Bar Harbor Town Council to Discuss Alternate Cruise Ship Plan at August 16th Meeting

On Tuesday, August 16th, the Bar Harbor Town Council will discuss a proposed cruise visitation management plan that has been negotiated between a working group led by the Town Manager and the cruise industry. The council may vote to adopt the plan at this meeting.

The proposal includes the following:

Shorter Cruise Season

• No Cruise ships in April
• No Cruise ships in November

Monthly Passenger Caps

• May and June – 30k each
• July and August – 40k each
• Sept and Oct – 65k each

Daily Passenger Caps

• 3,800 for May
• 3,800 for June
• 3,500 for July
• 3,500 for August
• 3,800 for September
• 3,800 for October

Limited Number of Ships per Day

• 3 maximum

Residents, Business owners and concerned citizens are encouraged to review the full proposed plan and share their thoughts with the Town Manager no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 11th.

The proposed plan can be found on the Town of Bar Harbor's website by clicking here.

Feedback should be submitted to the Town Manager by email at manager@barharbormaine.gov . These emails will be shared with the Council.

The council previously voted to put the Citizen's petition regarding Cruise Ship Passenger Quotas  of a 1000 passengers per day on the ballot in November.

Regardless of which plan is adopted, it would seem that Bar Harbor will be mired in expensive legal battles challenging the plan. If they adopt the Working Group's plan above, they are expected to be sued by Charles Sidman and his group that gathered the signatures on the petition. If the Citizen's petition is enacted, they are expected to be sued by the Cruise lines and business owners in Bar Harbor.

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