Popular Tourist Destination Works To Implement BAN on Cruise Ships

By Jasmine Kocon
Posted on Posted on January 26, 2025

A city along the French Riviera will no longer allow massive cruise ships to dock at its ports.

The city of Nice is located along the Mediterranean coast, and the longtime mayor, Christian Estrosi, has shared plans to ban passenger ships along the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur’s coastline by the beginning of July 2025. The goal of the ban is to protect the environment and address concerns about over-tourism. However, the decree is seeing both praise and pushback.

According to monacolife.net, massive cruise ships that carry more than 900 passengers will be banned from docking along the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur coastline if the mayor’s plans go through. The plans would put the ban into effect on July 1st of this year.

The decree would affect ports at popular tourist destinations, including Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and the city of Nice itself. The idea for the ban of these giant cruise ships was taken from Venice, Italy, where similar rules have been in place, and the city “has regained its beauty and its landscape by having a mayor who definitively refuses cruises.” according to Estrosi who continued, “We intend to go in this direction, too.”

Estrosi shared that he doesn’t “want floating hotels to anchor in front of Nice.” He added, “Cruises that pollute, that dump their low-cost clientele who consume nothing but leave their waste behind… These cruises have no place here.”

Of course, there are people on both sides of this new decree. Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, President of the Environmental Group at the Metropolitan Council, shared her enthusiasm for the plans saying they’re “proof that perseverance bears fruit.”

On the other side of the argument, many have shared their concerns and resistance since cruise ship tourism is a big part of the economy. Many are worried that by banning the cruise ships their livelihood will be hurt.

Currently, Disney Cruise Line offers sailings to Cherbourg, France, which is on the other side of the country from the French Riviera, so these cruises likely won’t be impacted by this specific decree.

For more travel news keep following AllEars.

Why Is Everyone Ignoring This HUGE Disney Cruise Line “Problem”?

Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!

Have you visited the French Riviera? Let us know in the comments!