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Hello all,
I would like to take a few moments to share a bit of information regarding Princess Cruise Lines. A representative from the company asked to meet with me Wednesday morning. It was a great opportunity for me to bring forward our various concerns in a face-to-face setting. The meeting also allowed me to stress that if these visits are going to happen, it has to result in a net benefit to the county, not be a detriment or a burden. It was a productive meeting and covered several topics including:
- Environmental concerns - discussed their past problems and how their company in particular and the industry in general has responded to mitigate those issues
- Visit frequency - set the expectation that York County can only accommodate a limited number of visits per year and that we need to identify what that number is
- Visit scheduling - making sure that visits are not scheduled during other events and busy days so that our waterfront isn't overwhelmed with too many people
- Guest management - for the cruise ship guests that will stay local, we need to partner to determine the best ways to manage their visits off-ship
- Bus queueing - explained that we can't have buses queued on Water Street idling waiting on guests to arrive
- How to measure success - Establish the metrics that will determine if the visits are successful (beneficial to the county)
- Maintaining the character of Yorktown - ensuring that our waterfront looks and feels the same during and following the cruise ship visits as it does any other time of the year
- Follow-up public conversations - received their commitment that they will come again in early 2024 to conduct an informative public meeting/Q&A session
While the items above were good discussion points, my largest takeaway from the meeting is that Princess is hearing our concerns and are trying to be responsive to them. That's something I'll continue to build upon to make sure whatever the eventual outcome, it will be overall advantageous to York County.
As a reminder, bookmark our Princess Cruise Line FAQ page. This is where we are consolidating information about their plans and provide answers to common questions.
Best regards,
Stephen
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