Since 2000, Bar Harbor has steadily increased as Maine’s most popular cruise ship port of call. “The cruise ship industry has been growing very quickly,” says Chris Fogg, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. “In 2000, 30 ships visited, but this year 96 cruise liners are scheduled to dock here-and we’re a very small town.”
But with fame comes crowds, and they were turning the town upside down.
Concerned that the town’s small-town charm might suffer-spoiling the very allure that made a crushing number of cruise-ship day trippers come to Bar Harbor in the first place -the town was determined not to kill the goose that is laying the golden egg. (Specifically an economic impact of $13.7 million per year, as tabulated in 2005 by the Center for Tourism Research and Outreach at the University of Maine.)
For the past five years, the town restricted the number of cruise ships permitted to dock in port to two, but as ships grew to floating megaships, the two-ship rule got lost in the increasing number of actual passengers sailing into port. “We came to the realization,” says Paul Paradis, town council member, “that it wasn’t the number of ships parked in the harbor, it was the number of people on these ships.”
As cruise liners mushroomed into megaships, the town council took action. Bermello-Ajamil & Partners was commissioned for $80,000 to study the problem; completed in May 2007, the Cruise Tourism Destination Management Plan for Bar Harbor assessed the situation. Then the town council formed the Bar Harbor Cruise Ship Task Force to review the 88-page document and make recommendations. At the heart of their job, says Paradis, chair of the task force, was to “do an analysis of what services the town was providing, what they cost and how to improve the passenger experience.”
Now, after two years of meetings, changes are about to be implemented.
In a nutshell, this season, passenger fees will change, while next season the number of passengers allowed to dock will be curtailed. And finally, the town is waiting for imminent approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for security permission to allow cruise ship passengers to land, via a tender boat, at the town dock.
The first big change will take effect soon. At the task force’s recommendation, the Bar Harbor Town Council streamlined their method for assessing anchorage, police detail and cruise passenger bus fees. So beginning July 1, a flat $4-per-passenger fee will be assessed for passengers of the ship at anchor. In the 2009 cruise ship season, the town anticipates collecting a minimum of $586,000, according to Paradis. The previous system was a hodge-podge of charges that, according to Harbormaster Charlie Phippen, included $1,750 for anchorage, $150 per tour bus company, per ship, and a police detail fee of $40 an hour, with the average running eight-to-10 hours.
At the heart of the matter, once again, was the problem of congestion-traffic that needed redirecting-plus a more subtle issue: Passengers were disembarking, tendering to the privately owned Harbor Place, then either taking a tour bus to Acadia National Park or a whale watching tour-all the while skipping a walk through the town of Bar Harbor.
Another change, phrased politely to “encourage” participation that cannot be mandated: Now tour buses have been directed to follow a new alternate bus route that encourages a stop in the heart of Bar Harbor, at the corner of Mt. Desert and Main Street. Here, a greeter will be on hand with maps and directions. “We hope that this not only creates a very nice impression,” says Fogg, “but that this will also increase the likelihood that people will come back.”
Another benefit? Shopping. Hopefully cruise ship passengers docking in Bar Harbor will have the opportunity to stroll through the village, buying items from town stores. And where will the new fees go? Pending the approval of town council, part of the fees will be used to cover the cost of comfort facilities in the Agamont Park area, where tourists offload from tour buses. In addition, the harbormaster’s office will be rebuilt. Finally, the town of Bar Harbor plans to leverage funds to qualify for grants stipulating matching monies. The first example is the anticipated purchase of a new port security boat.
As further result of the study, the task force looked at three seasons (spring, summer and fall) and came up with three numbers for passenger caps. Beginning in the 2010 season, from May 1 through June 30, Bar Harbor’s cruise ship cap will be 5,500 passengers at one time. From July 1 through August 31, the cap drops to 3,500 passengers (plus or minus 200) with the caveat designed for ships now being built with capacities slightly over 3,500 passengers. From September 1 through October 31 the passenger cap is again 5,500 passengers.
Furthermore, the task force recommended that a security plan be developed so the town pier could receive cruise ship passengers, according to Harbormaster Phippen. “Prior to 9/11,” he says, “Granite Pier [the town pier] was the primary port in Bar Harbor.”
Paradis, when asked about this part of the plan, is quick to note that the town council must approve implementation of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule regulating the loading and unloading of passengers, before action can be taken to comply with Coast Guard demands. For example, currently the dock is used for ship refueling and local parking, both of which could be restricted if cruise ship passengers tender to a pier quite vital to local life.
“As the town gets busier, they want to offer back-up facilities,” says Amy Powers, director of Cruise Maine and a member of Bar Harbor’s task force.
On the other hand, the monetary considerations seem obvious. Harbor Place, privately owned by Ocean Properties, currently charges $3 a head to welcome a tendered cruise ship passenger ashore. Multiply that fee by the 3,500 passengers on a megaship and the aggregate sum looks very lucrative.