Cruise Ships Have Made Bar Harbor Popular. But Have They Ruined It?
But in recent years, the number of cruise ships has sharply escalated, aggravating tensions between residents whose livelihoods depend on tourists — and want to cater to the cruise ships — and others who may or may not depend on tourists but who worry
that too many could spoil what draws people here in the first place.
The conflict stems from competing visions over Bar Harbor’s future
and how much the town should adapt itself to the cruise ship industry, which has magnified Bar Harbor’s standing as a top tourist destination.
The cruise ships would still anchor in the bay, but smaller boats could deliver their passengers to the new marina, where they could board tour buses.
“Before the cruise ships started coming to Bar Harbor, our tourist season ended after
Labor Day,” said Kristi Bond, who owns and operates four restaurants downtown.
Among the uses for the terminal proposed by the town’s consultants was a large berthing
pier where the cruise ships could dock directly, allowing passengers to walk ashore.
In November, as the last of the tourists left Bar Harbor for the winter, the committee agreed that it did not want a big berthing pier.
Many residents rejoiced, saying that the people, not the cruise ship industry, were controlling the town’s fate.
“But the goose is already sick.”
Outsiders have been flocking to Mount Desert Island, home to Bar Harbor
and the national park, since the mid-1800s, when painters from the Hudson River School discovered its natural beauty.
