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Amsterdam city council votes to ban cruise ships; no plans for immediate closure

July 21, 2023
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5 min read
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Amsterdam city council votes to ban cruise ships; no plans for immediate closure
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Amsterdam's city council on July 20 voted to ban cruise ships from the center of Amsterdam in order to limit tourism and ease pollution in the Dutch capital. The council claims cruise ship vessels are not conducive to the city’s efforts to limit tourism and boost sustainability, according to a statement from the Democrats 66 party.

For the ban to be enacted, it will have to go through other levels of approval. If approved, it will see the closure of Cruise Port Amsterdam on the river IJ near the city's main train station, Amsterdam Centraal Station. Currently, ship calls are still scheduled there until July 2025.

The closest alternative port is the west coast IJmuiden, 24 miles away. However, the Cruise Lines International Association — an organization that advocates for cruise lines at the federal level — said in a statement that it's more likely the existing facility could be moved elsewhere within the city.

"As the port has publicly stated, cruise ships have not been banned from Amsterdam," CLIA said. "Furthermore, the port and Passenger Terminal Amsterdam have already pledged to undertake investments worth millions of Euros in port infrastructure and shoreside electricity for the long term. There have been discussions on its relocation outside the city center, which started back in 2016 and which are still ongoing."

Ultimately, cruise lines are skeptical that ships will be completely barred from docking in Amsterdam. "Holland America Line has been bringing guests to and from The Netherlands for 150 years, and that tradition will continue for many years to come," the line told The Points Guy in a statement when asked how a ban might affect the brand's longstanding history in the region.

Several other big-name cruise operators currently list Amsterdam itineraries, too. They include Royal Caribbean, P&O Cruises and Cunard Line. The city is a popular embarkation port or stop on transatlantic, British Isles and Northern and Western Europe itineraries. Many river cruise lines, such as Viking and AmaWaterways, also embark ships or dock in the city on Rhine River and "Tulip Time" cruises around Belgium and the Netherlands.

TPG has contacted Cruise Port Amsterdam and several cruise operators, including river lines, for more details on how the ban may affect scheduled cruises to the city and will update this story when we hear back.

The crackdown on cruises is the latest move by the city to reduce tourism in the Dutch capital, which has seen numerous recent campaigns to discourage tourists attracted by its infamous party town reputation and reduce group travel.

Related: How to spend 1 day in Amsterdam

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The proposal to ban cruises had been put forward by the Democrats 66 party, which oversees the city alongside the social democratic PvdA and the GroenLinks environmentalists.

“[Cruise pollution] does not match the sustainable ambitions of our city," D66 politician Ilana Rooderkerk said in a statement. "In addition, cruise ships in the city center do not fit into Amsterdam's task to reduce the number of tourists. In other words, Amsterdam sails better without cruises.”

Officials see banning cruise ships as an easy win for Amsterdam’s ambitious sustainability target of becoming completely emission-free by 2030. One 2021 emissions study found a single big cruise ship produced the same pollution levels in a single day as 30,000 trucks.

Further bolstering its sustainability efforts, the Dutch government also plans a 12% reduction in air traffic to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) by 2024. The plan will see the airport's current annual cap of 500,000 flight movements cut to 440,000.

In addition, Amsterdam has a reputation as one of Europe’s most notorious cities, famed for its cannabis cafes and red light district, with around 22 million tourists flocking there every year. In recent years, city officials have sought to reinvent the image of the Dutch capital by reducing party tourism and upping their sustainability stakes.

Mayor Femke Halsema, a former GroenLinks party leader, has been a strong proponent of reducing “party tourism” in the city. “We do not want to become Venice or Dubrovnik, where your historical center has become a closed theme park," Halsema told Bloomberg in 2022. "In the future, it has to be a livable part of the city.”

Earlier this year, the city council launched “Stay Away,” an online campaign to dissuade visitors — particularly bachelor parties — and discourage rowdy and disruptive behavior.

In May, the council introduced new rules that made it illegal to smoke cannabis on the street and imposed earlier closing times for restaurants, bars and sex worker venues.

As per the new regulations, sex workers must now close their venues at 3 a.m., with bars and restaurants forced to close at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and new visitors no longer permitted to enter the old city center after 1 a.m.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

Featured image by GREG GIBB/GETTY IMAGES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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