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Maine tallies busiest day of the cruise season

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Eurodam - set for Portland on Maine's peak day, Sept. 30, then a maiden call in Rockland Oct. 7, season's third busiest day
Seven ships at four Maine ports on Sept. 30 will comprise the busiest day of the season when more than 11,500 passengers are due to visit the state on cruises.

Top cruise port Bar Harbor is set for three ships: Royal Princess, Brilliance of the Seas and Seabourn Quest, with total lower-berth capacity for 6,150 passengers.

Portland expects Carnival Splendor and Eurodam, with combined lower-berth capacity for 5,078 passengers.

Rockland will host the 49-passenger American Glory and Camden will have the 100-passenger Independence.

Maine's second busiest day was Sept. 25 when Bar Harbor, Portland and Bath brought in nearly 8,000 passengers. And the third busiest day will be Oct. 7, when Bar Harbor has Royal Princess (3,600 lower berths), Silver Whisper (382 passengers) and Pearl Mist (210 passengers), Rockland has Eurodam (2,104 lower berths), a maiden call, and Portland welcomes Regatta (684 passengers).

Cruise line berthing requests for 2015 and 2016 remain strong and indicate moderate growth, according to Amy Powers, director of CruiseMaineUSA.

'We’re seeing consistent growth for our cruise ports which is how we prefer to manage the cruise tourism. This type of growth ensures we can provide a sustainable product that both the cruise industry and our communities can rely on for a long successful relationship,' Powers said.

The latest economic impact report commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association indicated cruising accounted for an estimated $46.2m in cruise industry direct spending in 2013, a slight increase over 2012.

The cruise industry generated an estimated 747 jobs and wages totaling nearly $25.5m for Maine workers. The average annual wage of Maine jobs impacted by the cruise industry was $34,100, according to Business Research and Economic Advisors, which conducted the CLIA study.