“The food here is terrible, and the portions are so small.” Woody Allen

I know cruises personally. Not from a lengthy resume of cruise ship voyages, but because I live on an island, in a city, that “welcomes” dozens of them for parts of the year. The use of “welcomes” here is certainly a euphemism. Cruise ships, for most residents, are an annoyance. For starters, they bring crowds to the streets, long queues in shops, and increase congestion in all directions. In addition, there’s that conspicuous smoke that constantly emanates from the ships’ stacks and the ongoing controversy about the dumping of both gray and black water into nearby bays.

I lead bike tours during the summer months and many of my customers are cruise ship passengers who wisely choose to do something physical while in port. They seize the chance to visit local lighthouses that have historically protected the harbor. And let’s be honest, people embarking from cruise ships spend money at local shops, buying souvenirs and trinkets from resident artists and entrepreneurs, and services like bike tours.

So it was with complete ambivalence that I recently boarded a cruise ship in the Mediterranean as December ended and January welcomed in the New Year. Candidly, our stops were fascinating: the island of Majorca, then Valencia, Spain, the port of Cagliari in Sardinia, and finally several Ligurian Sea ports not far from Rome and Florence. Our journey both commenced and ended in the gritty, yet alluring seaport of Marseille, France.

On one hand, the food aboard the Swiss-Italian owned MSC Line can best be described as “camp food” –recalling my days as a kid at summer camp. I found myself hoping for a delicious meal and yet, was constantly disappointed. Paraphrasing Woody Allen’s comedic line, “and such small portions.” On the other hand, the on-board customer-service was excellent and we took great pleasure interfacing with the international crew.

I understand that Cunard’s Queen Mary has figured out how to delight its passengers when it comes to its culinary offerings. Royal Caribbean is also known to do a good job in this area. But when the conversation turns to what cruise ships do to local communities like Venice, Italy and Bar Harbor, Maine, naming just two, those residents care not at all about on-board food quality. They do care about the environmental degradation cruise ships create in their harbors, their skies, and on their streets. That should increasingly be everyone’s concern, including mine.