Cruise Passenger Cap in Maine Comes With Hefty Price Tag
The drama continues involving the cruise passenger cap in Bar Harbor, Maine, the town is now suing Golden Anchor, LC, for $4 million (USD) for extensive violations of the local ordinance.
This news comes just weeks after Golden Anchor, a subsidiary of Bar Harbor Resorts, which owns and operates the Harborside Hotel where cruise ship tenders dock, challenged the validity of the permitting regulations with an appeal to federal district court.
Now, new details have emerged that the town is suing the resort operator over code violations during the 2024 season. According to NEWS CENTER Maine, more than 98,000 cruise guests debarked on the property without the proper permits being filed from July through October.
“[Golden Anchor, LC] should have applied for the permit, and they didn’t,” said Val Peacock, the Bar Harbor Town Council Chair. “Our code enforcement officer was going down there and seeing the violation and issuing notices of violation.”
Allegedly, not only should Golden Anchor, LC have had the overall permit to operate a pier, but also a permit for each individual day guests were coming ashore.
The company, however, is disputing that new ordinance and change in permitting, arguing that precedents from previous permits and their operational history grandfather their operation.
The new permitting went into effect from November 8, 2022, when it was passed by a slim voting margin, and includes the cap of no more than 1,000 passengers per day. Violations are subject to a minimum $100 per person fine in excess of that passenger cap.
What you should know is that crew members, officers, ship pilots, and similar personnel are not counted toward the cap limits.
During the 2024 season, ships used the implicated piers on 83 days, though the first violation with a lack of proper permitting was recorded on July 25, with additional unauthorized use through October 27.
“In total, approximately 98,187 persons disembarked from cruise ships on, at, or over the property … without Golden Anchor having applied for or obtained a single Disembarkation Permit authorizing any number of persons to disembark,” the lawsuit details.
The lawsuit goes on to note that on six separate dates, the number of guests disembarking vastly exceeded the cap limit as well, which also factors in to the total fines and penalties levied against the property.
Ordinance Already Impacting Cruise Ship Visits
Despite the fact that the ongoing legal battles about the passenger cap have not yet been settled, the cruise industry is already taking note of the issue and adjusting their sailings accordingly.
Fewer ships are planning to visit Bar Harbor in 2025 than have made calls in recent years, though some schedules are still being finalized.
“We will see some cruise ship passengers this summer, and we’ll see cruise ships, but it’ll be much less than we have seen in the past,” Peacock said.
The cruise ship season in Bar Harbor generally begins in May, but it is the late summer and autumn sailings that draw the most interest due to the stunning natural beauty of the area, particularly in nearby Arcadia National Park.
Read Also: Maine Port Places 50 Guest Limit on Visiting Cruise Ships
While some local residents firmly support the cap on cruise ship passengers, not all local businesses agree. Instead, the loss of revenue and tourism interest could ultimately harm the town’s income and budget.
Many river cruise ships stop in the town in spring and early summer, but when it comes to the big cruise ships, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Getaway will be the first to pay a visit to Bar Harbor in 2025. The ship is scheduled to visit on August 20, and could bring as many as 3,963 travelers to the town in a single day.
Should these legal challenges grow even more heated, it is possible that itineraries may be revised to exclude Bar Harbor, with alternative ports offered in nearby Searsport or else Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island instead.