Portsmouth cruise ship visits close to reality: What to expect in 2024

PORTSMOUTH — American Cruise Lines is in its “final assessment” of the New Hampshire Port Authority facility before deciding whether to make multiple stops in Portsmouth during the summer of 2024.

Eric Dussault, the director of port operations for American Cruise Lines, believes “Portsmouth is going to be a really good fit for us.”

“I think I’ll be able to get back to Geno (Marconi, the director of Ports and Harbors for the Pease Development Authority) with an answer in a week for two,” he said Friday about the final decision on whether to add Portsmouth to the company's New England itineraries.

Dussault met with Marconi and Assistant City Manager Sean Clancy Friday and toured the Port of New Hampshire facility.

Asked about his impressions of the Market Street terminal, Dussault said, “It was great. It has everything that we would require. It’s a top-notch facility.”

If the company does decide to make stops in Portsmouth, he believes “it will be a great addition for us” because of all the city has to offer.

“As we add more vessels to the fleet, we’re always looking to expand our portfolio,” he said. “And Portsmouth is the perfect location.”

He pointed both to Portsmouth’s historic downtown, and its array of restaurants and bars, along with unique shops and stores.

Plus, the heart of Portsmouth’s downtown is just a short walk from the Port Authority, he said.

'So much to offer' for tourists in Portsmouth

“Knowing the vicinity of downtown to the Port and what downtown has to offer, our development team is going to have a very easy job deciding what guests will be doing when they come to Portsmouth,” he said. “There’s so much to offer there.”

Dussault said he lived in Portsmouth 20 years ago when he was stationed here while serving in the Coast Guard, he said.

If the Portsmouth stop is finalized, the cruise ship will likely stay for “about 20 to 24 hours,” he said.

“The guests would get a full day and even an evening in the city,” Dussault said.

The fact downtown is so close to the Port is “a very big draw for our guests,” Dussault said.

“They can step off the vessel and really feel like they’re in the heart of the community, which is important,” he said.

American Cruise Lines guests come “from all over the country,” he said.

“Typically our guests are folks who are older but have been well-traveled throughout their lives,” he said. “Now they want to stay closer to home and travel domestically.”

“It’s a mature, affluent clientele who comes on our cruises for the enrichment and entertainment,” Dussault said.

And they “enjoy when they come to a location that has such a vibrant downtown area, with shops and all types of restaurants,” he said.

Six Portsmouth stops envisioned in 2024 with more than 100 guests

He said Portsmouth’s downtown shops and stores are not typically “what you sometimes see in large tourist cities, where you see souvenir shops after souvenir shop.”

“Our guests prefer to get something special they can have as a keepsake” from their time on the cruise, he said.

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In terms of Portsmouth stops in 2024, “if everything goes as planned and everything works out, they’ll be six stops in Portsmouth next year,” Dussault said.

“And five out of the six will be with our brand new American Glory, which holds 109 guests,” he said about the ship.

What the Grand New England Cruise looks like

As now planned, the stops in Portsmouth will be part of the Grand New England Cruise, according to Dussault and information provided by American Cruise Lines.

It will feature stops at Ports in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island “and now New Hampshire,” Dussault said.

The cruise begins and ends in Boston, according to the American Cruise Lines website, which lists the 15-day cruises on multiple dates in summer 2024, with the first beginning July 1. The cruises are slated to begin and end in Boston with a stop in Portsmouth near the midpoint. Stops listed in Maine are Portland, Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Bangor and Rockland/Camden. Massachusetts stops include Gloucester, Provincetown, Plymouth, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, and there's a stop listed in Newport, Rhode Island.

The American Cruise Lines website lists prices for the Grand New England Cruise starting at $11,220.

Small ship cruising

Dussault stressed that American Cruise lines features “small ship cruising,” with boats that hold anywhere from 95 to close to 200 people.

“When they hear about cruise ships, people get this notion of 4,000 people being dumped into a downtown,” he said. “That’s not us. We’re really a boutique experience.”

For someone who hasn’t experienced an American Cruise Lines cruise, he said there’s a strong focus on “customer service and attention to detail.”

“With only 100 guests on board, you really get to know the people,” he said.

Dussault stressed when the company comes to a new port, “we really like to partner with the community, and not just be here.”

“Once we finalize the plans with Geno at the Port,, we plan to come back and meet with EDC (Economic Development Commission),” he said.

In addition to the New England cruises, American Cruise Lines offers “river cruises all over the country on their 17 vessels,” he said, including on the West Coast and the Mississippi River.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: What Portsmouth NH cruise ship visits could look like in 2024