A small cruise ship originally scheduled to arrive in Bangor this weekend sailed into town on Friday where it will dock over the weekend to weather Hurricane Lee’s arrival in Maine.
The 100-passenger vessel operated by American Cruise Lines is on the company’s Maine Coast and Harbors route, which begins in Portland and takes passengers to Bar Harbor, Bangor, Camden, Rockland, Boothbay Harbor and Bath before terminating in Portland.
The catamaran-style cruise ship — dubbed “American Eagle” — is one of American Cruise Lines’ 17 boats that takes passengers on a variety of coastal and river routes throughout the U.S., according to Alexa Paolella, American Cruise Lines’ public relations manager.
The boat was christened in Boston last month and took passengers around Masachusettes and Rhode Island before beginning its current trip on the company’s Maine Coast and Harbors cruise.
While passengers are allowed to leave the ship to visit local restaurants, stores and attractions in each port they visit, Paolella said the company’s cruises include meals, drinks, activities and entertainment on board, meaning “guests will be taken care of” during inclement weather.
The company’s other cruise ships in areas where Hurricane Lee was expected to impact travel conditions were forced to alter their itineraries to remain securely docked while they wait for the storm to pass, Paolella said.
While the eye of Hurricane Lee is tracking toward Nova Scotia, according to the National Hurricane Center’s forecast issued on Friday, the storm is expected to bring high winds, heavy rain and storm surge to coastal and Down East Maine throughout the day on Saturday. Lee will likely be demoted to a tropical depression once it hits the colder waters in the Gulf of Maine.
The National Weather Service issued a Tropical Storm Warning for Bangor, among other Maine regions, on Friday morning, warning residents that Hurricane Lee could bring wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, localized storm surge of 1 to 3 feet in susceptible areas and 1 to 3 inches of rain. These conditions could cause power outages, limited damage to lightweight and unsecured objects and hazardous travel conditions.
