BAR HARBOR — The world’s third-biggest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas, which sustained damage from winds and waves in a severe winter storm this week, is slated to make its maiden voyage to Maine this summer.
The ship, which was sent back to its New Jersey home port for repairs, should be good as new in plenty of time for her inaugural visit to Bar Harbor, set for Aug. 29. Three more visits are planned after that, on Sept. 12, Sept. 26 and Oct. 10. Anthem has a passenger capacity of 4,180.
The first cruise ship visit of 2016 is only two months away. A total of 121 ship visits are planned for the April thru October season, fewer than last year, but Anthem and other ships have larger passenger capacities.
No changes are recommended to the fee structure or passenger caps, Cruise Ship Committee Chairman Eben Salvatore said in an annual report to the Town Council last week.
Per-passenger fees were increased in the current budget for fiscal year 2016, Salvatore said, and the committee believes they should stay at the same level for 2017.
Councilor Burt Barker asked whether the town may be “reaching a saturation point” with the number of cruise ship passengers visiting.
Salvatore said the town’s current passenger caps, which are lower in the summer when more visitors arrive by land, are working well.
“I don’t think we’ve changed it in five years,” he said. “The last change we made gave [Harbormaster] Charlie Phippen a little more flexibility in what he books.”
University of Maine Professor Todd Gabe plans to conduct a study this summer on the economic impact of cruise ship visits, Salvatore said. Gabe and students did a similar study in 2002, concluding that cruise ships have a $12.5 million annual economic impact on the town.
“We get some valuable information from these studies,” Salvatore said, “and they basically won’t cost us anything.”
Gabe is set to meet with the committee March 11 to discuss the methodology of the upcoming study. A copy of the 2002 study is available in the town planning office.
In the 2015 season, there were 23 ship cancellations due to fog, wind or other weather conditions, Salvatore said. The cruise companies do not pay passenger fees to the town if they cancel a port visit. Cancellations in 2015 resulted in an estimated $67,000 in lost revenue.
The cruise ship committee has been updated regularly by Ranger John Kelly at Acadia National Park about the park’s transportation study and work towards a new transportation plan.
“The park and the town have different approaches on the impacts of the Route 3 rebuild project and the ferry terminal project,” Salvatore said.
Martha Searchfield and Melanie Graten of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce also reported to the council on the chamber’s informational services to cruise ship passengers.
Tour buses that pick up passengers near harbor place now drop them off at reserved parking slots on Mount Desert Street at the Village Green, giving businesses farther from the waterfront the potential benefit of more foot traffic. That bus drop-off point is one of the chamber’s visitor information locations, along with a kiosk on West Street and the visitor center at the corner of Cottage and Main streets. Last season, 161,713 visitors were assisted at one of these locations, Graten said.
Following Cruise Ship Committee requests, police have been available to help get buses back into traffic from these traffic stops. The buses now turn off their engines during drop-offs.
Bar Harbor Cruise Ship Schedule
Spring/Summer 2016
April 29 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
May 13 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
May 16 Saint Laurent 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Harbor Place
May 17 Marina 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Harbor Place
May 18 Pearl Mist 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
May 29 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
May 30 Grandeur of the Seas 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Harbor Place
May 30 Independence 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. Town Pier
June 5 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
June 10 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
June 12 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
June 19 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
June 26 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
June 26 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
June 27 Grandeur of the Seas 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Harbor Place
July 3 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
July 7 Insignia 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Harbor Place
July 8 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
July 10 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
July 10 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
July 17 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
July 18 American Glory 7 a.m. – 4 a.m. Town Pier
July 21 Rotterdam 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Harbor Place
July 22 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
July 24 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
July 24 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
July 25 American Glory 7 a.m. – 4 a.m. Town Pier
July 29 Grande Caribe 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. Town Pier
July 31 Independence 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 1 American Glory 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 5 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
Aug. 7 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
Aug. 7 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 8 Grandeur of the Seas 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Harbor Place
Aug. 8 American Glory 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 14 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 15 American Glory 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 19 Veendam 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harbor Place
Aug. 20 Grande Caribe 8 a.m. – 5 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 21 Veendam 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Harbor Place
Aug. 21 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 28 Independence 7 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. Town Pier
Aug. 29 Anthem of the Seas* 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Harbor Place
*Maiden voyage to Bar Harbor
Liz Graves
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