Bangor Daily News 11/6/09

BAR HARBOR, Maine — The 2009 cruise ship season came to a close on Sunday as Cunard’s flagship vessel, the Queen Mary 2, weighed anchor and glided out of Frenchman Bay under starry skies.

Charlie Phippen, Bar Harbor’s harbor master, said the QM2’s visit was the 92nd and final cruise ship visit for 2009....

...If the weather is generally good next year and other possible complications are kept to a minimum, 2010 could be a record year for the local cruise ship season. According to Phippen, he has 115 cruise ship visits penciled in for 2010. Some ships have booked anchorage areas in the bay for the next two years, he said...

...Bar Harbor has been estimated to get approximately 130,000 cruise ship passengers each year...

FMI

Jim's comment: "I love cruise ships. We keep a list of landings posted at the Welcome Center. It's part of the information we provide. We tell the tourists the days Acadia will be CROWDED and offer them alternatives, like staying in Belfast! So the more ships in Bar Harbor means more visitors trying less busy locations along the Maine Coast."