Amy Powers is the Director of CruiseMaineUSA, a port marketing coalition representing 12 ports in Maine and 2 in Canada. In 2017, Maine saw a 35% increase in passenger bed days from cruise ships, with 410 visits bringing over 378,000 passengers. A key port, Bar Harbor saw a 45% increase in passenger days and welcomed new ships like the Disney Magic. Economic impact studies found cruise passengers in Bar Harbor spent on average $108 each, totaling $20.2 million for the local economy.
2. I am the founding Director of the CruiseMaineUSA port marketing coalition serving 12 ports in Maine
two in Western Atlantic Canada. In my capacity I work under the umbrella of the Maine Port Authority
to represent the cruise ship marketing, travel industry outreach, public relations and community
relation’s efforts the member ports and severalAssociate Members.
Professional Affiliations
MaineTourism Association
•Past Member, Executive Board, and Board of Directors
American Association of Port Authorities
•Member,Government Relations Committee
•Member, Public Relations Committee
•Member Cruise IndustryCommittee
Cruise Line International Association
•Executive Partner
Who am I?
3. CruiseMaineUSA Mission Statement & Professional Affiliations
The CruiseMaineUSA Coalition in partnership with the Maine Port
Authority and the communities of Bangor, Belfast, Boothbay Harbor,
Bar Harbor, Bucksport, Camden, Eastport, Freeport, Kennebunk-
Kennebunkport, Portland, Rockland, Campobello Island, St Andrews
by the Sea, Canada and several Associate Members including: Maine
Office of Tourism, Maine Tourism Association, Maine Department of
Transportation, and the Penobscot Bay & River Pilot’s Association,
works to promote these communities to the travel trade, travel media
and cruise industry as attractive cruise destinations. We also provide
the relative community and business support necessary for these
areas to become and remain viable, productive cruise destinations
while promoting cultural preservation and responsible tourism. We
also work with federal agencies to coordinate safety, security, USCBP
clearance processes, and foster the Right Whale Anti-Ship strike
program.
4. State of Maine 2017 Cruise Statistics
This season will bring 410 cruise visits (including 20+ homeport operations in Portland) to our ports. The passenger
bed day yield is estimated to be 378,235 - this represents an increase of nearly 35% above the 2016 season.
We bid farewell to the American GLORY, as she is removed from service by American Cruise Lines who replaces her
with their newly constructed American flagged American CONSTELLATION. She will conduct a series of 12-day Grande
New England Cruises, and we see the return of the American INDEPENDENCE.
The state says welcome to two new cruise brands including Royal Caribbean International’s German brand TUI, and
Disney Cruise Line.
The first ship of the season arrived on April 23, 2016 visiting Bar Harbor. November 2nd marks the last cruise ship visit
of the season in Portland. In comparison, we begin the 2017 season six days earlier, and end 4 days later than in 2016.
The state will see 39 different cruise ships from 21 different cruise brands.
The busiest month for cruise ship activity is September with 113 scheduled visits, followed by October with 77, and
August with 67 port visits.
5. State of Maine 2017 Cruise Statistics
35% increase in passenger bed days over 2016
6. Bar Harbor, Maine 2017 Statistics and Milestones
Bar Harbor will host 163 visits with the overall yield estimated at more than 228,708 pax bed days;
this represents an increase of 45% in passenger days and an increase in 58 vessel calls.
The first ship arriving in Bar Harbor is the Amadea on April 23rd, and the last ship is the Crown
Princess on November 1st.
The busiest month will be September, with 50 scheduled visits followed by October with 45.
As Maine’s busiest cruise port of entry, it will accept 48 ships arriving from foreign ports and
requiring USCBP entrance inspections.
Maiden voyages for the town include the American CONSTELLATION (5/23/17), TUI’s MEIN SCHIFF 6
(9/9/17), and the Disney MAGIC (9/29/17).
8. Bar Harbor, Maine
An historical resort community with deep water anchorages
Estimated Year-Round and Seasonal
Population
Estimated (2005) year-round
population
5,020
524 seasonal homes 1,132
3000 motel, hotel, and bed-and-
breakfast rooms
6,000
1538 private campsites 3,076
Estimated # cruise ship passengers 2,600
ESTIMATED TOTAL 17,828
The estimated population of Bar Harbor on a peak summer day is 17, 800 people, or 355% more than the town’s
year-round population.
9. Acadia National Park
3.3 Million visitors were estimated at Acadia in 2016.
The estimate represents a 17.5 percent increase over the 2.81 mil visits the park received
in 2015.
