After a town council’s 5-0 vote, cruise ships with more than 50 passengers are no longer allowed to visit a port in Maine. With this tight restriction, it’s not just a ban on large cruise ships but essentially all cruise ships.
The Belfast City Council stated that cruise ships blocking the channel was a major concern. Additionally, the tour buses needed to transfer passengers into town was a source of contention.

With a population of about 7,000, Belfast, Maine, is a charming coastal town known for its picturesque downtown and proximity to great hiking trails and natural beauty.
In 2024, eight cruise ship visits were made at the Belfast, Maine port. Five of these visits were from the 109-passenger American Eagle with American Cruise Line.
American Cruise Line has been the only major cruise line to make regular stops at the port. Since none of the cruise line’s ocean-faring ships carry fewer than 50 passengers, the ban will keep the cruise line from visiting the port entirely.
In fact, it will keep most cruise lines from visiting Belfast, since not many ocean-going cruise vessels would fit under the limit.
Congestion in the Port
Councilor Brenda Bonneville said that the ban was necessary to deal with safety concerns.
“When these experts, really, come to us and say, ‘this is how we feel, these are our recommendations,‘ we listen very carefully and rely on their expertise,” Bonneville stated.
Limited space around the port also made it difficult for other vessels to maneuver and dock when cruise ships were in town.
“Some of these problems had a definite negative impact on other visiting boaters using the docks, launch ramp use and pedestrian and traffic safety around the Belfast City Landing,” Harbor Master Katherine Given said in a memo.
Given also said that the influx of passengers caused problems with other forms of transportation with the “unexpected arrival of charter buses to take the ship’s passengers to other locations”.
A $24,000 Loss in Revenue
Belfast was expected to bring in about $24,000 from 14 cruise ship visits in 2025, just from American Cruise Line alone.
But in a memo, Given stated that she expects “to generate much of the revenue if cruise ships do not return” through other means.
Local business owners and council members stated that cruise passengers don’t have much room for souvenirs on the ship and would often rather see the area’s sites than buy from local vendors.
Bar Harbor’s Cruise Cap
This isn’t the first time a Maine cruise port has restricted cruise traffic. In November 2024, Bar Harbor’s town council narrowly upheld a 1,000-passenger daily cap that originated in 2022.
This decision was upheld by a federal judge in February 2024, confirming that Bar Harbor could legally enforce this cap.
For the 2024 season, ships that had made reservations before the vote in 2022 were allowed to visit without these restrictions, but from 2025 onward, nearly all cruise ships are expected to be subject to this 1,000 passenger per day limit.