![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/The-huge-cruise-liners-are-blocking-locals-views-4977555.jpg?r=1695737807108\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Residents furious at giant, towering, cruise ships thundering into their port and spoiling their view are taking revenge by telling them to go home and wafting sheets in their gardens.<\/p>\n
The locals in the beautiful city of Stavanger, Norway, say the massive cruise liners, some with nearly 10 floors of balconies, are like \u201cfloating hotels\u201d with tourists swarming the town and the ships blocking their view.<\/p>\n
One campaign group even resorted to posting flyers which read: \u201cPlease go back to your boat and tell all on board that you are parasites. You are not welcome in Norway!\u201d<\/p>\n
And there are also reports that locals are trying to spoil tourists’ views in retaliation by hanging sheets in their gardens.<\/p>\n
One former resident, who lived there for four years in a flat overlooking the port, but moved on last month, said: \u201cI actually really liked seeing the boats come in – and they stopped during Covid.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they have always been a big discussion. Residents of Gamle Stavanger – the old part of the town with cobbled streets immediately adjacent – put out a sign in English and Norwegian below a statue popular with tourists saying tourists are welcome but ships are not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> Cruise guests warned to \u2018be wary\u2019 about booking excursions<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful town and a real tourist attraction and it is like a hotel coming in over night. Sometimes the smell blows the wrong way. It has always been a debate as long as I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n The former resident says that the ships have seemed to have got \u201cbigger and bigger\u201d. He added: \u201cIf you hang your washing out and they were running an engine – it looked quite dirty, the smell coming out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A travel advisor has also confirmed reports that locals have now taken to hanging out sheets in their gardens in protest.<\/p>\n The travel advisor, for\u00a0travel tech company\u00a0Voyagu,\u00a0said: “Previously,\u00a0only Hurtigruten, the Norwegian Coastal cruise company, used to stop in Stavanger, and these were small carriers that didn’t raise any questions among the locals.<\/p>\n “Now, because St. Petersburg was dropped as a port, the main cruise lines like RCCL and Carnival Corp. changed their routes and started coming to the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n “This change has sparked dissatisfaction and led to protests, including the display of ‘go home’ posters and hanging out sheets.”<\/p>\n However, they added that sheets can also be used to protect cover flower beds in the area.<\/p>\n Last year anti-cruise campaign group CruiseNOTWelcome\u00a0put up 1,000 posters\u00a0at ports in Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Fl\u00e5m to say that the cruise liners were causing both social and environmental damage.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> One of the posters said: \u201cYou have just arrived in my home town on a floating block of flats that burn asphalt for propulsion and energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe ship is registered in some bandit state or in an offshore secondary register to exempt them from all our laws about tax, environmental protection and workers rights [sic].<\/p>\n \u201cYou paid for your trip to a company that does not pay taxes to Norway or at all, and the workers are exempt from all relevant labour laws.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease go back to your boat and tell all on board that you are parasites. You are not welcome in Norway!\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n The founder of CruiseNOTWelcome, Bengt Erik Waldow, said in June last year: \u201cThe industry is doomed because the whole concept of moving a floating town from port to port can never be CO2 efficient no matter what fuel they use.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year the Cruise Lines International Association told the Independent: \u201cCLIA and our member lines work closely with communities and local Governments in ports and destinations around the world to deliver sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n \u201cCruise tourism brings joy to millions of passengers and enormous social and economic benefits to communities, particularly in coastal and often remote regions.\u201d<\/p>\n Express.co.uk has approached CruiseNOTWelcome, Bengt Erik Waldow and the Port of Stavanger\u00a0for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/The-pretty-port-of-Stavanger-is-being-dwarfed-by-the-ships-4977596.jpg?r=1695737807217\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018I went to Italy and tourists should watch out for a hidden charge\u2019[REVEAL] <\/strong>
‘Dump’ seaside town with streets so filthy tourists don’t make it to the beach[REPORT] <\/strong>
Anti-monarchy mob stage protest inside Buckingham Palace posing as tourists[INSIGHT] <\/strong><\/p>\n‘A floating block of flats’<\/h3>\n