Table Of Content
- Portland Shore Excursions
- Cruise Port Overview: Portland, Maine
- Shopping at Local Street Shops and Sampling Craft Beer at Breweries near the Terminal
- Explore the Historic Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park
- Portland UK welcomes record 5000 passengers in first cruise ship call at the new deepwater berth
- Ports by Region
However, that 1890s dream is still alive in Portland, and today the city ports are overflowing with tourism. While the 20th century deemed the Portland’s ports as the most dangerous in America, corrupted by racketeering and organized crime, the ports of today have a cleaner image. Every June brings about the annual Rose Festival which features parades, car races and tours of old naval vessels. Portland’s world-famous Chinatown has an entrance gate with five roofs, sixty-four dragons and two lions to welcome visitors.
Record double-call day at UK's Portland Port - Seatrade Cruise News
Record double-call day at UK's Portland Port.
Posted: Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Portland Shore Excursions
Cyclemania also offers bike rentals and is located about a mile away from the pier/visitor’s center, on Cove Street. They take reservations, and they have various types of bikes, including e-bikes. All rentals also include a helmet and lock and start at $35 a day for a basic bike to $75 a day for an e-bike. You can easily explore the city on foot or take advantage of local transportation options like buses and taxis. Whether you’re interested in history, art or food, there’s something for everyone in this vibrant city.
Cruise Port Overview: Portland, Maine
There are fabulous restaurants, too; on your New England cruise, sampling the sweet lobster for which the city is famed is a must. You can rent a bike for the day just outside the Maine State Pier (Portland Ocean Terminal) at The Portland Encyclepedia. Not only do they rent both adult and kid’s bikes, and bike trailers for younger kiddos, they also offer bike tours, and free biking tour maps with turn by turn instructions. Rentals are $15 or $20 for 4 hours for kid’s and adult bikes, respectively and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Greater Portland Metro is Portland’s bus system, which covers the city, its suburbs and even nearby towns. The closest bus stop to Ocean Gateway terminal is the corner of Commercial & India Streets, which is a 3 minute walk from the terminal/visitor’s center.
Shopping at Local Street Shops and Sampling Craft Beer at Breweries near the Terminal
With Euorpean-style menu items, their Belgian fries are cooked in duck fat and served in a paper cone, just like the owners experienced in Amsterdam. Don’t pass up one of their milk shakes that are made with locally produced ice cream. If you don’t want a sit-down experience, they also have a walk-up window location on Washington Ave, about a 15 min. walk from the pier. This unique restaurant is situated in a converted car ferry in the maria on the Long Wharf Pier. You can sit on the outside decks or watch the sights of the harbor from the indoor dining room. Although not located in Portland, L.L. Bean’s flagship store in Freeport is worth a mention as the store gets over 3 million visitors a year.
Maine State Pier: Walking Tours, Brewery Tours, and Lobster Boat Cruises
Cruise ships dock at Ocean Gateway Terminal which has three berths with two adjacent piers – Pier II (west) and Pier III (east). The terminal has a 50,000 square foot passenger processing area with customs and immigration facilities, restrooms, telephones, and vending machines. If you are flying into Portland for your cruise vacation, you will be pleased to know that the Portland International Jetport is just a short distance from the cruise port. You can easily take a taxi or shuttle service from the airport to get to your ship.
Isle of Portland cruise terminal
This lighthouse has been guiding ships into Portland Harbor since 1791 and remains one of Maine’s most photographed landmarks. The observatory also offers guided tours that provide insight into its history and significance. Visitors will learn about how it was used during times of war, how it helped shape trade routes in New England, and how it eventually became a beloved landmark in Portland.
Explore the Historic Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park
Many 1860s brick buildings feature cast-iron columns and 1890s ornate terra-cotta designs. Chinatown Gate is recognizable by its 5 roofs, 64 dragons and 2 huge lions - the entrance to Chinatown District. Look out for seafood of all kinds on the menus, like lobster, oysters, delicious chowders, and fresh fish straight from the Atlantic.
It can get breezy if you elect to take a boat tour of the harbor or the narrow gauge train tour. Algonquins, who originally inhabited the peninsula, called the area Machingonne (great neck). At the time, lobsters were so plentiful in the bay that the Algonquins used them for fertilizer and bait.The first Europeans arrived in 1623 and founded a settlement, which failed. But subsequent colonial settlers found that lobsters were a great source of protein.
By population (around 630,000 / metro 2,4+ million) Portland OR is ranked the USA's 26th most populous city and 23th most populous metro area. Will it be the lobster traps piled on the wharf, the smell of sea air combined with the chatter of seagulls or a visit to a historic attraction? If you're like the majority of visitors, a succulent lobster lunch may be your most savory memory of this New England port.
Portland isn’t really known for its shopping, but there are a few shops that offer some interesting items. Major credit cards are accepted almost everywhere, even if the purchase is just a few dollars. Sales tax is rarely included in posted prices and will be added to the purchase when you pay. There are ATMs and banks located throughout the city and the Ocean Gateway Cruise Terminal has ATMs, too. While the summers in Portland are comfortable, the winters are freezing cold, with lots of snow and biting winds.
These ferries depart regularly from the Portland waterfront and offer views of lighthouses, islands, and wildlife. In addition to touring the lighthouse itself (which includes a small museum), visitors can explore Fort Williams Park’s many hiking trails, picnic areas, and beaches. The park offers stunning views of both Casco Bay and nearby Ram Island Ledge Light. For visitors who love the outdoors, there are plenty of options for exploring Maine’s natural beauty. Kayaking tours of Casco Bay offer a unique perspective on the coastline and allow guests to see wildlife like seals and seabirds up close.
An easy-going and inexpensive one is aDiamond Pass Run ferry ride among the islands outside of the port. Bargain hunters will want to head directly to Freeport, the home of LL Bean and nearly a hundred designer outlets. The Metro Breez offers regular round trips to the LL Bean Flagship Store and the Village of Freeport shops from downtown Portland. Portland is in the Willamette Valley region (Pacific Northwest USA), located at the confluence of Columbia and Willamette rivers.
If you want to go where the locals go, head to Becky’s Diner located a short walk down from the pier, on Commercial Street. With more than 5300 google reviews, waterfront workers, tourists, and even Guy Fieri on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, go to this diner-style restaurant for good food without the frills. You will, of course, find lobster roll on the menu, but also breakfast (served until 4pm), lunch and dinner options. Shops and restaurants are within walking distance from the cruise ship pier. The downtown, too, is walkable with plenty of places to stop for a rest.
Lobster is the staple, and you can eat it any time of day, from lobster omelets for breakfast to lobster chowder and rolls for lunch and steamed lobster for dinner. Situated on a peninsula on Casco Bay in southern Maine about 100 miles north of Boston, Portland is Maine’s most populous city and a highlight of New England cruises. This deepwater port can handle oceangoing vessels and yet it's also not far from sea, desert and mountains. Nearby places to visit include the 259-m (850-ft) Multnomah Falls (Columbia River Gorge), Bonneville Dam and Mt Hood National Forest.
No comments:
Post a Comment