Cruise industry has recorded rapid expansion during the last decades. Regional cruise development has raised various issues, mostly related to the impacts of the activity upon the destinations. Cruise industry has substantial contribution to local economies; however the rapid increase of ships' size and the concentration of calls are responsible for congestion phenomenon in many port-cities. To that extent, the sustainability of the activity can be questioned. Current research focuses on the economic impacts while, recently, there is an increasing interest on environmental matters from both sides-business and society. The recent demonstrations in Venice may be used as an incident of a raising awareness of the local communities regarding the cruise activity and its impacts both on the city and the way of life.Carrying capacity is an old fashioned concept more urgent than ever due to the increased capacity of cruise ships alongside with the intense vulnerability of coastal areas. The aim of this paper is to approach the concept of carrying capacity and to develop a wide list of comprehensive and descriptive indicators which can be used for the determination and practical analysis of the cruise carrying capacity of a destination, by involving cruise experts.