Bar Harbor, Maine Looking To Limit Cruise Ships

Bar Harbor, Maine, one of the most picturesque destinations in New England, is looking to keep its small-town charm by limiting the arrivals of big cruise ships.

The Town Council in Bar Harbor has voted to move forward with a plan that will research whether it can emulate the city of Key West, Florida, which last month voted to curtail the number of cruise ships docking in its port.

Bar Harbor is popular for its quintessential New England feel, its slow summer vibe, its proximity to Acadia National Park and, in the fall, its extraordinary foliage that entices leaf peepers.

But according to The Maritime Executive, it’s all becoming a little too much. Saying it was responding to an overwhelming level of outreach from citizens, the Town Council said it will review its policies regarding cruise ships.

The initial plan includes a mailed survey of residents and a public hearing on the issue of limiting the number of cruise ships and passengers. The goal is to use that to inform a policy that would be voted on in June 2021.

It is similar to what the residents and local government in Key West did and, in fact, Bar Harbor is borrowing liberally from what turned out to be a successful plan for the southernmost city in the United States. Key West residents voted to limit both the size of cruise ships calling at the port as well as the number of people that could come ashore each day. They also approved giving priority to ships with the best environmental records.

Despite its small stature, Bar Harbor was expecting 200 cruise ship visits and more than 300,000 passengers prior to the coronavirus pandemic scuttling the cruise industry. Not surprisingly, Bar Harbor is already a destination for more than 150 cruise ship port of calls scheduled for 2021, according to The Maritime Executive.

At a meeting in November, the town council voted to defer any actions into the new year, while also approving a longer-term motion for the town’s cruise ship committee to explore a potential cap on the annual number of cruise ships.