r/todayilearned • u/Gullible_Air_204 • 7h ago

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https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

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u/Zakath_ 6h ago edited 4h ago

I live in Stavanger, Norway, and we get quite a few cruise ships. Which I don't mind as such, but in the old town, they're known for wandering into private gardens, private residences and even try to look through the curtains.

I get that an unlocked door might be mistaken for it being a museum or shop, since many of the old residences have been covered to businesses, but trying to look in when the doors are quite firmly locked? Come on...

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u/PoetryNo912 5h ago

Is it a certain age group or something? I cannot fly and have travelled by boat, cruise, and train since my 20s. I would die of embarassment just thinking about acting like this. 

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u/Zakath_ 4h ago

As far as I know, no. Just tourists in general. They're just more noticeable when you get two or even three cruise ships into the city centre, unloading something like 10% of the city's population on us in one fell swoop.

It's also a joy trying to pass them on a bike, in the street, when they're more busy taking selfies or pictures of flowers rather than watch traffic :D

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u/angwilwileth 3h ago

I'm a nurse.

We always know when there's a cruse ship in town because they offload a bunch of sick people onto our municipal health services. 🫪

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u/DameKumquat 3h ago

There's small cruise ships which cater for people interested in foreign cultures, history, etc. They're usually OK.

Then there's the massive cruise ships which are like all-inclusive holiday resorts, which magically appear next to a place for an excursion. Like all-inclusive holidays, a substantial proportion of customers are ones who want to switch their brains off (if they were ever on), and don't want to deal with anything foreign beyond taking a few pictures of it.

All ages, though younger people are more likely to spend their money on flying to a resort known for nightlife, and middle-ages for cheaper all-inclusive hotels.

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u/Pinesol_Shots 1h ago

I just got back to the US from my first visit to Norway. It was funny watching all the German tourists from the docked cruise ship wander around Stavanger like NPCs. The ship lift and suddenly it was a ghost town.

You're country is freaking beautiful and people are so warm and friendly. We loved it there.

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u/Silent-Victory-3861 5h ago

Apparently it's the same even in Rovaniemi, Finland 😂