Cruise ship season

[Dratsy]

One thing that could be done to part the passengers from their money would be a money exchange at the pier when the boat docks that does not charge an extortionate rate of commission and will change any money they may have left ate the same rate when they return to the ship.

this would encourage spending among the passengers as they are more likely to change money if they are not worried about getting stuck with a few pounds they haven't spent. you would be surprised at how frugal these rich old codgers can be.

[Kavi Ugl]

I think suuusssiiieee's post is bang on. Even the lady from the Lerwick Retailers Association, when speaking on Radio Shetland last night, almost laughed at the figure of £1.3 million spent and said she didn't know where it was being spent but it certainly wasn't in the shops of their members.

 

I know this is not what people like to hear but there really is no product. Yes, there's "wildlife" and "nature" but apart from that there's really not a lot to see. Who wants to look at a hillside of grey houses?.

 

@SP, I think you've done a little hair splitting with my fjord picture

 

Now then, compare that photo though with the Holmsgarth/Old North Road area, the jewel of which is the old Judane factory.......

 

My message and point as always is that Shetland has the basic foundation of being a really attractive place but we seriously need to start thinking outside of the grey Shetland box and up our game.

[hairyian]

I think suuusssiiieee's post is bang on. Even the lady from the Lerwick Retailers Association, when speaking on Radio Shetland last night, almost laughed at the figure of £1.3 million spent and said she didn't know where it was being spent but it certainly wasn't in the shops of their members.

 

I know this is not what people like to hear but there really is no product. Yes, there's "wildlife" and "nature" but apart from that there's really not a lot to see. Who wants to look at a hillside of grey houses?.

 

@SP, I think you've done a little hair splitting with my fjord picture

 

Now then, compare that photo though with the Holmsgarth/Old North Road area, the jewel of which is the old Judane factory.......

 

My message and point as always is that Shetland has the basic foundation of being a really attractive place but we seriously need to start thinking outside of the grey Shetland box and up our game.

 

Perhaps this is why passengers are bundled into buses and whisked out of Lerwick ASAP ?

 

I have a feeling this could start something ... mulling the idea of a Lerwick Carbuncle award !

[MuckleJoannie]

One thing that could be done to part the passengers from their money would be a money exchange at the pier when the boat docks that does not charge an extortionate rate of commission and will change any money they may have left ate the same rate when they return to the ship.

 

The banks certainly don't want to do money exchange. Every year there is at least one occasion when I am in a bank a cruise ship passenger comes in only to be told that the bank doesn't change foreigh currency. Apparently the only place in Lerwick that does it is the Post Office.

[MJ]

Places - there are 2 post offices, even if only 1 of them is open on a saturday afternoon. All post offices are bureaux de change. Sunday is the difficult one. Harbour Cafe is open and takes Euros

[JustMe]

And there are cash points. Tourists can insert a debit or credit card to get as little as a tenner. And of course if they spend enough (over a tenner in many shops) they can use the same cards to make purchases. And I understand that many cruise ships offer money changing facilities on board. So really no money changing excuse for cruise liner passengers not to spend.

 

But maybe we need to think about the cruise ship market. A lot of passengers are somewhat senior. Maybe they do not want to go home loaded with purchases. And in the case of fly-cruise passengers maybe they do not have the baggage allowance to do so. Maybe some of them do not really want to spend money ashore. Some may not even want to go ashore.

[Ghostrider]

Is the general direction of this thread not something akin to fighting fog? It reads like the assumption has been made from the get go that there is stuff in the town already folk coming off these boats want to buy. Is there?

 

Some of the practicalities of how these folk are constrained have already been covered, they may not want to lug around bulky purchases, or may not have a baggage allowance elsewhere to cope with them. They may not want to clutter up whatever cabin space they have aboard with anything other than their personal possessions, they're also in a lot of cases putting in to numerous ports throughout their trip, and cannot be expected to spend, spend, spend in every one of them.

 

Should we not be concentrating on sales of physically small but high margin goods to people like these, something that leaves money here but does not add noticable bulk and weight to the buyer's luggage. Also consumables, food, drink etc. Most importantly should we not be asking those who do come, why they don't spend more. We have pubs, cafes, restaurants, nick nack and "souvenir" outlets etc, what could/should these type of outlets stock/do that would tempt those ashore to spend more, and tempt ashore more of those who at the moment don't bother.

 

Personally, if I went on a cruise (not that I would ever want to), the hassles of getting ashore and back again in a place like Lerwick would put me right off buying much, or even going ashore at all. If a boat ties up alongside, you simply toddle down the gangplank at your own time and at your leisure, getting aboard a lifeboat, motoring in, climbing up a pier, then repeating the process in reverse later on would put me right off bothering.

[hairyian]

 

Personally, if I went on a cruise (not that I would ever want to), the hassles of getting ashore and back again in a place like Lerwick would put me right off buying much, or even going ashore at all. If a boat ties up alongside, you simply toddle down the gangplank at your own time and at your leisure, getting aboard a lifeboat, motoring in, climbing up a pier, then repeating the process in reverse later on would put me right off bothering.

 

Getting on a plane at Sumburgh a bit like mountaineering for you ?

