AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life News cruise ship world not good

On other posts it was hammered into the ground about the abundance of trash on the beaches..... I know there are people in San Pedro who work around the clock to keep it picked up, but not in all areas..... Where do you thing that trash comes from???? It's common knowledge that cruise ships dump their garbage.... It's been filmed and documented. Do you think they will stop committing this hideous crime just because Belize is touted as being a pristine eco-tourism stop? NOT!!!!! Do you think it (the trash)will get hung up in the reefs? CERTAINLY!!! Will it have an impact on the coral, the fish, and wildlife? CERTAINLY. I've already read on this board that there is a decline in the numbers of fish and rays at the snorkel stops. Boats are stacked up bow to stern. How will these places accomodate more? I understand the need for money and tourism, but why shoot yourself in the foot? I'm shocked at the ease with which this decision was made. It wasn't thought through very well at all. ByWarren, my hat is off to you once again. A pillar of wisdom. Thank you for your post.
Debbie

Don't look for much "trickle down" with the Cruise Ship Industry. Local boat shuttlers have been averted. Local resturants are averted. This is the millionaire boys club at its worst.

Debbie,
I'm a new member, but I fully agree with you!!

The mistake the Belize government and some of you are making is the belief that the more people that come to Belize the better. The thinking is that more money will come in and that is all that matters. The analogy to Mexico and how it handled large increases in tourism is worth studying. What Mexico did was build the infrastructure to handle the volume of tourists before the tourists came. Putting aside for a moment the debate on how many tourists Belize can handle before it damages the ecology ( a number, by the way, I do not believe anyone in Belize government has given any thought to determining ) let's look at what level of investment Belize has made into providing the infrastructure to handle the masses of tourists it is trying to attract. Belize is a country of less than 300K people. It cannot provide adequate power and water for the population now. Hell, it has to buy it's power from Mexico. I won't even get into the sewage and garbage disposal problems along with all the other infrastructure needs. The idea that Belize can bring in the tourists first and then worry about providing the infrastructure is laden with serious pitfalls and consequences.

Belize is experiencing record growth in overnight arrivals every month. It should concentrate on handling that which is a big enough task before it inundates the country with hundreds of thousands of cruise passengers. Good business sense dictates that you make the investment to handle the business before you bring in the business. A business that grows at a pace it can handle is much better of in the long run than one that allows growth which outpaces that ability.. Greed has it's disadvantages.

is this a size isnt everything issue?

From what I have seen of the cruise ship folks (in Grand Cayman, St Maarten, Cozumel), They come in in a storm of loud shirts, dark shoes and socks, very white skin. Loud, pushy, do a few tours, buy a few trinkets and then scoot back to the mothership where their meals are already paid for.

I recently met someone who had visited Belize on a cruise. He spent his one day in Belize City, while I split a week between Cayo and AC. Our impressions of Belize were drastically different. My trip exposed me to natural beauty and incredibly friendly people. His trip exposed him to lunch at a restaurant owned by the cousin of his wife's co-worker from the Middle East. I learned that Belizeans are proud, while he learned that Belizeans are lazy. I felt bad for him for missing out on so much. Belize is too diverse to experience it properly in one day. I'm not anti-cruise, but I think there are destinations more appropriate for a daytrip.

i agree with you janet....i know someone who went to belize on a cruise ship....he couldn't understand what i was talking about, when i told him how much i loved the country.....belize is not a place to visit for a day.....rushed in and out....time frames to meet....his vision of my paradise, was overwhelming....

Here's my opinion... and I wont be nice. We call the cruise ship people... the toilet flushers. They come to our businesses, dont spend any money, and ask to use the bathroom. Can Caye Caulker handle 300 more toilet flushes each day? I dont think so.

You'd rather they didn't flush?