After years of debate and litigation, Bar Harbor is seeing significantly fewer cruise ships this summer.
The town is expecting just 16 large cruise ships between now and early November and hasn't had any arrive yet this year.
Bar Harbor Town Council Chair Valerie Peacock said the 1,000-passenger daily cap is fully in place and enforced by the town.
There are still a few large ship reservations on the schedule, that were booked before the 2022 cap was passed. Norwegian Cruise Line has 16 reservations, all for ships carrying several thousand passengers.
There are also numerous smaller ships stopping in Bar Harbor—American Cruise Lines has plenty of scheduled stops for ships carrying around a hundred passengers.
But there are also several ongoing lawsuits over the cap. The First Circuit Court of Appeals is considering a lawsuit brought by the Association to Preserve and Protect Local Livelihoods. The court heard oral arguments in January, and there is no timeline for when it could rule in the case.
The town has also filed a complaint in state court against a pier owner, for continuing to disembark cruise ship passengers last year without the proper permit.
