Blount's Grande Caribe Celebrates First Ever Rockland Home Port Operation

Rockland, Maine - Blount Small Ship Adventures 184 feet long cruise ship The Grande Caribe made a first ever home port operation run from Rockland, Maine Friday afternoon, July 29th, 2016.

In the morning I had the chance to tour this small, cute cruise ship by the captain apart of a celebration with leaders from Rockland Main Street Inc, Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, City of Rockland mayor and harbormaster, Amy Powers from CrusieMaine and of course the captain.

Stats:
Length: 184'  

Beam: 40'

Draft: 6'6"

Passenger Capacity: 83

Passenger Cabins: 44

Commissioned: 1997

Refurbished: 2009

Flag: United States

Built By: Blount Industries, Inc., Warren, RI USA

According to our previous article, The 83-passenger shallow draft exploration ship familiar to Maine
and Canada will sail a 12 day, 11-night itinerary along the coast from Rockland to Bar Harbor and Eastport, Maine before crossing the International boundary line in Passamaquoddy Bay to visit a variety of niche ports in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia before returning to the port of Saint John, NB on August 9, 2016 to disembark passengers.  The vessel will then embark new passengers in Saint John and sail a reverse itinerary that will terminate in Rockland on August 22, 2016.

“We have great respect for the Blount family. Their ties to Maine run long and deep. Not only have they been cruising the coast of Maine for 45 years; but they have also built most of the passenger and car ferries in the state of Maine in their RI shipyard.” Watching the family step outside the box and diversifying the Grande Caribe’s itinerary to include Rockland as a starting point is inspiring and refreshing”, said Amy Powers, Director of CruiseMaineUSA. “This is also a testament to the work horse capability of Rockland’s waterfront and the local attractions as it relates to the cruising community.”

"The coast of Maine has always been a favorite cruise location for the Blount Family and a personal favorite of mine”, adds Nancy Blount.

“Witnessing the renaissance of Rockland as a passenger ship starting point reinforces our work as a multi-disciplined vacation destination”, said Tom Peaco, Executive Director of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Our desire is to wholly accommodate the needs of all of our visitor’s-whether they are arriving by land or sea. We look forward to working with Blount Small Ship Adventure Line and Journey’s End Marina to insure that this is a successful partnership.”

For more information about Blount Small Ship Adventure Line, please visit http://www.blountsmallshipadventures.com.

To learn more about the port of Rockland, Maine visit www.cruisemaineusa.com/ports/Rockland,
Or www.camdenrockland.com.

 Cruise ship crew member welcoming two passengers.

 Refreshments were provided as shown above.