Old Town Eureka shops share how the cruise ships have affected their business

The Seabourn Venture cruise ship docked in Schneider Dock early this morning. Many cruise ship members had the opportunity to explore Old Town Eureka. Redwood News reporter spoke to different businesses about their experience welcoming new customers.

“The cruise ships have been really exciting for us,” said Adam Dick, owner of Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate. “I mean, it’s neat being on the waterfront and kind of able to tell a little bit of that story. We’ve seen spikes here and there when they come into town. It just neat for us to be able to share our brand and to be able to do, you know, some chocolate education and things like that.”

Businesses like Los Bagels and the chocolate factory, have seen people from the cruise ships come in and explore their business. Some have seen the passengers stop by and observe. 

“There hasn’t been too much of a noticeable increase,” said shift supervisor Moss Torres at Ramone’s Bakery and Cafe. “There hasn’t been any large rushes. There hasn’t been a large change in the amount of revenue that we bring in or the amount of tips. If anything, they’ve been mainly just kind of stopping by.”

Another cruise ship will dock in Eureka this Saturday. 

“As we see people come in, we see people shopping in our old town and in very different areas,” said Kim Bergel, the Mayor of Eureka. “Also, people that I’ve talked to are so excited about how friendly we are here in Eureka. I think that that really they go out in their communities and really share that with everyone or with their friends. It kind of becomes this effect where people want to be here, which is a benefit definitely to all things Eureka.”