Bar Harbor (Maine)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Region
East Coast USA and Canada New England
Local Time
02:50 20 Nov 2018
Coordinates
44.39195 N, -68.20357 W
Bar Harbor is a town located on Mount Desert Island (Hancock County, Maine, US). In 2010 its population was 5,235. Bar Harbor is a very popular tourist destination in Maine's Down East region and home to Jackson Laboratory, College of the Atlantic, MDI Biological Laboratory. Prior to a catastrophic fire in 1947 the town was a summer colony for the affluent elite.
Today, Bar Harbor is home to the biggest parts of Acadia National Park, which includes Cadillac Mountain, the highest point within 40 km (25 miles) of the coastline of Eastern United States. Bar Harbor is served by Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport, featuring flights on PenAir and Cape Air to Boston, as well as seasonal flights to Portland and Newark on Elite Airways.
Downtown Bar Harbor is particularly alive in summer and autumn because the town is home to plenty of outdoor enthusiasts. A couple of miles from downtown area is Acadia National Park. Acadia's outdoor activities include hiking, biking, mountain climbing, bird watching. Those interested in marine life that surrounds Mount Desert Island can visit the marina located at the end of Main Street and sign up for tours featuring puffins, whales, seals, lobster, island lighthouses, pelagic seabirds, or for overall nature cruise.
- In 2016, the port handled 105 cruise ship calls and around 169,000 passengers.
- During season 2016, cruise tourists spent at Bar Harbor around USD 15 million, with total economic impact USD 20,2 million (based on an University of Maine study). To these figures must be added passenger fees (USD 0,7 million) paid to the city. Also additional is spending by crew and cruise companies themselves. The study team handed out surveys to cruise passengers arriving at Harbor Place or Harborside dock. Tourists returned 2231 survays by mail (47% response rate). Acoording to the study, 138,285 passengers disembarked in the port in 2016. This was 87% of vessels' combined passenger capacity (163,000 pax). Note: passenger fees are based on vessel's capacity. The study also showed that in 2016, around 2 million tourists visited Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, of which cruisers were around 10%.
- During season 2017, the cruise port handled a total of 171 ship calls (a 40% increase over 2016) and over 225,000 passengers.
Bar Harbor cruise terminal
Bar Harbor ME is a tender cruise port, which means cruise ships anchor in Frenchman Bay and their passengers are transported to the pier via the ship's tender boats.
After the ship drops anchor, cruise passengers are ferried back and forth to one of the port's 2 docks in town. From there, they can connect with trolleys and buses to local attractions, including Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island.
New cruise ship terminal "Marine Atlantic"
As tendering passengers increases cruise lines' costs, there is a plan for conversion of the port's old international ferry terminal (on Eden Street) to a cruise ship terminal facility.
- The town voted on June 13, 2017 (Article 12) to re-zone the old ferry terminal.
- Following the vote (945 to 658), the town purchased the state-owned Marine Atlantic (former ferry terminal) property from Maine Department of Transportation. This facility used to serve two Bay Ferries ships (The Cat, and "he Bluenose) connecting Bar Harbor with Nova Scotia.
- Article 12's zoning change allows cruise (and other) ships to dock at the ferry terminal.
Port Bar Harbor cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Bar Harbor, Maine. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.
| Day | Ship | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 November, 2018 Wednesday |  Oceania Insignia | 09:00 | 18:00 |
The Bar Harbor cruise port map is interactive. It shows the port's exact location, along with the real-time cruise ship traffic (if any) in its vicinity - today, and right now. By zooming-out you can see other cruise ship ports located near Bar Harbor, Maine.
If you lose the Bar Harbor location on the map, simply reload the page (also with F5 button). This feature is integrated with the CruiseMapper's cruise ship tracker tracking the vessels' current positions at sea and in ports.
- Cruise Industry
New Group to Block Bar Harbor Cruise Terminal
A new residents association formed in Bar Harbor trying to block the proposed transition of the former ferry terminal into cruise ship berthing...
September 16, 2017 - Cruise Industry
Maine to Set Cruise Ship Record
Maine is on track to boast a record cruise ship season this year. The state is expecting a total of 423 vessels with more than 380,000...
September 10, 2017 - Cruise Industry
Maine Salutes Historic Cruise Ship
A cruise ship sailed through the Northwest Passage for the first time in history. Before reaching her final destination, yesterday ...
September 14, 2016 - show more news