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Log inCruise ships coming in waves
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Cruise ships coming in waves
by Outspoken on Mon Sep 29, 2008 4:29 am
Cruise ships coming in waves
Six of them are visiting the city this week, providing a welcome boost to tourism.
By ANN S. KIM
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Lauren Ingram credits cruise ships for providing her with a job.
Although the tourism industry generally slows at this time of year, her workplace – the Cool as a Moose shop in Portland's Old Port – gets a surge of business when a cruise ship is in town.
"It's basically why I was hired," said Ingram, a seasonal associate at the store.
Six cruise ships are visiting Portland this week, carrying a total of more than 10,000 passengers. It's the greatest number of ships to visit the city during any week this year, said Nicole Clegg, a city spokeswoman.
The first of the six ships, Royal Caribbean International's Jewel of the Seas, arrived Sunday amid wet weather caused by Hurricane Kyle. The ship had left Boston the evening before and heads to Bar Harbor next.
Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Victory will call today, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 on Wednesday, American Cruise Line's American Star on Thursday, the Saga Group's Saga Ruby on Friday and Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas on Saturday.
Cruise ship visits bring welcome business during a quiet time for Portland's tourism sector, said Jan Beitzer, executive director of Portland's Downtown District.
"To have 2,000 people essentially delivered to your doorstep during shoulder season is very, very important," she said.
Portland will have an increase in visits by large ships – those with more than 1,000 passengers – next season. Clegg said 34 such visits are already booked for next year. This year, there are 20.
Clegg said cruise lines are choosing to stop in Portland, in part, to reduce fuel costs. A ship from Boston could, for example, use less fuel by traveling slowly to Portland as a first stop rather than heading to Bar Harbor directly, she said.
On Sunday, wet weather undoubtedly kept some of the 2,112 Jewel of the Seas passengers aboard. But some donned ponchos and raincoats to explore.
"We're used to rain," said Susie Alcaraz of Whidbey Island, Wash. "We get more of a drizzle."
She and her husband, Tony, and their friends from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Kathy and Dale Foster, hitched a ride to Long Wharf aboard a Mainely Tours trolley. They booked a 90-minute trolley tour for later in the day and planned to find some lobster, visit a pub and shop.
Kathy Frappier, owner of Mainely Tours, said a cruise ship visit at this time of year would normally require sending out six or seven full trolleys by midday. Instead, four trolleys had gone out, and only one sold out its 30 seats, she said.
A cruise ship visit means different things for local businesses.
At Cool as a Moose, it can mean three or four times as much business as a typical day at this time of year, said Jess Rosario, a supervisor at the store. "It makes an extreme difference," she said.
But across the street at Pandemonium, it's a different story. The owner, Rod Joslyn, said visits by ships catering to budget-conscious passengers don't help his shop.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=212878&ac=PHnws
Photos By Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Six of them are visiting the city this week, providing a welcome boost to tourism.
By ANN S. KIM
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Lauren Ingram credits cruise ships for providing her with a job.
Although the tourism industry generally slows at this time of year, her workplace – the Cool as a Moose shop in Portland's Old Port – gets a surge of business when a cruise ship is in town.
"It's basically why I was hired," said Ingram, a seasonal associate at the store.
Six cruise ships are visiting Portland this week, carrying a total of more than 10,000 passengers. It's the greatest number of ships to visit the city during any week this year, said Nicole Clegg, a city spokeswoman.
The first of the six ships, Royal Caribbean International's Jewel of the Seas, arrived Sunday amid wet weather caused by Hurricane Kyle. The ship had left Boston the evening before and heads to Bar Harbor next.
Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Victory will call today, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 on Wednesday, American Cruise Line's American Star on Thursday, the Saga Group's Saga Ruby on Friday and Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas on Saturday.
Cruise ship visits bring welcome business during a quiet time for Portland's tourism sector, said Jan Beitzer, executive director of Portland's Downtown District.
"To have 2,000 people essentially delivered to your doorstep during shoulder season is very, very important," she said.
Portland will have an increase in visits by large ships – those with more than 1,000 passengers – next season. Clegg said 34 such visits are already booked for next year. This year, there are 20.
Clegg said cruise lines are choosing to stop in Portland, in part, to reduce fuel costs. A ship from Boston could, for example, use less fuel by traveling slowly to Portland as a first stop rather than heading to Bar Harbor directly, she said.
On Sunday, wet weather undoubtedly kept some of the 2,112 Jewel of the Seas passengers aboard. But some donned ponchos and raincoats to explore.
"We're used to rain," said Susie Alcaraz of Whidbey Island, Wash. "We get more of a drizzle."
She and her husband, Tony, and their friends from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Kathy and Dale Foster, hitched a ride to Long Wharf aboard a Mainely Tours trolley. They booked a 90-minute trolley tour for later in the day and planned to find some lobster, visit a pub and shop.
Kathy Frappier, owner of Mainely Tours, said a cruise ship visit at this time of year would normally require sending out six or seven full trolleys by midday. Instead, four trolleys had gone out, and only one sold out its 30 seats, she said.
A cruise ship visit means different things for local businesses.
At Cool as a Moose, it can mean three or four times as much business as a typical day at this time of year, said Jess Rosario, a supervisor at the store. "It makes an extreme difference," she said.
But across the street at Pandemonium, it's a different story. The owner, Rod Joslyn, said visits by ships catering to budget-conscious passengers don't help his shop.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=212878&ac=PHnws
Photos By Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
