Cruise ships on the Portland and Bar Harbor waterfronts have become routine sights of summer in Maine. But how about Bath, Rockland and Castine?
This August, 84 passengers are scheduled to board the 175-foot Niagara Prince in Warren, R.I., for an 11-night journey to explore the coast of Maine. Bath, Rockland and Castine, as well as Portland and Bar Harbor, are on the itinerary.
"Escape to Maine where whale watching, crisp air and endless miles of rocky ocean coastline await," reads the advertising copy promoting the trip.
Maine's smaller ports are starting to welcome a growing number of coastal cruise ships, nimble vessels that can dock or moor at ports too tight or shallow for ocean-going liners. Their calls reflect a trend among cruise lines to market more journeys highlighting the scenic character of New England's seacoast. The shift has accelerated after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as cautious travelers look for vacations closer to home.
This market presents an emerging opportunity for coastal Maine to attract affluent visitors who don't clog up Route 1 with cars. To lure more of them, nine communities from Kennebunkport to Eastport have joined with state agencies to promote the entire coast as a cruising destination. The coalition's effort is called CruiseMaine.
Because there's a lag in cruise line bookings, it may take a couple of years to see how this promotion pays off. But organizers are optimistic.
"The goal is to produce a brand that people recognize," said Jeff Monroe, director of ports and transportation in Portland. "By creating a brand and saying, 'these are your choices,' companies can build a trip around Maine."
Cruise ships represent a large and growing industry in the United States. The economic impact totaled $17.9 billion in 2000, according to the International Council of Cruise Lines.
In Portland, 14 cruise lines did business in the city last year and carried 44,374 passengers. The economic impact of those visits reached $8.7 million, according to a study by Monroe's office. When combined with revenue from the Scotia Prince, which provides ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the economic benefit was estimated at $29 million.
For a state trying to grow its cruise industry, the experience in Portland over the past few years is encouraging. Since 1999, passenger counts in the city have risen from 13,660 to 44,374 last year.
To promote itself as a cruise ship destination, Portland has historically worked with a marketing alliance that includes Canadian ports. The effort helped the city attract a record 37 passenger ship visits this year. A key to the marketing is an annual cruise industry trade show in Miami called Seatrade, and meetings with decision makers at each cruise line.
But Canada spends more money promoting its ports, Monroe said, and in some ways competes with Maine as a destination. That led Portland and Bar Harbor to recognize a need to work together and with other Maine communities to develop a stronger identity. They joined with officials at the state tourism and transportation agencies, and with seven other communities - Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Eastport, Freeport, Kennebunkport and Rockland. Aided by $25,000 in state money, they produced a glossy booklet outlining each port for use at the Seatrade show last March and put up a Web site: www.cruisemaineusa.com
Maine's campaign builds on the growing popularity of cruises in New England and Atlantic Canada.
Once considered primarily a destination for fall foliage, the region today draws cruisers from May through October. Ports-of-call are wide ranging and span the Gulf of Maine and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia and around the Gaspe Peninsula to Quebec City and Montreal.
These destinations, experts say, attract seasoned cruisers who have done the big-ship destinations in Europe or the Caribbean. They are searching for something more authentic and less touristy. That's what's bringing the Niagara Prince to Maine.
Maria Digati is the marketing director at American Canadian Caribbean Line Inc., in Warren, R.I., the owner of the Niagara Prince. Passengers signing up for the coast of Maine cruise, she said, tend to be in their 60s and 70s and come from as far away as California and Florida. They want to relax, enjoy the scenery and appreciate the natural beauty of an area.
"They have a picture in their heads of what New England looks like," Digati said, "lighthouses and clapboard houses."
The 11-night trip will stop in three Massachusetts ports before slipping through the Cape Cod Canal and calling in Portsmouth, N.H. Then it's on to the Maine coast. Prices range from $1,725 to $2,495 per person, excluding the cost of shore excursions.
Another company with a growing appreciation of Maine is American Cruise Lines Inc. of Haddam, Conn.
In 2000, the line's 165-foot American Eagle sailed two weeks in Maine. This year it will be here five weeks; next year, eight weeks. This season's cruises will homeport in Portland before heading to Boothbay Harbor, Camden, Castine and Bar Harbor, then back through Rockland and Bath. The American Eagle carries 49 passengers. Prices range from $2,160 to $4,170.
Tim Beebe, the line's marketing director, said the trip includes daily shore excursions and boardings by local historians or lecturers who can talk about the details of each port. Most passengers are 50 and older and arrive from all over the country.
"They are intrigued by the scenery and culture," Beebe said. "And we are showing them ports of Maine that you can't see from a large ship."
Also sailing is the Nantucket Clipper, which will call in Bar Harbor, Camden and Portsmouth, N.H., as part of larger itineraries.
The potential for more visits is a welcome prospect for community leaders in these ports.
Greg Dugal, executive director of the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce, said cruise ship passengers don't compete for parking or road space in Camden's congested downtown. And his discussions with restaurant and shop owners suggest that many of these visitors are spending money in town, not just poking around.
"I can't think of a better way to generate commerce without gumming up the works," Dugal said.
Camden's ability to handle cruise ships is limited, however. There's no open dock in the busy harbor and passengers must be tendered by tug or small boat from moorings or anchor.
In Bath, which hadn't seen a passenger ship in years, two vessels made their ways up the Kennebec River last summer. John Bubier, Bath's city manager, said passengers toured the Maine Maritime Museum and shopped on Front Street.
Cruising will become more popular in New England, Bubier said, as gasoline prices rise and people get tired of fighting traffic. On a cruise, he said, the vacation starts when you get on board, not when you finally arrive at your destination.
"The way we think about vacations has changed," he said.
Brian Nutter, who is working with the CruiseMaine group in his role as administrator of the Maine Port Authority, said it will take time to build up the state's small ports as cruise destinations. It took more than a decade for Portland and Bar Harbor to grow to their current level of business, he noted.
But the payoff will be worthwhile, Nutter said. Small cruise ships don't overwhelm a port with a crush of 1,000 people. And the passengers are more likely to spend money ashore, he said. By contrast, some discounted, big-ship cruises have the reputation for attracting customers who either don't disembark or spend little while ashore.
"This is a high-end clientele that is looking for something different," Nutter said. "They don't want to lay on a beach and get a suntan."
As more ships are built and cruising becomes more popular, some markets are becoming saturated. But at American Canadian Caribbean Line, Digati said changing demographics suggest that won't happen soon in New England.
"With the wave of baby boomers starting to retire," she said, "if anything, there's going to be greater demand."
Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:
tturkel@pressherald.com
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