 

If your here for a weekend then cafes, pubs, culture, even shopping might be on the agenda. But most cruise ships are in for a few hours. Just time to rush round, see an archeologicaly important mess, photo a pony and back onboard for lunch as they sail past Bressay light away to the next stop.

 

Cruises look to have a stop every day, and sail every night. Shetland is generally a handy distance from other ports. I don't think 'shopping' is going to encourage a longer stay. So, generally we need more specialty things to see / visit. Perhaps make it worthwhile staying longer for passengers doing one tour in the morning and another in the afternoon.

BTW, the cruise company also makes money off the landward tours, so they as keen for this sort of thing as well.

[Dratsy]

you don't have to sell something they take away in a box you could be selling them a Shetland experience and charging a lot of money for it and the only baggage is a memory and fotos, people will pay a lot for this if it is packaged right, and I do have quite a bit of experience here by paying a lot to visit and 'immerse' myself in many diverse cultures, (one thing I noticed was no matter where I was on the planet if a cruise ship turned up I had probably seen it in Lerwick and we did not have a scooby when it comes to parting them from their money compared to the locals wherever I happened to be) and at the end of the day what the heck is the point of tourists if you don't part them from their cash. if your tourist business needs subsidy then guess what you should not be in the tourist business.

[Para Handy]

You never know there may be a lot of widmill spotters to come.

[MJ]

It is frustrating how little is "Sold" to tourists.

Seeing Shetland by public transport for example. All too often I meet folk on the Waas bus who've been told they can see stuff without so much as a map or timetable. Met far too many cold foreigners sitting in our local bus shelter desperately waiting in the vain hope there's a bus coming, it adds to the postcards on the wall I suppose.

Folks are told they can't do day trips to the outerisles. Had one friend who was told he couldn't do a day trip to Whalsay by public transport by the TOURIST OFFICE. All it took was a trip to the bus station for them to highlight the correct buses.

Seeing local leaflets translated by french classes at the school were a help but haven't seen any in a while

But when you're paying £70+ for a seat on a bus and the food on a cruiseliner is so good why would you want to spend more money than you have to?

Some shops like the Stagedoor will post less breakable items (within weight) to addresses in Europe, but not something that was advertised, more discretionary as it has internet sales it wasn't too much hassle to add another package. But there just isn't enough sales to justify opening for the tourist boats.

One thing that frustrated me personally was folks looking for "Scottish" touristy stuff Celtic Knots, Nessies, kilts and alike. Where do you send them? If Shetland is their only stop in Scotland how can the American Tourists show the folks back home they've been to Scotland? Puffins aren't something they really associate with Scotland.

[EM]

One thing that frustrated me personally was folks looking for "Scottish" touristy stuff Celtic Knots, Nessies, kilts and alike. Where do you send them?

Can't wait to hear Kavi Ugl's reply to that question! I bet it will be: "Scotland."

[Kavi Ugl]

Yes, tell them they'll just have to go to Scotland for such things

 

imho, the cruise companies will just have to do a little more homework and realise that Shetland(thankfully) doesn't do the kilts, bagpipes and tartan blurb.

 

What we should be doing is creating and selling decent Shetland souvineers, and to be fair I'd say there has been a massive surge in Shetland made products an example of which can be seen at the craft fairs etc so credit where credit is due.

 

But the fact remains that the single biggest problem is the drab and grey visual character of Shetland.

 

I was listening to the 60 north tourist channel on the radio a couple of weeks ago and the presenter lady was interviewing a man and woman here on holiday. She asked the man what his thoughts on Lerwick were and there was a small pause for a moment then he stated "well....it's very grey"......

[suuusssiiieee]

So you visualise the scene, liner arrives drops the hook, the punters emerge from the tenders and step ashore and you ask yourself what do they see first?...a pier closed to traffic and turned into a bus park, and a lovely chippy!...

 

Oh remember there is that fabulous welcome enclosure.. which is akin to a glorified portacabin, lightly used at best. There's not even as much as some craft stalls or the like showcasing Shetland products or small gifts whatsoever.

 

Not even perhaps a small enclosure with a pony or two (for the passenger that can't or are unable to go on a bus tour) to stroke and feed, Wow...makes it all worthwhile coming then? Bar Fort Charlotte, and Clicky Broch & the museum that's about your lot.

 

Lerwick has been in the dark ages for far to long, street retailers have a negative closed mindset to new ideas and thinking, all lets stick together and don't dare stick your neck out and take a chance springs to mind.

 

The long and short of it is our island neighbours know how to promote and sell their assets whilst we are struggling to grasp the concept of what that even means!

[bug]

Most cruise ship passengers arriving in Lerwick will be more than delighted not to be inundated by street traders and hawkers trying to sell them tat and are glad that this fine place can indeed avoid the stereotypical rat race they are probably on holiday to get away from. Many a foreign tour is spoilt by the very fact that some of the â€locals†are trying to make a fast buck and so pester the tourist. The Pepsi stalls at the Pyramids in Egypt and the Time Share traders in Spain and Portugal are examples. I say let visitors find Shetland as it is – “wards†and all ïŠ