Portland Cruises to a Record Year
November 17, 2005
If the trend with cruises continues, Portland, Maine may turn from simply a port of call to which cruise ships travel on Canada/New England cruises into a major embarkation port of the Northeastern seaboard. During 2005, Portland welcomed a record number of cruise ship passengers.
In total, there were 45,225 passengers that visited Portland in 2005; with those passengers came a boost of about $10 million to the local economy.
Yet even though the number of cruise passengers is on the rise, the number of actual cruise ships has dropped 45% since 2001. The reason for that has much to do with the fact that cruise lines such as Norwegian, Cunard, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and P&O Cruises—all of which are available via Cruise Network—are building bigger ships. Whereas 5 years ago, the average cruise ship visiting Portland had around 1,000 people aboard, now that number is about 2,000 aboard each cruise ship.
Jeff Monroe, Portland's transportation director, states that he would like to position Portland as a jumping-off point for cruises traveling to Atlantic Canada. Once the Ocean Gateway Passenger Terminal is completed in 2007, the city should attract more ships. "Having a modern facility is one of the biggest issues," Monroe said.
The Ocean Gateway Cruise Ship Terminal is expected to funnel an additional 75,000 people per year through the facility. The terminal will include, passenger lobbies, ticketing areas, restrooms, US Customs and Immigration Federal Inspection Facility, baggage handling areas, a visitor information center, and more. The new facility will serve as an international passenger terminal for major cruise lines, including Cunard's QM II, which made her inaugural visit to Portland in October, 2005.
Maine's largest city, Portland sits on a peninsula extending into beautiful Casco Bay. A big part of Portland's charm is its waterfront, so port officials and the project team responsible for designing and constructing the port were careful to keep in mind that the view of the water is one of Portland's greatest assets.
In fact, Portland's entire waterfront area is resplendent with a world of gifts. Excellent restaurants and historic museums and galleries are found all over, while shops with imported art and local crafts and goods line the streets. Portland is also the culinary hotspot of Maine; Thai, Russian, Vietnamese, Caribbean and many other styles of cuisine attest to the diverse populations and tastes of Portland. In fact, Portland has the highest number of restaurants per capita of any city in America. With the construction of the new terminal, Portland hopes not only to increase to increase the attractiveness of the entire eastern waterfront area, but also the number of cruisers and cruises that travel to the city. Portland has also set out on a marketing initiative to help with their plan, as well.
Even with the terminal improvements, it's unlikely that Portland will ever see the numbers of cruise passengers that much larger cities like Boston and New York do. (Portland's population is only about 64,000.) Still, when you look at the number of cruise ship passengers it receives compared to Portland's population, the percentage is higher than most, if not all, Northeastern cities. After all, those who visit Portland usually find that it is well worth a closer look. And it's likely that you would too.
Portland, Maine is a port of call that's offered on many Canada/New England cruises. If you're interested in seeing this amazing city, please call Cruise Network at 1-888-267-1232 so that you can speak to a Cruise Specialist. Otherwise, feel free to book your cruise via our easy-to-use and secure website.
