Is this who we want to be?”. Key West cruises deliver you to palm-shaded streets lined with gaily-painted bungalows, vintage saloons and blooming tropical flowers. See the striking colors for yourself. External site which may or may not meet Now, a group of Key West residents would like to keep it this way. They’re now being sued by passengers infected with Covid-19. Benson pointed to a piece of sunken, plastic detritus. Our cruises are 7 nights/8 days and can start either from Miami or Key West. The water below Benson’s boat is as clear as a window pane, and the best that he, a fishing guide with the Lower Keys Guides Association, has seen in 30 years. Before 1969, there were no regularly scheduled cruises to Key West. A high percentage of visitors to the Keys will indulge in a Florida Keys cruise of one sort or another. Key West Committee for Safer Cleaner Ships, industry has proposed substantial changes. It is one of the busiest ports and most popular tourist destinations in America. Find cheap Key West cruises on Tripadvisor. Hashtag your cruise photos #carnival and #keywest — you may see them right here. Under the referendum proposed by the Committee for Safer Cleaner Ships, only about 35 ships scheduled to make port calls in the Caribbean in 2020 would meet its size limits, significantly limiting the “bulldozer” effect Benson said he witnesses daily. Key West, FL. Cruise ships brought 910,000 people to three piers in the city of 24,000, according to the Florida Ports Council. The industry has proposed substantial changes, including masks, testing and shorter trips. (But that’s optional.) Voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to significantly reduce the number and size of cruise ships that come to Key West. Dreadlock Holiday plays on the radio. They wanted to limit the community’s exposure to Covid-19 and, frankly, to what they saw as destructive tourism. accessibility guidelines. People enjoy the uncrowded beach in Key West, Florida, on 17 September amid the coronavirus pandemic. And, there's no better vantage point for viewing than on one of our Sunset Cruises. The Cruise Line International Association, the industry’s lobbying group, has not weighed in directly, but has been polling locally on the issue. When Covid-19 hit, the islands were locked down, giving the environment time to recover and residents a chance to think, Last modified on Thu 1 Oct 2020 18.03 BST. This stretch of paradise is called the Florida Keys national marine sanctuary, and for six months not a single cruise ship has plowed its shallow and heavily used channel, leaving locals in relative peace and with clear waters many Read 1,340 traveler reviews and view photos of different trips from Florida Keys to various destinations. A checkpoint leading into the Florida Keys limits nonresident traffic. Sailing the Florida Keys is a fantastic alternative to the Caribbean or the Bahamas with the current COVID travel restrictions and many people reluctant to fly! Florida Keys is a great travel destination with a lot to do and see, but sometimes you need to get away and explore the surrounding areas. In five weeks in February and March, 17% of all Covid-19 cases in the US could be traced to cruise ships, a March report from the CDC revealed, and Covid-19 cases in 15 states could be linked back to the ships. “And we want our fucking island back.”. Sloane wonders. Closer to Cuba than Orlando, the laid-back Florida Keys are a world away from mainland USA. Kate Miano, who owns the Gardens Hotel, sees exactly this kind of degradation as problematic. Florida Keys Day Cruises The Keys are part of the state of Florida but distinctly different, with a relaxed, counter-culture vibe set against blue waters and white beaches. The types of cruises available throughout the islands are as varied as the many kind of events there are to celebrate. Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. Experience the famous Florida Sunset in style! Since the cruise industry is on pause because of the pandemic, this referendum won’t have an immediate impact and it is likely to be settled in court. The Safer Cleaner Ships Committee claims the environmental impacts […] He hands the pole to Luke, “You have the magic touch Luke, c’mon.”. She believes Key West should be an “eco-destination”. Cruise ships brought 910,000 people to three piers in the city of 24,000, according to the Florida Ports Council. The cruise ship industry has grown steadily in Key West from 1999, when 597,000 passengers visited the city, to 910,000 in 2019. Onboard ships, people socialize in buffets, bars and theaters. Exactly 417 cruise ships docked here in 2019, according to the Key West chamber of commerce. Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. Then, into open water running parallel to shore as we make our way to the … Anecdotally, some locals believe the worst-hit shops in Key West are those relying on volume, as empty T-shirt shops along Duval Street attest. The Florida Keys are also the ideal spot to go sport fishing, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, and so much more! That garbage would have normally been obscured by marine dust clouds stirred up by propellers in a process called “siltation”. Key West, Florida Cruise Port Located at the very tip of Florida, Key West is said to be more of a Caribbean island than a part of the United States. Famously known as the southernmost tip of the country, Key West is closer to Havana than it is to Miami. “The city’s position was, ‘We can’t do anything about it’,” said Haskell regarding the number of passengers and cruise ships coming through Key West. The essay is often distilled to this edict: “greed is good”. One limits the size of ships to much smaller vessels, another limits the number of passengers who can disembark in Key West, and a third prioritizes ships with good environmental records. His son Luke, six, watches. The cruise industry has exploded in the last 30 days: Since 1990, cruise ship traffic in Key West has increased by 650 per cent, according to Key West Committee for Safer Cleaner Ships. Meanwhile, the committee has been sued – three times – in an effort to have the referendum questions removed from the ballot. The water is no more than 10 feet deep. Florida Cruise Ports We offer Bahamas, Panama Canal and Caribbean cruises from Florida that sail out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, both of which are major cities on the east coast of Florida. Empty lounge chairs line a deserted beach at a resort in Windley Key on 22 March. Cannes, France; Santorini, Greece; and Venice, Italy, have all placed limits on cruise ships or their passengers for environmental or social reasons. Book the best day trips from Florida Keys, FL directly on Tripadvisor and take the stress out of planning. It’s non-stop fun when the weather’s right in the Keys! Here you’ll find a very laid-back culture where relaxing is every day’s priority. Cruise around the beautiful blue waters of the Florida Keys with your very own private Captain! The cruise ship industry in Key West has lobbied for one thing in Benson’s experience: “more cruise ships, bigger cruise ships”. The southernmost island of the Florida Keys, Key West is a sunny, fun-loving place with plenty of charm, and more than a little touristy goofiness. This stretch of paradise is called the Florida Keys national marine sanctuary, and for six months not a single cruise ship has plowed its shallow and heavily used channel, leaving locals in relative peace and with clear waters many say they have not seen in decades. Captain will train novice crew member in all aspects of cruising. Be it snorkeling or some cruise time with family, add us in your things to do in Florida Keys … Enjoy a laidback Caribbean vibe with a dash of the high life on Carnival cruises to Key West. View hundreds of cruise ship, cruise port and vacation destination cameras on CRUISIN! Islamorada, Florida Keys Camera - Port of Key West, Florida. It is one of the busiest ports and most popular tourist destinations in America. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in … Find Islamorada sightseeing tours and sunset cruises here at Fla-Keys.com. But then Covid-19 hit, first onboard the Diamond Princess, a ship which sailed to Japan and became the largest cluster of Covid-19 outside mainland China in early February. Then came ships such as the Grand Princess, which sailed from San Francisco to Mexico. Enjoy music, appetizers, and a champagne toast as we cruise around the iconic 7 Mile Bridge, letting you capture the perfect picture from your unforgettable vacation to the Florida Keys. He lets the lure fly – wheeeeeeeeesh. Sunset Cruise There are few sights as spectacular as the world-famous Florida Keys sunset. This bridge has been featured in movies such as True Lies, Too Fast Too Furious and Mission Impossible III. A typical sunset cruise includes: The cruise begins through the Duck Key outer canal past the Resort and some of the beautiful homes on the island. 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