The World coming to see Quoddy Bay
     Visitors sometimes say that the Passamaquoddy Bay area feels like the end of the world, but now The World will be coming to three ports around the bay -- Eastport, Campobello and St. Andrews. Passamaquoddy Bay will offer a trio of opportunities for The World, the famous luxury cruise ship populated by residents, not tourists.      The ship recently added the ports to its itinerary for October 2012.
     The cruise ship had originally intended a visit to the Maine ports of Portland, Rockland and Bar Harbor but last week revised its itinerary following a meeting with CruiseMaineUSA Director Amy Powers. "We knew The World was scheduled to visit the state in 2012. However, we wanted to present them an itinerary suggestion that would give them a solid reason to visit Passamaquoddy Bay," says Powers.
     Eastport Port Director Chris Gardner notes that the cruise ship is coming to the area because of the new partnership among the Town of St. Andrews, the Roosevelt Campobello International Park and CruiseMaine USA. "It's one of our first accomplishments as a result of the new marketing campaign with Campobello, St. Andrews and Eastport," he says, adding, "It's a huge coup for us."
     "Campobello and St. Andrews are world-class destinations, and Eastport is a great destination of its own, but it also has great port facilities," Gardner says. "The strategy of combining the historical marquis destination value of St. Andrews and Campobello with the working waterfront, dock, U.S. Customs capability and Downeast experience offered in Eastport is going to become popular with a certain size of vessel." The World carries only a modest number of people, all of whom are affluent travelers.
     Vaughn McIntyre of St. Andrews, a champion for this regional effort, comments, "The community couldn't be happier, as they feel the unique location will fit nicely with the destination needs of the ship while in this region."
Powers adds, "The value and the close proximity of these three ports will become evident with the cruise shipping movement towards fuel conservation combined with the desire to offer new ports in this region. We couldn't be happier to provide this opportunity first to none other than the classiest vessel sailing today, The World."
     The CruiseMaineUSA Coalition partners with the Maine Port Authority and Bangor, Belfast, Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Bucksport, Camden, Eastport, Freeport, Kennebunk‑Kennebunkport, Portland, Rockland, St. Andrews and Campobello and several associate members to promote these communities to the travel trade and cruise industry as cruise destinations.
     The newly revised itinerary will feature two days in St. Andrews on October 7 and 8 with an opportunity to visit the Roosevelt‑Campobello International Park followed by a transit over the international boundary line to the dock at Eastport, where the onboard community can first be processed to enter the country by U.S. Customs then disembark at their leisure to enjoy the day in the area. The Eastport stop on October 9 calls for the ship to be in port from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The new itinerary allows for the owners to engage in sought-after experiences with the Passamaquoddy community near Eastport and visits to the Roosevelt cottage on Campobello and the Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews. The ship will then transit to Bar Harbor, where it will spend three days before moving down to Rockland for three days and on to Portland for an additional three days.
     The 644-foot cruise ship, launched in 2002, features 165 privately owned apartments and carries 100 to 300 residents and guests, along with a 250-member crew. The World offers either residential purchases for the apartments or rental stays. Unit prices range from $600,000 to $13.5 million, and homeowner dues start at $20,000 a month for the least‑expensive units. Some owners live full time on the ship while others come and go.
The ship slowly circumnavigates the globe with stops at ports chosen by residents. The World has called on high‑profile ports like New York and Venice as well as out‑of‑the‑way spots Greenland and Australia's Kimberley Coast.
     The website for The World states, "Your private apartment becomes your magic carpet and provides you with the ride of your life! Life aboard The World is just the beginning of a lifestyle devoted to the new, the exciting, the adventure and the peace of allowing yourself into cultures and communities only witnessed on television documentaries."