I know this is a touchy subject. Keep in mind that I have never been on a cruise (aside from small liveaboards) and have not intentions of going on one.

That being said, I had not dived at Calabas in front of the Dive Inn since 2007 - 2008 season until this July. I used to dive it a few times a day during that season. I was expecting the reef to have declined due to the cruise ships pulling in and out of the port and influx of people to that reef to snorkel or dive. The reef is amazingly alive with very few if any changes to the sealife and coral reef.

That makes me question whether or not the negative reaction to cruise ships is being exaggerated, distorted or just plain old reactionary panic.

I have no interest in supporting the cruise industry, however I also do not believe in villianizing them either. Like many here I find it a little annoying and inconvenient when having to drive through town when it is full of tourists concentrated in the downtown area however that does not seem to be a good enough reason to lash out against them.

As long as they are not damaging the reefs then I fail to see the problem.

I agree with you Fid! Local fishermen do way more damage to the reefs then any of the Cruise Ships. However; Have you ever been underwater within a 3/4 mile radius when a Cruise Ship arrives or departs?? That noise is almost unbearable! Sometimes our charming little island wishes to host more or bigger Cruise Ships then the piers can handle which results in one or both Tug-boats having to push in that Ship during their whole visit. Have you ever heard that?? Unbearable within a 3/4 mile radius!
Next to that look what happens to the island on land with the way the taxi's (all 16 of them) start to behave on the narrow and bumpy roads. It also brings back idiots like captain Mike and his power-boat race-crew and disaster boats like the Aqua-space whom finally have a job again.....
Things are eeehhhh.... different then I can assure you. The Cruise Ships can't really help that, but, they sort of do cause it..... (or at least trigger it)

Fid, check out the damage occurring at Lac Bay, Windsock, 18th Palm, where many of the cruise ship tourists end up for the day.

And if you consider all the sewage they are producing on an island that has no sewage processing plant, then you can see how their presence compromises the reef as that sewage leaks into the sea. two examples: Note the increased algae at Lac Bay during cruise ship season; also check out 18th Palm (Plaza). In addition there have been observations of how Klein Bonaire is being impacted as well.

Fid do you even read the posts here?

Thanks for the responses. I have been under the water many times when the cruise ships pull in and have experienced the noise and vibration. That is why I am so surprised that the reef which should be directly impacted has not changed or seem to have suffered.

Sewage issue is one which needs to be dealt with despite the cruise ships. All the new housing that has gone up is justification enough for significant investment in sewage and infrastructure (such as improved roads).

Taxi drivers driving dangerously or erratically has nothing to do with cruise ships or environmental damage.

The secondary issues definitely need to be addressed, however the cruise ships themselves do not seem to be much of an environmental issue.

As mentioned in my original post I am not a fan of cruise ships or the crowds that come with them however I just don't see all the doom and gloom that some feel accompany them. Blaming cruise ships seems to be reactionary and a way of taking the focus off of us as divers who have driven the construction boom on the island.

Blameing the divers for the construction boom?( I thought it was the value of the euro, myself)
Fresh idea.
I thought they were the ones who founded an industry on the island and has helped keep her reefs. Pretty great bunch of people.
This is a really hot topic here.
Lots of opinions around. "Duck"LOL

The cruise ships themselves DO NOT affect the reef. Sorry.

I am looking at my research from 2008 when we kept track of when the cruise ships came and went as well as other ships including the large freighter that has delivered heavy items (like cars) to Bonaire for years. Only the freighter showed any turbulance created.

The problems are:
1-Fishing kills the graising fish that eat coral.
2-Construction dumps debris in the water that covers and kills coral
3-Human poop acts as fertilizer that increases algae growth.

It is VERY importent that unfounded accusations are NOT made. An unfounded accusation undermines the conclusions drawn from actual scientific data.

Regards,

Actual exerpt from report to Ramon (March 2008)
-----------------------------------
Cruise Ships

The ships in port were:
1-Don Andres
2-Pacific Leader
3-Rosaedith
4-Dona Luisa
5-Fruit Boat
6-Summit-Cruise Ship
7-Sea Princess-Cruise Ship

The Pacific Leader, the ship that delivers cars and trucks to the island, showed an enormous footprint while docking. None of the other ships showed such a footprint. Further analysis may show footprint differences between the other ships but at this point I would say that neither the Summit or the Sea Princess are doing more damage to the harbor than ships have been doing for years.

One isssue is that tugs are required to keep a cruise ship on the Town Pier during certain wind conditions. We have turbidity readings on a path on the Klein side of the ships and significent current from the tugs was observed. The turbidity readings have not been analysed.

I've watched the cruise and other ships a great deal for several years.
On only 2 occasions have I seen tugs have to hold the ship in position all day.

Skywalker-

Well, this was one weekend. Two tugs were pushing hard to keep the ship against the pier. Ramon and Albert Bianculli took instruments out past the tugs to measure the turbidity of the water.

Modern ships have directional jets that help them dock. That significantly reduces the re suspension issues that we are worried about. Older ships do not.

Yes cruise ships make objectionable underwater noise when they dock. Yes discharging of their sewage on Bonaire is the last thing Bonaire needs and yes, Bonaire is a different place when all the cruise ship passengers are in town.

but, do they themselves damage the reef? NO!

Pauline,

"Cruise ship season" also corresponds to a peak diving season when the resorts are filled and the maximum numbers of tourists are on the island.

It is during this period when the OI (organic content) of the water increases and algae is at its worst.

Cruise ships are mostly favored by older folks (like me) who need a bathroom often. We can assume that they add to the 'poop load' [new technical term] but not as much as an overnight guest.

We were just there in July and the algae is doing very well unfortunately.

Regards

At the end of the day it seems like Bonaire is benefiting from the cruise ships. It brings people to the island and creates jobs for businesses which cater to them. Also, some of those cruise ship passengers might return and stay on the island.

I just find it quite pompous and arrogant when some people refer to them as "pod people" or other unflattering names..... inferring they are somehow inferior to tourists who arrive by air and stay on the island.

Great posts Tom!!

"At the end of the day", there are both positives and negatives resulting from cruise ships visiting the island.

At the end of the day it is very possitive indeed: THEY LEAVE! Their arrival is the negative part although, indeed, not for all.....

Sadly our fearless leaders seem not to be able to make up their minds and to finally make a choice where to focus on. If their choice is going to be Cruise tourism, fine, but then at least do it properly. Make sure that you understand the needs and wishes of those kind of tourists and go for it.
Now they try to benefit from both types of tourists (Cruise ship passengers and stay-over tourists) without understanding the least little bit about what each type of tourist wants. This hurts both markets which will definately result in loosing both!

I also dislike the "pod people" usage. Yes, my husband and I cruise, but not to Bonaire. Next year will be our 5th trip by land to Bonaire and it won't be our last.

I started cruising when my company sponsored a conference during the cruise (sea days were conference, port days were vacation)and I went as company support. I had a blast and have been cruising ever since. Sitting on my balcony with a glass of wine, staring at the ocean, clears my brain.

Cruising has allowed my husband to dive in many places that we would not have spent the money to fly to and spend a week. Several places, we will return for a land trip (Cozumel and Roatan.) We may not leave our money with the cruise sponsored tours, but while in port, we use local dive shops, walk out of the cruise line owned "port" area and visit the local restaurants, museums, do a walking tour of the town, etc,

The cruise industry is still young in Bonaire, so NOW is the time to make sure that any facilities built especially for the cruise industry do no harm to the environment.