Bucksport sets cruise shedule, with 20 ships coming this year

The new “coastal cat” class of ship operated by American Cruise Lines. The catamaran-style vessel carries 100 passengers. Photo courtesy of American Cruise Lines.

Jan. 21, 2026

By Emily Baer

Bucksport town officials have announced the town’s 2026 cruise schedule, with 20 American Cruise Line vessels docking between May 31 and Sept. 23.

“This year, three of their brand new ships will be coming as well as the Independence, which has been calling in Bucksport for many years,” said Rich Rotella, Bucksport’s community and economic development director.

American Cruise Lines brings around 2,400 visitors to Bucksport annually, Rotella said. In the past, passengers were offered the opportunity to travel to Bar Harbor once they had arrived in port. Now, Rotella said, they stay local.

“We’ve changed the structure of their visits so that now they go to the observatory [on the Penobscot Narrows bridge] and the fort,” said Rotella, referring to Fort Knox. “They have plenty of time to explore locally.”

American Cruise Lines said the area’s historic nature is a draw.

“Bucksport has been a great stop for us,” said American Cruise Lines’ public relations manager Alexa Paolella in an email to The Rising Tide. She noted that passengers are particularly enthusiastic about experiencing “the area’s rich history.”

Bucksport is the seventh stop on American Cruise Lines’ nine-day “Maine coast and harbors cruise,” which takes passengers from Portland to Bangor. Additional stops include Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Rockland and Bar Harbor. 

The impact of these visits on operations at Fort Knox has been significant.

“There’s the entry fee of course but they also stop by the gift shop and often leave donations in the visitor center,” said Dean Martin, executive director of The Friends of Fort Knox. While numbers vary year by year, the visits generate “five to ten thousand dollars a summer,” he said.

“What people really like is the observatory but we want them to take advantage of everything,” Martin said. “We make sure they have a really good time while they’re here.”

The town’s schedule of ship arrivals in Bucksport for the 2026 season is below.