York County officials deny cruise plans
Citizens concerned about report of ’25 Yorktown stops
YORK — Some York County residents recently discovered a monthsold announcement that Holland America Line would make three stops in Yorktown with its 2025 cruise lineup — in addition to the planned cruise ship visit to the waterfront area that became a contentious issue in November’s elections.
But according to county officials, no agreement has been made that would allow Holland America cruise ship visits to Yorktown.
When asked whether the new cruise line would be coming to Yorktown, deputy county administrator Mark Bellamy said, “They are not.”
“They have responded to staff with an apology for putting us in that predicament.”
A York County spokesperson provided emails exchanged this week between county and cruise officials. In one email, Darren Williams, deputy director of York County Economic and Tourism Development, requested that Holland America calls to Yorktown were removed from the company’s website, “as any calls to Yorktown for 2025 have not been approved.”
In response, Chris Martin, director of port operations for Holland America Group, said he had “discussed with our internal teams and we will change these two calls in 2025 to alternate destinations.”
According to Martin, the process of removing Yorktown from the itineraries has begun.
“You can be assured that we have the changes in motion, so from our standpoint the two planned calls to Yorktown in 2025 have been canceled for Holland America Line,” he said.
As of Friday morning, Yorktown was still listed as a port of call on three 2025 cruises on the Holland America Line website, with tickets available for purchase. A statement provided by a Holland America Line spokesperson said the process of choosing new ports is typically done two to three years in advance.
“In some cases those plans are tentative pending port availability and approval,” the statement reads. “In the case of Yorktown, the tentative visits were never confirmed and we will not be visiting in 2025.”
In September the company announced its 2025 lineup and included Yorktown as a maiden port in its 14-day cruises along the Atlantic Coast.
In the announcement, Yorktown also was included in a 15-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec City in May.
At a York County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, several community members expressed their discomfort with the idea of cruises coming to Yorktown, citing environmental and crowding concerns.
“If we let them come, it will be a disaster,” Seaford resident Mary Jo O’Bryan said.
For months, residents have been battling the county over the idea of Yorktown becoming a destination for cruise ships. The issue began earlier this year when Princess Cruises announced stops at Yorktown, including itineraries for Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, would be part of its 2024 schedule. Their main worries are possible threats to the historic area and the environment, as well as the scale of the ships in relation to the size of Historic Yorktown Village.
York County and Princess Cruises announced in a joint press release in February that the cruise line has plans to stop in Yorktown starting in 2024. Two cruise ships are expected to dock along the waterfront. The Isand Princess is scheduled to make three visits; the Emerald Princess will visit twice.