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CRUISES

Illness strikes Swiss Rhine boat passengers

Fifteen people on a Swiss boat cruising the Rhine River were rushed to hospitals in France and Germany after suffering nausea and vomiting, French and German rescue services said Sunday.

Published: 10 December 2012 09:57 CET

More than 70 crew and passengers, mostly elderly, fell ill late Saturday as the cruise organized by a Swiss company headed for Breisach on the German river bank from Strasbourg.
  
Six of the more than 200 people on board were taken to hospital in Strasbourg.

According to France Bleu Alsace radio, quoting German river police, they were discharged on Sunday.
   
The cruise continued Sunday but nine other people were hospitalized when it reached Breisach, police said in a statement.

Police suspected a virus or food poisoning to have caused the incident.

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TOURISM

Italy promises to ban cruise ships from entering Venice’s historic centre

Italian authorities have rubber-stamped a new decree to block cruise ships from entering the waters of central Venice.

Published: 26 March 2021 09:31 CET
Updated: 2 April 2021 09:57 CEST
Italy promises to ban cruise ships from entering Venice's historic centre
A cruise ship sails past St Mark's. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP)

Cruise ships and container vessels can now no longer sail past the iconic sights of Venice, in a move to preserve the famous lagoon city.

The latest decree, approved on Wednesday, detailed “urgent provisions” regarding cruise traffic around the historic centre.

Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said, “Anyone who has visited Venice in recent years has been shocked to see these ships, hundreds of metres long and as tall as apartment buildings, passing through such fragile places.”

Alongside the latest decree were consultations on the construction of a terminal outside Venice.

Italian ministers have agreed that large cruises can no longer access the Giudecca canal, which leads to the famous St. Mark’s Square. Consequently, the government has opened a “call for ideas” for a new cruise terminal location.

“A correct decision, awaited for years: the [Italian] Council of Ministers approves a decree-law that establishes that the final landing places of the big ships in #Venice will have to be planned and realised outside the lagoon, as requested by UNESCO,” Franceschini tweeted.

Until the changes come into force, large vessels – those over 40,000 tons – will need to dock at Marghera port.

The people of Venice protested against large ships entering the history city over fears for the structural safety of the city. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)

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Before the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a halt, cruise ship traffic boomed in Venice, bringing millions of extra visitors to the Unesco World Heritage city.

But to critics, giant tourist vessels were an eyesore and potential safety hazard, passing exceptionally close to Venice’s historic buildings, as well as a threat to the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon. 


Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

The liners have not sailed from Venice since cruises were first blocked last spring, even as they resumed briefly over the summer. Both of Italy’s biggest lines, Costa and MSC Cruises, redirected their ships to bigger ports near Trieste, Genova and Rome instead. 

Cruise ships in Italy are currently halted as part of lockdown measures against the coronavirus pandemic, with Costa saying it will resume sailing in May when it hopes it will once more be possible for passengers to disembark for excursions in Italy.

READ ALSO: 16 surprising facts about Venice to mark 16 centuries of the lagoon city

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