The people of Key West, Florida, a small island in the Gulf of Mexico that is heavily touristed, went to the polls on Election Day in November 2020 to demonstrate the kind of self-governance that the United States is all about.
The residents decided to restrict the number of cruise passengers allowed in the historic village to 1,500 per day, effectively banning large ships from the Port of Key West. The residents passed a measure to hold visiting ships to stricter environmental standards.
What happened next was frightening.
The Republican-dominated state legislature quickly wrote a bill to reverse the will of the voters.
Legislation stated that a local ballot initiative or referendum may not restrict maritime commerce.
The bill was signed into law by the governor in June of 2021.
Although the divisions over cruising have decades-long roots in Key West, the final outcome of the referendum was appallingly anti-democratic. Key West's voters had been rendered powerless to decide the course of the town they had nicknamed The Conch Republic. Key West's identity has been based on self-government and spiritual isolation for two centuries.
The chiefs of "maritime commerce" began listening to voters instead of playing political games.
While Key West's city government fights with further machinations involving new local ordinances, threats of lawsuits by bereaved business owners, and differing agreements for its two existing cruise ship piers, cruise lines seem to be choosing mostly to avoid calling on the island.
Several cruise lines have stopped going to Key West recently. Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages, MSC Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Line all used to have stops in Key West on their itineraries, but have replaced them with stops in other places.
The companies have to work with Republican lawmakers in the future and most lines have avoided addressing the reasons for the changes.
The controversy has been referred to by Virgin Voyages. "Our brand ethos is to create an epic sea change for all, and a pillar of this commitment is respecting the communities we visit and making a positive impact," the line said in a statement to Travel Weekly. We are working on a plan that will suit the local Key West community and our passengers.
Smaller ships that would have fallen below the referendum's crowd levels have returned to Key West. Protesters greeted the calls to the island from Crystal Cruises.
Proponents of the thwarted restrictions and resident groups such as the Key West Committee for Safer, Cleaner Ships are directly lobbying cruise lines through meetings and social media to rethink their routes.
A cruise ship called at Key West today, causing a miles-long silt cloud from the reef to the harbor. The silt will harm the corals that are already stressed. Do the right thing and don't call again.
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The ships are cleaner and safer.
The cruise lines' respect for local choice may not be tested yet as the industry prepares for a staggered return after Omicron. The Celebrity Millennium is going to return to the island in February.
The historic port of Key West was visited by a Carnival ship. Felix Mizioznikov.
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