A Harbor Cruise at Portland, Maine

Sometimes the best vacation plans have twists and turns. On a recent late summer trip to Maine, we planned for hiking and kayaking in the Maine mountains. A unexpected knee injury, however, dampened the hiking adventures. Instead, we decided to tour downtown Portland, Maine, and visit the shops and attractions there. A boat cruise of the harbor of Portland beckoned us. At the last minute, we booked the two-hour harbor tour. It was a delightful and educational experience and unique way to learn about Casco Bay and Portland. The tiny little tour boat chugged along and we saw lighthouses, islands and quaint white homes in the distance. In addition, two huge Norwegian cruise boats were at port and we passed a variety of fishing boats, ocean-going vessels and sailboats in the bay. Our tour boat went all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. We were almost at water level. Sometimes I felt like I was in the Atlantic ocean!  I have never seen the ocean from this perspective or shared the same water space as huge ships. The water was blue, the sky was blue. It was the perfect Maine summer day.

 

Our decked tour boat was called the “Islander.” 

That is an appropriate name since Maine can boast over 4,600 coastal islands ranging from land islands to small islets and ledges which are still exposed at high tide. The captain and tour guide were experienced and gave us an educational tour. We boarded he ship just before it departed — no time to spare — and off we went.

 

The first unique glimpse we observed from the deck of the tour boat was of two huge Norwegian tour boats which were moored in the port for the day. I had no idea that the harbor at Portland was so deep and extensive. These were huge tour boats in the same family fleet which a person sees when the cruise line is advertised on television. 

 

 

According to one internet site: 

“The Norwegian Joy cruise ship is the 12th ship constructed by the German shipbuilding company Meyer Werft for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), a US-based shipping company. The keel-laying ceremony for the ship took place in April 2016, and the ship embarked on its maiden voyage in June 2017.The ship underwent a $50m refurbishment by marine outfitter MJM Marine in 2019, which added an extended go-kart track and new dining and bar venues. In July 2023, NCL announced new enhancements to the cruise ship. The new and expanded amenities aboard Norwegian Joy were unveiled in March 2024.

Norwegian Joy is 325.9m long and 41.4m wide and has a gross tonnage of 167,725t. The ship’s name and logo are printed in Chinese on the ship’s hull. The 333m-long ship offers accommodation for 3,804 guests and 1,821 crew members across 20 decks. Norwegian Joy includes 21 bars and lounges, as well as 16 complimentary and speciality dining options.” (Reference:  https://www.ship-technology.com/projects/norwegian-joy-cruise-ship/?cf-view)

 

 

The second cruise ship moored in the harbor was the Norwegian Gem. It was built in 2007 and refitted in 2015. Norwegian Gem accommodates 2,400 passengers.  

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These cruise boats travel through the New England coastline and up and down the coast to the Caribbean Sea on other trips. They dock for the day in Portland so that the passengers can explore the city.  I was surprised that the port was deep enough to handle these large ships. Several tug boats were ready to assist the boat out of port.

 

Other interesting boats harbored at Points Marina in the Portland port were two superyachts owned by Las Vegas casino tycoon and former Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertit. (A larger vessels over 60 meters — or 196 feet — is considered a megahacht. A superyacht is over 24 meters (or 80 feet.) The megayacht had its own helicopter and helicopter pad!

 

The companion boat, a catamaran, came along as a supply boat. The webside, Superyacht Fan, estimated that the mothership, the Lonian, was purchased for $160 million in 2018 and costs around $15 million annually to maintain.  It is estimated that the estimatescatamaran, the Hodor, cost $30 million when it was new in 2019 and now costs above $3 million to operate and maintain every year. 

(https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/09/04/portland/portland-culture/lorenzo-fertitta-ufc-billionaire-megayachts-docked-portland-maine-n6hjn1me0n/)

 

 

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As our tour boat left the dock and ventured out into the Casco Bay, we learned that there are four lighthouses in the harbor. Here is the first one. Spring Point Ledge Light is a sparkplug lighthouse which marks a dangerous obstruction on the west side of the main shipping channel into Portland Harbor. It is now adjacent to the campus of Southern Maine Community College.

