Cruise ships: overrated in Tallinn

The silver bullet it ain’t.

The largest vessel ever to visit Tallinn, cruise ship Navigator of the Seas brought to the city more than three thousand tourists who presumably left more than two million kroons in Tallinn. The local press has been celebrating the 300-meter luxury ship for its penultimate stop and money-dumping in Tallinn. Are these cruises the silver bullet to fix all that ails Tallinn tourism? Hardly. The passengers enter the city for only a few hours and are often herded into pre-arranged lunches at bad restaurants. If Tallinn wants to improve its tourism economy, it’s going to have to get people to spend the night.