Where do the cruise ships dock in Portland Maine

[ETski]

Traveling on the Victory in Sept. need to find out where the ship dock's. If anyone knows it would be appreciated. Also how far from the dock is downtown Portland? Can we walk it. Also any suggestions as to what to do in Portland and or surrounding areas. Do not want to do a ship excursion at this port. Traveling with 6 people.

[bonjovifan]

Originally Posted by ETski

Traveling on the Victory in Sept. need to find out where the ship dock's. If anyone knows it would be appreciated. Also how far from the dock is downtown Portland? Can we walk it. Also any suggestions as to what to do in Portland and or surrounding areas. Do not want to do a ship excursion at this port. Traveling with 6 people.

And, I have a follow-up questions, how far is the LL Bean outlet from where the ship docks (I'm on the Explorer of the Seas on 7/3/08)?
My dad, who is "cat-sitting" for us, wanted us to go buy him some things, but I want to do some other sightseeing. The excursion to LL Bean through the ship is 4 hours and I didn't want to have that large of a chunk of time devoted to shopping (although I DO love to shop ). I was wondering if they had busses/shuttles/cabs available to the outlet that we could do on our own and then still have time to do our own things!?!?!

[NHBob]

Unless there has been a very recent change, cruise ships dock on the waterfront in downtown Portland. So, it's a few minutes walk to the Old Port shopping area.

Can't help on the L.L. Bean question. Ship's excursion is undoubtedly to the L.L.Bean "flagship" store in Freeport, which has become a tourist destination in itself, not to one of their many outlet and satellite stores. It will probably be quite crowded on July 3rd with a lot of summer visitors getting an early start on the July 4th weekend. September will be less croweded as most of the summer crowds disappear after Labor Day.

Don't know if they have an LLB outlet store in Portland, but I'll be you can find out on their website www.llbean.com/stores.

I won't even attempt to discuss the hundreds of tourist attractions along the Maine coast. I'm sure that the state has a website - Google it and you'll find a large volume of information!

Bob

[KelJ]

Originally Posted by bonjovifan

And, I have a follow-up questions, how far is the LL Bean outlet from where the ship docks (I'm on the Explorer of the Seas on 7/3/08)?
My dad, who is "cat-sitting" for us, wanted us to go buy him some things, but I want to do some other sightseeing. The excursion to LL Bean through the ship is 4 hours and I didn't want to have that large of a chunk of time devoted to shopping (although I DO love to shop ). I was wondering if they had busses/shuttles/cabs available to the outlet that we could do on our own and then still have time to do our own things!?!?!

Hi, Jessica. We're on the same cruise!

Unfortunately, there are no buses or shuttles to LL Bean, and a cab would be very expensive. I'm also told that it would be difficult to get a cab back to the pier from Freeport.

We and others on our cruise have hired a car service to take us to Freeport and back, and we are spending a lot of time there. I am told that it is about a 35-minute drive each way.

Here is a link to the thread where I was asking similar questions to yours: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=778772

See you in about 11 days! Edit to add: In Freeport there is the flagship LL Bean store and also an LL Bean outlet store.

[crusinsusan]

Portland Maine has a ll bean out let store. here is the link
http://www.llbean.com/shop/factorySt...490956-NSOMisc
Enjoy your cruise!

[crusinsusan]

Portland Maine has a ll bean out let store. here is the link
http://www.llbean.com/shop/factorySt...490956-NSOMisc
Enjoy your cruise!

[sopo pirates]

Hi ETski

In Portland, your vessel will dock at the Ocean Gateway Facility in Portland Maine which is 50 Commercial Street. That's at the intersection of Commercial and Franklin Arterial which also form one corner of the "Old Port" district. "Old Port is about 4 x 6 blocks in size and is very easily walked to from the ship.

There are private tour operators along Commrecial Street from trolleys, to horse & carriage, to lobstering, to lighthouse by boat. There's a public ferry boat that leave the dock next to your ship and takes people out to the islands of Portland Harbor where you could rent a bike and explore on your own. Portland also has a Freedom Trail which highlights people and places from the Underground Railroad.

Portland Maine's public bus, METRO, offers a bus loop through the downtown section of Portland for an all day fare so if your group wanted to go to the art museum or LL Bean outlet or Victoria Mansion on their own, you could use the bus. Taxis will be lined up outside the pier waiting to take you to any destination you desire also.

There are some beaches close by - East End in Portland and Willard in South Portland. Water temps are in the high 50's low 60's in Sept, and since school will be back in session, should be quiet if you're looking for sunbathing.

Hope these suggestions help. I work as a tour guide mostly in Southern Maine so Portland is very familiar to me.

[William99]

Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented ocean liners do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Some cruise ships also engage in longer trips which may not lead back to the same port for many months

[SailBadtheSinner]

william99 wrote: ...Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented ocean liners do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Some cruise ships also engage in longer trips which may not lead back to the same port for many months.....


apropos of


SBtS

[KroozFoolz]

Originally Posted by SailBadtheSinner

william99 wrote: ...Cruise ships operate mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port. In contrast, dedicated transport oriented ocean liners do "line voyages" and typically transport passengers from one point to another, rather than on round trips. Some cruise ships also engage in longer trips which may not lead back to the same port for many months.....


apropos of


SBtS

Give him a break - it was his first post.
Maybe he is a politician.