Two Cruise Ships Call to Port of Portland this Week

Portland, Maine - Carrying a total of 2,348 passengers Independence and Enchantment of the Seas spend day in port

What:   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 home ports in Portland, will visit a number of Maine towns including Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Camden, Belfast, Castine and Rockland.

Saturday, the Enchantment of the Seas will visit the port carrying approximately 2,250 passengers and 870 crew. The Royal Caribbean International ship will head north for Bar Harbor at the end of her visit and will conclude her nine-day itinerary in Baltimore.

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, a maiden call by the MV Regatta and 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:         Independence arrives September 7, 5:00 PM, departs September 8, 1:30 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal

The Enchantment of the Seas arrives September 8, at 11:30 AM, departs 7:00 PM and will berth at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal, Pier II.