Four Cruise Ships Call to Port of Portland Next Week

Carrying a total of 5,159 passengers ships spend day in port

Portland, Maine - What:   Next week more than 5,150 passengers on four ships will call to port. On Monday, carrying 2,038 passengers and 999 crew, the Celebrity ship Celebrity Summit will call to port and berth at the Ocean Gateway Pier II. The grand ocean liner arrives from Cape Liberty and following her day in port will head north for Bar Harbor. The ship’s seven day cruise will include visits to St. John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Wednesday, the Carnival Glory arrives at port and, at the end of the day, will head north for New Brunswick. Carrying approximately 2,974 passengers and 1,160 crew, the 952 foot long ship’s seven day tour along the eastern seaboard includes stops in Boston, St. John, New Brunswick, Halifax, Nova Scotia and ends in New York City.

Carrying approximately fifty passengers, on Thursday, the American Glory will arrive concluding its third sail along the Northeast coast. During the 2012 cruise ship season, American Glory home ports in Portland, which means that passengers either drive or fly to Portland to embark on her tour of Maine towns including Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Camden, Belfast, Castine and Rockland.

Friday, the Independence, an American Cruise Line ship, will return to port for the end of her Maine Coast and Harbors itinerary. The following day, she will disembark with approximately ninety-eight passengers for another eight-day cruise along the Maine coast. The Independence, which also home ports in Portland, will visit a number of Maine towns including Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Camden, Belfast, Castine and Rockland.

Sixty ships carrying a total of 68,977 passengers and 26,425 crew are expected to call to the Port of Portland from June to October this year. The berthing schedule includes a number of unique visits including The World, which serves as a residence with one hundred and sixty-five units from apartments to studios owned by several hundred people from more than forty different countries, maiden calls by the MV Regatta, Norwegian Dawn, Yorktown and Caledonia Sky, as well as two visits by the Duke University research vessel the RV Cape Hatteras. Two American Cruise Line ships, American Glory and Independence home port in Portland at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal for the season. 

In an economic impact study from the University of Maine at Orono released last year, researchers found that in 2008 47,841 passengers from thirty-one cruise ships spent $80 to $110 in the Greater Portland area, generating $5.8 million to $8 million for the regional economy and creating 69 to 96 full and part time jobs.

When & Where:              Celebrity Summit arrives September 10, 7:00 AM, departs 5:00 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal Pier II.

Carnival Glory arrives September 12, 8:00 AM, departs 6:00 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal Pier II.

American Glory arrives September 13, 10:00 PM, departs September 15, 1:30 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal.

Independence arrives September 14, 5:00 PM, departs September 15, 3:00 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal.