the land side, it was really annoying (and now I get why locals don’t like having cruise ships in their ports). So, here are my questions:
Do cities near ports usually have rules to limit how loud the ships can be, and if so, why do some cities not have these rules?
Does the loudness make it more fun for people on board, or does it get too loud for them as well?
Here’s the original post again, just to keep the record straight.
Genuine questions, not shade. A few times I’ve stayed in port towns while one of the bigger ships were docked. Most recently, in Lisbon with the NCL Viva. The music and announcements playing from the top deck vibrated through the entire Alfama district for about 3-4 hours. I enjoy cruising, but from land it was pretty obnoxious (and now I can see why locals hate having cruise ships in port). My questions are:
Do port cities generally have noise / volume restrictions, and if so why might some cities not do this?
Does having it be that loud actually make it more fun onboard, or does it feel a bit too loud there, too?
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I used to live in a town where cruise ships came by once or twice a week. I never heard anything from the ships themselves. It helped that it was a tender port. After reading your post, I understand better why they kept it as a tender port.
I’ve never been on NCL, and I’ve never experienced a ship that loud in port. It must’ve been really bad!
Noise from the ships is actually not the main reason some people don’t like cruise ships in their cities. Ports are already pretty noisy, so that’s way down on the list of complaints.
That’s what happened with Carnival in Charleston. Even though they made so much money there, the rich people didn’t like having the ship in town every week, so they kicked them out.
It’s a two-way street. We were docked in San Pedro (LA) this summer, and right next to us, there was a metal music festival. Of course, my side of the ship faced the festival. I couldn’t even stay in my cabin all day because the sound came right through the balcony doors.