Cruising in Bar Harbor

This week the Queen Victoria sailed into Bar Harbor on her maiden voyage. And the town threw her a party fit for royalty. The local high school band was there as well as officials to greet the passengers as they came ashore. There was splendidly decorated cake to woo the crowd. Antique cars lined the streets and people spilled from the sidewalks onto the streets to join in the festivities.

And that is one of the big "joys" of cruise ships in Bar Harbor. Although it is fun to see these new ships slip into our harbor, it is not so fun when the cruise ships "dump" 1,000's of passengers onto our small streets and sidewalks. We can get up to 6000 people when 2 ships are in port. Add to that the normal visitors during the fall season as well as all the "leaf peeper" tour buses that come into town as well and the place becomes like Disneyland.

But unlike Disneyland where the streets are meant for people to roam about, we still need to drive on our streets and this becomes an almost impossible task. Locals usually tack up the cruise ship schedule on their frig's to consult before they head off to town. These passengers have been away from the hustle of traffic and alight onto our streets without heeding crosswalks, sidewalks and the fact that there are real cars trying to maneuver their way through the hordes. Plus they tend to be more advanced in age and thus move more slowly as they make their way across the streets.

So beware of visiting here when the cruise ships are in though Acadia Park still beckons and looks forward to visitors this time of year as the crowds thin out in the Park. The town merchants thrive on the cruise ship business so I do not begrudge them their profits. But most of these shops have no other function then to serve as tourist traps and do not necessarily enhance the local economy and close up once the patrons dry up.

I much prefer the times not that far ago when Acadia Park was the attraction and those who came were people who loved the outdoors, hiking and reveling in the splendor of the park instead of the trinkets of the town.