Grandeur of Seas eyes Rockland for 2009 port o'call

ROCKLAND (Oct 30): The luxury liner Grandeur of the Seas is slated to drop anchor here in June 2009 with some 1,950 passengers eager to see downtown Rockland and the surrounding area. Advertisement

Grandeur of the Seas is 916 feet in length with a 105-foot beam and weighs 74,137 gross tons.

The luxury liner has indoor and outdoor swimming pools, four Jacuzzis, seven bars and lounges, a fitness center, spas, a card room, a jogging track, a sports deck, a teen center, and more.

Grandeur of the Seas, a 916-foot luxury cruise ship with some 1,950 passengers and 760 crew members, is tentatively slated to drop anchor in Rockland Harbor in June 2009. (Image courtesy of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines)

Tentative plans are to close off the downtown district from Park Street to Tillson Avenue when the ship's passengers first hit the docks to make their visit something to remember, said Bob Hastings, chief executive officer of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, on Tuesday.

Hastings praised the efforts of Amy Powers, director of CruiseMaine, in making the ship's visit likely to happen. She and Hastings have been working together for three years to bring some of the larger cruise ships to Rockland.

In summer 2007, there were 28 cruise ships that made stops in the Lime City. Five years ago, there were none, Hastings said, noting how quickly the visiting cruise ship roster has grown.

Grandeur of the Seas will be the largest cruise ship to come to Rockland with its nearly 2,000 passengers and 760 crew members. Plans remain tentative, Powers said Tuesday.

"I am hopeful that our conversations next week with [Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines] will result in a confirmed anchorage reservation," Powers said. "There is much opportunity for the cruise industry in the Midcoast; there are a plethora of areas to be explored in addition to Rockland."

"We are highlighting excursion possibilities from Port Clyde and Monhegan to Camden, Boothbay Harbor, Belfast and Searsport, as well as the train excursion to Bath," she said.

Now that Stuart Smith and other co-owners of the Rockland Harbor Park Center have purchased the former MBNA waterfront complex, the city is able to use its docking facilities as well as public docks to accommodate the numbers of passengers that travel on the larger luxury liners, Hastings said.

"The breadth of these excursions provides a range of options for passengers of every age and activity level," said Powers. "Lobstering, deep sea fishing, freshwater fly fishing, flightseeing, windjammers, lighthouses, kayaking, museums, galleries, shopping and golfing are just a portion of activities that the lines can consider offering to their passengers."

"Rockland is cost effective, promotes fuel efficiency for sailing itineraries and contributes to the industry’s promotion of close to home cruising," she said. "The cruise industry is always looking for new ports to promote — Rockland offers so much more than just a single destination can; we will build our offer of the total experience of the coast of Maine off of this fact."

Said Hastings, "It's exactly the kind of tourism we want to attract — with no cars involved."

The CruiseMaine 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 and several Associate Members including Chase Leavitt & Co., Discover New England, Down East Magazine, FlyBangor, GetEtched, Maine & Co., Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Tourism Association, Maine Department of Transportation, Penobscot Bay & River Pilot’s Association, and the Washington County Commissioner’s Office 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.