Cruisers a much-needed addition to city

From the Gloucester Daily Times
Editorial

September 16, 2006
It was a win for more than a thousand cruise ship tourists. It was a win for local merchants. A win for Frank Elliott, who is building a cruise ship terminal at Rose's Wharf. And it was a big win for Gloucester specifically and Cape Ann in general, when Holland America Cruise Line's MS Amsterdam anchored off Eastern Point last Saturday and sent waves of visitors on ferries to Rose's Wharf.

The timing of the visit, on the weekend after Labor Day, was perfect. Mayor John Bell was a one-man welcoming committee, greeting the arrivals and telling them all about what the city could do for them. Sara Young, economic development director of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce, had a booth set up to guide tourists. The city's tourism coordinator, Suzanne Silveira, worked with the chamber, local businesses and the Cape Ann Transportation Authority to provide green trolleys to shuttle visitors around the city for free.

It was Bell, Main Street business owner Janice Lufkin Shea said, who was the "star of the day." He helped cruisers start their journey through Gloucester and the area - 106 of them booked whale watches, 96 a tour of Rockport and Gloucester, 95 a tour of the Beauport Mansion and Rockport, and more than 100 more of them signed up for other Gloucester excursions. Not bad for a weekend's worth of work.

And the results were excellent. Some merchants said half their sales on Saturday came from cruise ship passengers. Restaurants reported a bump in patrons.

Best of all, this is not a one-shot deal. Three more cruise ships are scheduled to visit later this month and into October. When Elliott finishes his terminal, which is expected next year, the hope is that Gloucester will become a regular stop for multiple cruise lines.

For a city struggling to maintain its economic viability, this was a much-needed success, with the credit going to all the participants.