For ships with more than 1,000 passengers, the tax is $12 per person, while for ships with fewer than 1,000 passengers, the fee is $8 per head, according to Sarah Flink, executive director of CruiseMaine, a public-private cruise industry promotion group. When cruise passengers arrive in port, the cruise line is responsible for paying port fees to the city. “We kind of see it as a piece of our overall economic development and tourism plans, putting Portland on the map and getting some additional revenue from non-taxpayer sources,” she said Nov. This year, the harbor supported more larger ships than in previous years, which is a reason for its record, according to Grondin. The growth of Portland’s cruise industry, however, is not just measured by the number of passengers. “I think that’s something we’ve looked into,” she said, “but I don’t think it’s been possible for a few other reasons.” The next level of growth she said, would be cruises that originate in Portland. “I’m not so sure how much more you could do,” Jessica Grondin, the city’s communications director. And with a record number of passengers this season, street congestion is a growing concern. “… But none of it will matter if the reputation of the port suffers from being too congested and therefore a place that passengers don’t want to go.”Ĭrowded Commercial Street is a familiar summer sight in Portland. “Certainly you know that there are benefits to having cruise ships in the harbor,” Bill Needelman, the city’s waterfront coordinator, said. 1, setting a record for cruise visitors in the city. In total, the Port of Portland welcomed more than 500,000 passengers and 60,000 crew members from May to Nov. The largest of these ships is the Anthem of the Seas, which visited Portland five times this season with nearly 6,500 people on board each visit. Ocean Gateway, which opened just over a decade ago, hosts two docks with a combined length of 1,600 feet, enough to support some of the largest cruise ships in the world. Anthem of the Seas docks at Portland’s Ocean Gateway in October. Traveling between Boston and Halifax, these ships are just two of the 100 vessels that berthed in Portland this season. Victory 1, the first and last ship of November, holds 58 passengers as its counterpart, Victory II, did three days earlier. The cold ocean breeze rustles the empty trees that line Commercial Street as the final cruise ship of the season docks at Ocean Gateway.
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