No Portland excursion listed?

[storkington]

Hi there,

 

We have just booked Canada/New England on the LOTS, sailing 7 Sep 2023. I have started looking at available excursions, but Portland is not listed on the excursions tab. Anybody have any idea why this might be? 

 

Thanks!

[shipgeeks]

None listed on the Sept. 14 Enchantment cruise, either.  I imagine there will be plenty, closer to the date. However, Portland is very easy to DIY.  Plenty to do within walking distance of the port, without any need for transportation or guides.

[dani negreanu]

13 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

However, Portland is very easy to DIY.  Plenty to do within walking distance of the port, without any need for transportation or guides.

 

Including the Portland Museum of Art, which was very interesting --

 

https://www.portlandmuseum.org/

 

[Nautical Wheeler A1A]

I'm on the Vison out of Baltimore leaving August 31 and there are excursions for every port except Portland. Emailed Royal but just got a canned response about it being too early, which didn't really make much sense. Thanks for asking about this, I was curious, too.

[shof515]

Other cruise lines is canceling Portland. be aware for a possible port cancellation

[storkington]

2 hours ago, shof515 said:

Other cruise lines is canceling Portland. be aware for a possible port cancellation

Thank you, do you know if they are replacing it with another port?

[shipgeeks]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

Other cruise lines is canceling Portland. be aware for a possible port cancellation

Any idea why?

[shof515]

6 hours ago, storkington said:

Thank you, do you know if they are replacing it with another port?

sometimes yes and sometimes no. it depends on the itinerary. i see a few ships replace portland with rockport, maine

 

5 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Any idea why?

 

Nothing official so far on why but this might give you some clues on what could be happening : https://www.themainewire.com/2022/08/opinion-initiative-to-restrict-cruise-ship-passengers-not-portland-friendly/

[Cooper30]

That initiative didn’t pass.  The sponsors even withdrew support.  There are alternatives ideas floating around, but even if one of those comes to be, it’ll be 2025 before anything happens. 
 

There’s info on the web about the whole thing if anyone feels like searching. 
 

I live five miles from Portland and everyone knows we love cruising.  Even if I missed something on the local news, someone would tell us about it.
 

We’ve been known take cruises from Boston that stop here on the way to Canada.  
 

All that being said, there has been some talk lately about how the harbor desperately needs to be dredged.  

Edited January 29, 2023 by Cooper30

[mpcaruth]

I have a cruise booked on another line in October that has a stop in Portland.  I really hope it doesn't get cancelled. We RV'd last summer up though Maine to Acadia National Park, and intentionally skipped over Portland, as we knew it was a stop on the next year's cruise.

 

I just checked my Carnival NE/Canada cruise booking, and there are no excursions listed for Portland.

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by mpcaruth

[Nautical Wheeler A1A]

I just checked again today and there are excursions showing for Portland, ME for the August 31st cruise on the Vision out of Baltimore. Just thought I'd mention it, might be worth checking your cruise again.

[bigeck]

Forget excursions, just go to Holy Donuts. You won't be disappointed 

[chengkp75]

On 1/29/2023 at 7:59 AM, Cooper30 said:

All that being said, there has been some talk lately about how the harbor desperately needs to be dredged.  

The dredging is only around the areas of Maine Wharf to Custom House Warf, to Portland Pier.  The navigation channel is routinely dredged by the Corps of Engineers, and is done to a depth that accommodates tankers, which have deeper drafts than cruise ships.

[Wineaux007]

We were in Portland 4-5 years ago, and I organized a pub crawl.  Here's the itinerary.  It was a football Sunday, so there was nowhere to sit at McDuff's.  It worked out well, ending at the ship.

 

11:30 - Start at King's Head Pub

12:15 - Head to Liquid Riot Bottling Company

1:00 - Portland Lobster Company for lunch/lobster roll

1:45 - Gritty McDuff's Portland Brew Pub

2:30 - Andy's Old Port Pub

3:15 - Porthole Pub

4:15 - Head to the ship

[Cooper30]

On 2/7/2023 at 6:39 PM, chengkp75 said:

The dredging is only around the areas of Maine Wharf to Custom House Warf, to Portland Pier.  The navigation channel is routinely dredged by the Corps of Engineers, and is done to a depth that accommodates tankers, which have deeper drafts than cruise ships.

Good to know. Thanks. 

[Rock1t]

That is very strange since I'm currently booked on the October 1-8, 2023 Canada/New England cruise on the Serenade and we have excursions available for all ports including Portland. There are only 9 listed for Portland and most are Lighthouse or Kennebunkport tours. I plan on doing the Casco Bay Mailboat Tour on my own and checking out some local shops and breweries after. 

[storkington]

Portland excursions have now finally shown up!