Portland preps for early cruise ship season
The city's efforts to lure more cruise ships to Portland sooner will pay off when the Greek luxury yacht Clelia and its 100 passengers arrive on May 24 to kick off the 2010 cruise ship season.
Nicole Clegg, a city spokeswoman, says the Clelia's scheduled arrival at the Ocean Gateway International Marine Terminal will happen more than a month before cruise ships typically come to the city at the end of June or the beginning of July.
The early arrival is a sign that the combined efforts of the city and Canadian tourism officials to attract cruise ship business beginning in the spring are working, Clegg says. Mainebiz previously reported the city has invested $25,000 over the last five years to recruit the cruise ship industry.
The Clelia is owned and operated by Alpha Yachting, which has offices in Athens, Greece, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. At 290 feet long, it is considered a smaller luxury yacht that takes its passengers on adventure cruises all over the world.
According to the Port of Portland's 2010 berthing schedule, the Clelia will arrive in Portland at 1 p.m. and stay in the city for 9.5 hours, giving passengers ample time to head into the Old Port and patronize restaurants and retail shops.
The next cruise ship, the American Spirit, is scheduled to visit the city on June 12 with 98 passengers, according to the port's berthing schedule.
Jan Beitzer, executive director of the Portland Downtown District, says her group of 485 businesses is pleased the first of 71 cruise ships will arrive before Memorial Day Weekend.
Every visit, whether it's a 100-passenger cruise ship or the Enchanted, which will bring nearly 2,000 visitors in June, means significant contributions to the region's economy. "It's always good," Beitzer says. "The larger the better, without a doubt."
The city is looking forward to a strong 2010 cruise ship season and expects to host 71 vessels that will deliver 80,000 visitors compared to the 48 cruise ships and 70,000 passengers that came to Portland in 2009. Their economic impact for businesses throughout the city and the Greater Portland region is undeniable, according to Clegg.
For instance, Clegg previously told Mainebiz that when the city hosted 31 cruise ships in 2008, visitors pumped $6 million to $8 million into the city and other Maine communities when they boarded tour buses and traveled elsewhere.
"We want this region to compete with Alaska," says Patrick Arnold, executive director of Discover Portland and Beyond.
He believes there is great opportunity for Portland to capture some cruise ships that are sailing there because that market has become too saturated and expensive for cruise ship operators. Arnold says Alaska's cruise ship season is identical to Portland's season, which is from May to October.
Beitzer says the Discover Portland & Beyond cruise consortium, which consists of the city, the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland, The Port of Portland, Portland's Downtown District, the Freeport and Kennebunkport merchants associations, and the Kennebunk/Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce, will hold a workshop at the Holiday Inn By the Bay on May 21 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. to help retailers capture more revenue from cruise ship visitors.
The workshop will offer retailers different ideas on how to welcome cruise ship visitors and suggestions about possible bargains to generate more business, Beitzer says.
Cruise ship visitors will also see more signage to help them navigate their way on foot through the Old Port so they can access museums, parks, the waterfront, restaurants and many other attractions, Beitzer says.
Arnold says it will continue to be important for the business community to do more research about the cruise ship visitors that sail into Portland. If businesses understand the demographics of each cruise ship's passengers before they emerge from the terminal, Arnold says retailers, restaurants and others can market themselves more effectively.
"A cruise ship passenger walks off that ship with blinders on," Arnold says, which is why it is up to businesses to make sure they know what they have to offer.
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