The November election ballot in Bar Harbor, Maine, one of the top, seasonal cruise ports in New England, will offer voters the chance to repeal a 2022 law that capped daily cruise arrivals at 1,000 and replace it with one that roughly triples the number of people allowed to disembark in the destination.
Under the initiative put forward by town officials, the November 5, 2024 ballot increases the daily limit to 3,200 cruise guests, which is just a few hundred less than the number allowed before the 2022 vote.
Prior to 2022, the town capped disembarkations at 3,500 per day, and while that number was generally considered low, it was high enough to enable most cruise ships to debark all guests who wanted to go ashore.
With the daily cap lowered to 1,000 per day, even mid-sized ships were unable to debark all those who wanted to leave the ship for excursions. The lower cap, which took effect in the 2024 season, prompted many cruise ships to abandon Bar Harbor as a port of call, leading to a dramatic loss of revenue for businesses and tour operators in the town.
The election ballot article (Article 4) also would change the way in which cruise ship visits are managed. If approved, the article would require that cruise lines reach agreements directly with the town, enabling town officials — rather than the pier owners, to enforce the daily limits.
Like other New England destinations, cruise ships call between April and November, with the height of the season being July through October. The proposed cruise arrival caps take into consideration the region’s high and low tourist seasons.
For the 2025 through 2029 seasons, the new law would allow a daily cap of 3,200 and an annual cap of 200,000. The daily ship limit would be three vessels. The measure also indicates monthly and multi-month limits. The cap for April would be 5,000; for May through August, 20,000; for September and October, 55,000; and for November, 5,000.
The new ballot measure also states that no ship will call at the destination on July 4 of any year. Cruise ships with capacity of up to 200 guests are not included in the cap.
Quality of Life Issues at Core of Local Dispute
The effort to lower daily cruise arrivals followed a 2021 community survey that found the majority of residents were concerned about the impacts of the cruise industry on their quality of life and the region’s environment.
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Bar Harbor is located on Mount Desert Island, a pristine destination that is home to the renowned Acadia National Park. Some 4 million people visit the 47,000-acre park each year for camping, hiking, horseback riding, and many other activities. The park is a major destination for cruise ship shore excursions.
In the survey, 55% of respondents said cruise tourism has a negative effect on Bar Harbor, and 53% said it negatively impacts their quality of life.
However, commercial interests in the town, such as stores, restaurants, bars, and tour vendors, rely on summer visitors for the lion’s share of their annual revenue.
A month after the November 2022 vote that lowered the daily cap to 1,000 cruise guests, the local business group Association to Protect and Preserve Local Livelihoods filed an appeal with the US District Court for the District of Maine.
The court ultimately rejected the appeal.