The lighthouse was constructed in 1897 and automated in 1960. You can walk on a concrete ledge out to the lighthouse.

We entered the main channel and headed towards the Atlantic ocean. First on the left, was an old, obsolete and abandoned fort. This is Fort Gorges which was was named after Sir Ferdinando Gorges. It was built in 1861-1868 and was modeled after Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, in response to foreign naval threats invoked by the War of 1812. It is a D-shaped, two-story enclosed fortress and is constructed entirely with local granite. It was impressive and boasted 56 gun emplacements. However, by the time it was competed in 1864, the fort was already obsolete due to high-explosive ammunition developed during the Civil War. The fort was used as a storage facility in WW1 and WW2 and eventually turned over to the city of Portland in 1960.

 

A piece of trivia is that the Casco Bay and the surrounding Portland community was used extensively during World War 2 by the Naval forces. Since the Portland Harbor is the closest land mass to the European nations, many of the naval fleet and activities were moved to Portland during this war. Some of the small the islands were used for training, including submarine missions.  A major naval base in the North Atlantic was located there, established in 1941. Maine housed several shipyards  and was important in building ships and training the fleet during World War 2. Here is one of the many small islands which might have been used by the naval base. This one is close to the islet of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

The most famous lighthouse in the Portland, Maine, area is the Portland Head Light, which is also the oldest lighthouse in Maine and one of the most photographed lighthouses in the country. 

 

This lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington and first lit in 1791. It stands on a rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and is surrounded by Fort Williams Park, where you can enjoy hiking, and exploring the fort’s remains. The lighthouse also has a museum inside the former keeper’s quarters, where you can learn more about history of the lighthouse.

Here’s the fourth lighthouse. 

It is a tiny, unoccupied building on a small island way out in the Atlantic Ocean..

 

Once we reached the Portland Head Light, our tour boat turned around.

 

We took a more scenic route back to the dock and observed explored some of the inhabited islands in the bay.

The Casco Bay was certainly busy. We crossed paths with many types of boats.  Here’s a small boat returning from a fishing trip in the Atlantic Ocean.

We shared the Casco Bay with large ocean-going merchant ships. I was concerned that the small sailboat would be able to navigate around the huge ship who was coming towards the sailboat at a fast clip.

Whew, the sailboat made it past.

 

The cargo on this boat belonged to the Eimskip company. Eimskip is an Icelandic transportation company which specializes in forwarding services and in reefer services or shipping temperature-controlled cargo and perishable goods. As our guide pointed out, the ship was not fully loaded with cargo since it rode so high in the water. On our way out of the city, we passed the warehouse area for Eimskip and saw some of the cargo containers in their lot.

On the return trip towards port, we went past many islands with quaint homes. Some of the islands are occupied by residents all the year around. Others shutter the houses in during the winter months with electricity and gas being cut-off. Most of the homes have been occupied by the same families for generations. A few of the larger islands a boast a hotel and/or restaurant but most have only private homes. Here is a ferry landing which services one of the islands.

Not all areas of the bay can be transversed by large boats, and our tour guide pointed out that it is important that the captain know the channels. This area of the bay was close to a river outlet. The water was warmer, more shallow. If was a favorite sunning spot for seals and water birds.

 

Our last memorable glimpse during the tour was of a group of small sailboats. The day was windy the sails billowed out. It appeared to be some sort of sailing school.

We also passed a small schooner in the late afternoon going out towards the Atlantic Ocean. This appeared to be a night time tourist tour cruise.

 

Our original plan was to park in the Portland shopping area and to purchase some of the famous Portland potato donuts. We found the donuts at “The Holy Donut” shop. The cake-style donuts were delicious.

 

 

We enjoyed our two-hour tour of the harbor and highly recommend it. Sometimes spontaneous adventures can be the best ones on a vacation trip. Although I hope to return to Maine to hike and do some lake kayaking, our exploration of Portland, Maine, was well worth the time. Check out the Portland, Maine, Harbor photo gallery for additional photos of our harbor cruise.