By a margin slimmer than a cruise ship ID card, residents of Bar Harbor, Maine, have indeed rejected the increase of a cap on cruise ship visitors. The results follow a resident-requested recount, which has verified the vote totals that – while small – still firmly reject the measure.
The recount of Amendment 4 was carried out after local restauranteur Kevin DesVeaux requested the verification. Local entrepreneurs like DesVeaux rely heavily on local tourism, including via cruise ship visits.
The official recount was conducted on Saturday, November 23, 2024 and in accordance with local regulations. The Town Clerk supervised the hand counting of the ballots, which was done in public for full transparency and verification.
The 3,653 total ballots were sorted and counted. The final recount confirmed 1,714 ballots in favor of the measure, while 1,779 ballots opposed the amendment. The remaining 160 ballots were blank on the amendment.
This means the rejection of Amendment 4 stands by a difference of just 65 votes, and there will be no increase in the cap of cruise ship guests permitted to disembark at Bar Harbor. At the moment, that cap is set at no more than 1,000 passengers per day.
Larger cruise ships, then, must bypass the scenic stop in favor of ports that welcome greater numbers of visitors, such as Rockland and Portland. This can significantly impact local businesses, but other tourists are welcome to arrive via bus or car without difficulty.
The town of Bar Harbor will also lose out on revenue from cruise ship taxes and port fees, though smaller ships will still be permitted to visit and will pay the associated fees.
This measure has been a contentious one, facing different challenges since it was first passed in November 2022. Previously, the cap had been 3,500, while the measure voted on just three weeks ago would have set a slightly lower cap of 3,200.
Bar Harbor, which is located approximately 120 miles northeast of Portland and 40 miles southeast of Bangor, is adjacent to Acadia National Park, a top destination in the Pine Tree State.
Cruise ship guests often enjoy tours, hikes, and other experiences in the park, which is one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the US. In 2023, more than 3.8 million guests visited Acadia National Park.
Why Reject Larger Ships?
Many different communities in different parts of the world – Alaska, Spain, California, Iceland, Greece, etc. – have explored measures to limit cruise ship visits in recent years.
These efforts come as ships get larger and larger. Just 10 years ago, the world’s largest cruise ships were the first two of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels. Oasis of the Seas (2009) and Allure of the Seas (2010) measure roughly 226,000 gross tons and can carry 6,780 guests each when fully booked, but they were the only ships able to do so at that time.
Today, those same two ships have four additional sister ships and are eclipsed by the even larger, 249,000-gross-ton Icon of the Seas, which can carry 7,600 passengers when fully booked. Furthermore, other cruise lines have also built larger ships with larger capacities.
Read Also: Icon of the Seas Size Comparison – Facts and Stats
Most cruise lines are building larger and larger ships, and even more luxury and expedition cruise lines are gradually expanding their capacity.
By comparison, the town of Bar Harbor has a population of just over 5,000 residents. For the town to receive even smaller ships carrying several hundred passengers can potentially be overwhelming to the downtown area and local resources, especially when other tourists arrive by land-based means.
It is possible that future measures may be introduced to adjust Bar Harbor’s cruise visitor cap once more. Each one will undoubtedly be subject to similar legal challenges and close margins as the community chooses what works best for its residents.
