By Carol McCracken

The first week of fall marks the beginning of a busy season of visits from cruise ships to Portland Harbor and its new terminal – Ocean Gateway. The season winds down at the end of October. Normally, these grand ships and the thousands of tourists they carry bring a spike to some in the local economy. However, these are not normal economic times and so it remains to be seen whether or not there is a spike in the revenues of some of these businesses.

Starting Sunday, September 21, three major cruise ships will be arriving at Ocean Gateway. The first to arrive on Sunday is the Jewel of the Seas. She’s a Royal Caribbean Inter’l Ship carrying 2,112 passengers. This is the first of four trips she’ll make this fall. Length is 962 feet.

The second ship of the week is Carnival Victory. She arrives on Monday, September 22. She carries 2,758 passengers aboard her and leaves the same day for Saint John, New Brunswick. She’s 893 feet in length.

The last of three ships to arrive is the Constellation. She arrives on Thursday, September 25 from New Jersey with 1,900 aboard. She’ll return to Portland in October. Constellation is 965 feet in length and is the longest of the three ships.

One of the highlights of the cruise ship season for watchers is the return of the glamorous Queen Elizabeth 2 in early October – another great season for cruise ship watchers is here!