Record Cruise Ship Season Predicted for Northeast Ports

According to reports the ports of New England are preparing for a busy cruise ship season this year. During the past few years the Northeast ports have seen an increase in cruise ships in their ports according to Maine’s Bar Harbor, harbor master Charlie Phippen. Eleven years ago when Phippen took over the position of harbor master Bar Harbor there were 39 cruise ships that docked at the port compared to the expected 119 cruise ships that will visit this year. And with increases in passengers at sea, so too are drunken passengers, rapes and injuries expected, according to California cruise ship lawyer, Michael Ehline.

The ports in Maine are expected 335 cruise ship calls this year, up from 281 last year. The ports in Canada Maritimes and Newfoundland are expecting 84 more cruise ships than last year making the total number projected this year 467. Boston is preparing for a record number of an estimated 300,000 cruise ship passengers in its ports. The expected numbers of cruise ships and passengers could make this the busiest years these ports have seen due to the growing popularity of the beauty, culture and history of New England and eastern Canada.

According to Cruise Lines International Association Inc., the cruise ship industry has been growing worldwide for decades and went from under 4 million passengers in 1990 to over 13 million passengers in 2008. The most popular designations are the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Europe and Alaska, with the estimated numbers measured in the amount of days passengers are aboard a ship. In recent years western Mexico and Hawaii have also become popular designations.

The number of days passengers are aboard ships for cruises in the New England Maritimes region has increased from 1.7 million in 2005 to 1.87 million in 2009. This according to the cruise line industry is a small part of the industry with approximately 31 million passenger days on cruise ships in 2009. This is divided into 17 million in the Mediterranean and about 7 million in Alaska.

The New England ports are seeing some of the largest cruise ships in the world of approximately 1,000 feet long and carrying over 3,000 passengers. These include ships from cruise line companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Many of the cruises begin in New York or Boston and stop at ports in Maine, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Some of the cruises also travel the St. Lawrence Seaway and to Quebec and Montreal.

According to Amy Powers of CruiseMaineUSA the cruise line companies have been increasing their fleets and this has allowed more cruise ships to visit New England. Powers also stated that the ship terminals in New York and Boston have also expanded.

Both New York and Boston have spent millions on cruise ship terminal upgrades, with New York investing $250 million to upgrade the Manhattan terminal and build a new cruise ship terminal in Brooklyn.

According to Bob Sharak executive vice president of marketing for Cruise Lines International Association, this area is a giant market that is just beginning to be explored, without the travel cost or air travel of other destinations. The anticipated cruise ship calls expected in Manhattan is 195 this year, up from 135 last year according to Thomas Spina city director of cruise operations. Spina also stated they expect the number to rise next year to over 225, with New England and Canada the largest part of the growth.

According to city spokesperson Nicole Clegg an economic impact study that was done shows cruise passengers spend between $80 and $110 per passenger when cruise ships stop in Portland. There are an expected 75,000 passengers this year, which is expected to give the economy an increase between $6 million and $9 million.

The Holland America Line’s want to send a cruise ship in April to the New England area, making this the earliest cruise ship to the region, with the peak months for cruises between September and October. The ship is the 720 foot Maasdam Holland America wants to send to Bar Harbor. Ships according to Spina are showing up in the region earlier in July and August.

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