10. Portland, Maine 2017 Cruise Statistics and Milestones
Portland will host 90 cruise ship visits and 120,941 passengers.
ACL’s Independence is the first ship of the season and arrives on May 13th. The last ship
visiting Portland is the Seven Seas Mariner on November 2nd.
American Cruise Lines conducts 20 homeport operations with the INDEPENDENCE for their
popular Maine Coast & Harbors cruise. The newly built CONSTELLATION visits Portland 12
times as she visits on her Grand New England cruise series.
Portland serves as a turn around port for a total of five different cruise ships: two ACL ships
(Independence and Constellation), newcomer Victory Cruises (Victory I), the Silversea
Explorer, and the Pearl Mist.
The busiest month is September with 29 visits, followed by October with 26 visits.
Twelve cruise ships are scheduled to clear US Customs upon entering Portland from
Canada.
12. Economic Impact of Cruise Ship Passengers visiting
Bar Harbor in 2016
The Maine Port Authority and town of Bar Harbor commissioned the University of Maine, School of
Economics to conduct a study focusing on cruise passenger spending in 2016.
The study focused on passenger spending only and did not include:
Crew spending
Purchases made by the ships
Fees paid to the local authorities (town of Bar Harbor)
Fees paid to local transportation provider for tendering services and tender landing owner
Local pilots
Fees paid to Government agencies for services
The cruise industry paid a total of $686, 472 in passenger fees to the town of Bar Harbor in 2016.
The cruise ship passengers had an estimated annual economic impact—
including multiplier effects—of $20.2 million in local spending, 379 jobs (full- and
part-time, and seasonal) and $5.4 million in labor income.
13. Key Findings of the Passenger Spending Study
Cruise ship passengers visiting Bar Harbor are highly educated and affluent, and most of them are at least 50 years
of age.
The passengers tend to travel in small groups and follow a plan of sites to visit, based on information gathered by
reading information from on-line sources.
Over 80 percent of the survey respondents were off the ship for at least four hours, which includes the time spent
on cruise-line sponsored shore excursions. Excluding the time that passengers spent on tours, the survey shows
that about 50 percent of the respondents were exploring the local area for at least four hours.
Over 96 percent of the respondents visited at least one store or restaurant/bar, and about one-third of the
passengers visited 10 or more places. Over three-quarters of the passengers surveyed spent money in one to four
stores and restaurants/bars, and about 13 percent made purchases in five to nine stores and restaurants/bars.
About 46 percent of the survey respondents took a cruise-line sponsored tour. Of these passengers, about 86
percent reported that they shopped in Bar Harbor and 72 percent indicated that they ate in Bar Harbor.
The survey respondents spent an average of $108—and $74 of this amount does not include expenditures on
cruise-line sponsored tours. The largest expenditure items, other than cruise-line sponsored tours, are meals and
drinks, clothing items, and general souvenirs.
14. Survey Details
Surveys were distributed to 4,768 passengers from 31 ship visits over 24 days between May and October.
We surveyed guests from a mix of small (e.g., American Glory, with a capacity of 49 passengers) and large
ships (e.g., Regal Princess, with a capacity of 3,560 passengers), as well as passengers across a variety of
cruise lines (e.g., Celebrity, Crystal Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania, Silversea
Cruises).
Of the surveys that were handed out, 2,231 were completed and returned by mail—this gives a response
rate of about 47 percent.
15. Where do the passengers come from?
Although the cruise ship passengers are primarily from the United States (about 87 percent of the sample
reported a U.S. location of residence).
22 countries, more than 10 surveys were received from passengers residing in the US, Canada, UK,
Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.
Within the United States, surveys were returned from passengers residing in all 50 states, as well as the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The top states for cruise ship passengers are from Florida, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland
and Texas.
7 percent of the U.S. survey respondents are from the Pacific West (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and
Washington) and Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming) regions, respectively.
Cruise ships bring visitors to Maine that are from outside the state’s traditional tourism market (e.g., the
northeastern and middle-Atlantic United States, and parts of Canada).
16. Who are the cruise ship passengers?
The highest percentage of respondents was in the 65-69 age range.
The second highest percentage of respondents was in the 60-64 years age range.
17. How educated are the passengers?
The majority of passengers had a 4 year college degree.
Followed by the second highest number of passengers who held a Masters
degree.
19. Travel Preferences and Habits of Cruise Passengers
Tend to travel alone or in a small group,
They follow a plan of sights to see
They read about a location’s attractions.
20. Sourcing information about the destinations
The majority of passengers favor on-line sources of information.
The vast majority of passengers younger than 50 years of age use on-line sources (86
percent).
