Real Estate News & Notes

Each summer Casco Bay is home to a wide variety of cruse ships, both big and small. They play an important role in the Portland economy. 

Each year there is an ongoing effort by the city to increase the number of ships that visit and the 2010 season gets underway May 24th as the Greek luxury yacht arrives. 

Normally the cruise season begins at the end of June and the early start to this year is a sign that the investment made by Portland and the Canadian tourism office is bearing fruit. In the past five years, Portland has actively recruited the cruise industry, investing $25,000 to market the city to cruise ship lines.

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.

At this time the next schedule ship is the American Spirit on June 12 – and then the season really get underway as the city is expecting 71 ships to visit with over 80,000 visitors.

In 2009 48 cruise ships visited Portland and the economic impact of the increase in 2010 is highly anticipated. 

In 2008 only 31 ships made berth in Portland. With the loss of ferry service between Portland to Nova Scotia this summer, the increase in cruise ship traffic is a boon for businesses in the Old Port area and beyond.

Destination Portland