New London is getting the hang of this “port of call” thing.
Last week the city inaugurated its fourth year as a cruise ship destination, when Holland America’s m/s Maasdam docked here for nine hours.
“New London takes these cruise ship visits seriously,” Tony Sheridan, director of the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, said. “There’s a real merit to having these ships come here.”
The Maasdam first arrived in New London in May 2004, and since its original sojourn, the city’s commercial and historic organizations have gotten many of the logistics down pat.
“We were all prepared,” Cassie Blandel-Libardi, a curator at the Custom House Maritime Museum said. “Everything was really organized; we’ve learned from doing this before.”
Maasdam entered the Thames River in a light spring rain shortly after 7:30 a.m., as it sailed alongside a submarine for a time.
The 11-story-high,720-foot-long ship docked at Adm. Harold M. Shear State Pier about an hour later.
The passengers boarded motor coaches that took them to various destinations around the region, but many decided to spend time in New London.
On the mile-long ride from the pier to downtown, volunteer docents gave short summaries of suggested excursions.
Passengers alighted at Union Station where representatives from New London Landmarks and New London Main Street, as well as Joseph Celli, the downtown development coordinator, were holding court surrounded by brochures and guides to area attractions, such as Fort Trumbull State Park, Monte Cristo Cottage, and the Custom House.
But many just enjoyed the city itself, the layout and the architecture.
New London Landmarks reprinted Connecticut College professor Abigail Van Slyck’s “State Street: A Self-Guided Walking Tour,” that gives concise histories of a number of buildings in downtown.
Sandra Kersten Chalk, the executive director of NLL, said the walking tour received high marks from tourists in the past.
“The tour is great not only for visitors, but for residents,” she said.
The Maasdam visit was the first one for Celli, who was hired in January.
“It’s been tremendous to see the energy of the community groups coming together,” he said. “It’s a true bonding effort.”
Celli said the “storefront initiative”—his drive to fill most of State and Bank streets’ empty storefronts with works of art—should be done by June 1, well before the next cruise ship, Holland America’s leviathan, The Explorer of the Seas, arrives on July 4.
Celli said the passengers he talked to said they liked New London, because “it’s not a tourist trap.”
“This is a real city,” he said. “And we want [the passengers] to have a nice day.”
The downtown merchants also rolled out the red carpet and debuted the new lime-green “District” shopping bags that several of the stores have been using.
Bruce Hyde, the director of the Office of Development and Planning, said he expects the city to become an even better host by the end of the cruise season that will see six more ships arrive in New London Harbor.
Hyde, who was wearing a “City of New London” green polo shirt, said that while the cruise ships are great for business, they also allow the city to “have some fun” and improve morale in town.
“It’s fun to meet new people and carry on conversations,” he said.
Jan and Greg Park, passengers from Pompano Beach, Fla., said they enjoyed the downtown as well as the Starr Street Historic District.
Frank Penovich, a former NASA worker who lives near Cape Canaveral, did some geocaching, a sort of scavenger hunt using GPS consoles; he found a trinket someone left at Custom House Pier.
Jose and Connie Garcia, passengers who also live near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, were not only impressed with the city’s architecture, but also with the people who live here.
“The people in New London could not have been more cordial,” Jose Garcia said. “There were ‘Welcome Maasdam’ signs everywhere, and every stranger we talked to was nice and helpful.”