COMMENTARY: Mega Cruise Ships Circling Yorktown
York County Supervisors vote next week on cruising ordinance; past media coverage explains how we got here (again)
Almost 18 years ago, my wife and I were married on a beautiful Spring day at Grace Church in Yorktown, Virginia. My in-laws are longtime members of the congregation, one of the oldest in the country. In fact, the church can trace its history back to 1634, while the beautiful structure in which we married was built in 1697. My parents and I chose a restaurant on the river to host the groom’s dinner.
I bring this up to express that I appreciate the appeal of the unique little town; I know that others love it even more than I do. And I also understand the desire to share the charm with visitors. Most recently, I took my visiting niece and nephew on a tour around the battlefield and had lunch at a great place overlooking the water. There’s no question that York County (and the region as a whole) needs to promote activities aimed at getting people out to do things like that.
Yet once again, not unlike Cornwallis in the cave, Yorktown finds itself with its back against the wall, staring down a threatening flotilla and hordes of people. The issue is whether it makes sense to dump 3000 cruisers on a town with 300 residents.
Upcoming public hearing about cruise ships
At a meeting on February 18 at 6pm in York Hall in Yorktown, the York County Board of Supervisors will consider changes to the current zoning laws related to ships visiting the small town. The measure would mandate Board approval of a special use permit for any large ships to visit Yorktown in the future.
According to an email sent to the Board of Supervisors by opponents of the measure, the new ordinance is a “loophole” meant to leave the possibility open for “character-altering ships” to flood the town with visitors.
Public pushback against mega cruise ships in Yorktown
The email points out that nearly 8000 people have already signed a petition against allowing large cruise ships to visit Yorktown.
Whitney Pipken wrote about the issue back in September 2023 for Bay Journal, providing an in-depth analysis of the issue. Pipken quoted local residents in the piece:
“We are not against tourism or cruise ships in general,” Yorktown residents Elizabeth Wilkins and Jacques van Monfrans wrote in an opinion article on behalf of a newly formed group called Preserve Yorktown. “It is the sheer scale of these large ships and their inevitable large impact that concerns us.”
Pipken also reports that “Yorktown is already a port of call for much smaller American Cruise Lines ships, which carry 170 passengers at a time. Larger cruise ships visiting this region of Virginia typically come from Norfolk, VA, which has a terminal for them.”
Backroom deals, corporate welfare
Pipken’s reporting also confirmed that Members of the York Board of Supervisors knew about Princess Cruises’ plans to visit Yorktown in 2022, when several Members sent a letter to State officials requesting $15M to fund “a cruise ship port-of-call location…on the York River in Yorktown.” Not only does this amount to a handout to wealthy corporations, the County’s leadership pursued the project without informing the public. Pipken reports that the only reason we know of the deal is that concerned citizens got hold of it through a Freedom of Information Request.
And it just so happens that the State ultimately appropriated $15M over two years towards the new ship terminal. Yet, the backroom nature of this action clearly left a bad taste in people’s mouths. Even other cruise lines decided to back away from the situation do to the sketchy nature of what was going on behind closed doors. In fact, Heather Eckstine of WTKR Channel 3 reported in November 2023 that Holland America cruise lines cancelled their planned visits to Yorktown in 2025:
“In an email, a spokesperson from the cruise line said to a spokesperson for York County, ‘We weren't aware of the sensitivity to cruise ships in Yorktown nor the close work with PCL [Princess Cruise Line] on their 2024 calls.’"
The owner of Princess Cruises is Carnival Corporation. In December 2024, the company reported their annual revenues were $25B, an increase of 15%. Their CEO had this to say:
“Revenues hit an all-time high driven by a strong demand environment that we elevated throughout the year, enabling us to outperform our initial 2024 guidance by $700 million and deliver nearly $2 billion more to the bottom line, year over year … The progress was broad based as we drove strong pricing in 2024 as compared to 2023 across our major cruise lines and trades."
Susidizing a company bragging about its “strong pricing” is not a good look right now, especially when it’s done in secrecy. What’s concerning is the seeming habit of local leadership across the region to work on large tourism-related deals behind closed doors, wheeling and dealing with pulic money.
Meanwhile, many of these folks wring their hands over the costs of schools and other social services. It’s interesting which investments people want to make and the justifications they use. In this case, I’m sure the justification has something to do with economic development giveaways flowing back into the community eventually. What’s definitely true is companies like Carnival get their cut first; and something’s always trickling down, but I’m not sure it’s profit.
The future of mega cruise ships in Yorktown?
As Meg Walburn Viviano reported in Chesapeake Bay Magazine in February 2024, Princess Cruises ultimately decided to abandon their planned stops in Yorktown due to public opposition. On their way out, their leadership was completely classless, going so far as to question whether the residents of the small town actually measured up to the cruise line’s standards (LOL). In a statement to the magazine, Princess blustered:
“To ensure our guests experience legendary Virginian hospitality as they explore the region’s significant historical contributions to American history, Princess is confirming Norfolk on the published itinerary for Island Princess and its three new calls to the Commonwealth this summer.”
Walburn Viviano also reported that no Princess cruises were scheduled for Yorktown in the future either. Perhaps, but one can’t help but think that maybe the company’s words, as bitter as they were, turn out to be BS. Clearly, they still see Yorktown as a profitable destination to market and promote. Time will tell if the York Board of Supervisors think it’s a place worth protecting.
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. You can contribute too! Email tips and story ideas: contact@williamsburgindependent.com