It is much more even split between on-line (55 percent) and printed materials (45
percent) for passengers that are 70 years and older.
To obtain information about places to shop and eat in Bar Harbor, about 48 percent of
the survey respondents indicated that they looked at local marketing materials prior to
their arrival in town.
Of the passengers that looked at marketing materials,
about 35 percent indicated that they had no effect on where they shopped
and ate,
34 percent indicated they had a small effect,
and 23 percent and 8 percent noted moderate and large effects of the
marketing materials, respectively.
21. What do passengers do in Bar Harbor?
About 46 percent of the passengers took a cruise-line sponsored tour.
Bus or trolley tour to Acadia National Park to see Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, Cadillac
Mountain, Jordan Pond House for tea and pop-overs
Nature Cruise
Whale Watching Cruise
Horse drawn carriage ride through Acadia’s carriage trails
Bike riding
Kayaking
Lobster bakes
Historical Walking Tours
Of the passengers that took a cruise-line sponsored shore excursion:
about 86 percent reported that they shopped in Bar Harbor and
72 percent indicated that they ate in Bar Harbor.
22. Onboard Merchandising =Onboard Revenues
When ships are in Maine ports; they are not legally permitted to open their stores due to
payment of taxes and duties.
The ability to sell products to passengers onboard provides a much needed revenue stream
especially as currently the cost of taking a cruise is the equivalent to 1980’s pricing.
The ship’s stores will focus on a variety of products from fragrances, jewelry, fine art,
clothing, and consumables such as photography supplies, toothpaste, simple pharmaceutical
products, etc.
Alcohol purchased onboard or brought onboard is held until the passenger disembarks the
cruise.
Land based Retail Considerations
25. The retailer knows better than anyone else what cruise passengers are buying.
Based on the cruise schedule, they might strategically merchandise products that in past experience sell
very well and that will draw the pedestrian in.
Staff the store appropriately to allow for personal attention and attentive customer service.
Add visual interest and draw attention to your pedestrian activity area by having a demonstration of the
product in use, a craftsperson creating art, or music.
If your product has been featured in the press, display the article, ad, or internet coverage with a looping
video for them to view.
Set the right vibe. Maintain an upbeat, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere.
Gain their knowledge. Remind your employees to engage the passengers in conversation about their
opinion of their visit and possibly what products they would like to buy.
When international ships are in; welcome them by saying so in their native languages:
German “Vilkommen”
Spanish “Bienvenido”
Italian “Benvenuto”
Capturing Walk-Off Cruise Passenger Traffic
26. Affects on purchases
About one-quarter of all survey respondents indicated that luggage restrictions affected their
purchasing decisions and two percent bought items that they had shipped.
The luggage restrictions arise from the fact that the passengers are “living out of a suitcase” on the
ship and many flew in an airplane to the port of departure (e.g., Baltimore, Montreal, New York).
Survey results show that:
61 percent of the passengers flew to the port of departure,
29 percent drove, and
10 percent used another form of transportation.
When possible, offer to ship your products to the passenger’s desired
address!
27. Amount of time in port and likelihood to return
44 percent of the survey respondents would have liked to have had at
least one more day in port.
Survey results show that about 29 percent of the respondents stated an
intent to return to Bar Harbor in the next two years.
28. Sustainability
Community:
The Town of Bar Harbor seeks to manage cruise ship and tour bus visitation to meet the overall goals of continually increasing
job opportunities, having a low environmental impact, and supporting a sustainable year-round economy.
Cruise Industry:
The industry desires to play a role in ensuring a sustainable future for cruise tourism and maintaining the natural and cultural
integrity of cruise destinations because passengers are attracted by the opportunity to experience the natural and
cultural experiences of meaningful destinations.
The task of shared responsibility
29. Destinations: What’s Important to Cruise Lines
Marketing & Sales
Consumer desire, awareness and
marketability of a cruise destination
Access to consumers
Fit with consumer vacation patterns
Fit with cruise brand philosophy
Marine Operations
Marine navigation and access
Sailing time and distances between
ports
Berth, apron, and terminal available
Provisioning
Security
Safety
Logistics and Shore Excursions
LandsideAccess
GTA and parking
Airlift-when applicable
Lodging
Shore excursion offerings
FinancialConsiderations
Port charges
Labor, fuel and other operations
expenses
Regulatory and Maritime Laws
30. Satisfaction drives deployment
The visitor experience will drive companies to deploy more ships to the port
and will bring Prosperity to all.
Thank you for your hard work in making the Canada New England Region an unforgettable
Destination!
Amy Powers
Director@CruiseMaineUSA.com
207.310.0998