enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Portland residents Henry DiPhillipo takes photos while Barry W. Hamilton and his wife Ginny watch the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas enters Portland Harbor from the Eastern Prom today to start the first of 31 cruise ships that will visit the Port of Portland this season. The Hamilton’s have booked a cruise on the Explorer for next February.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Maine Passport crew member Lindsey Feeney directs a group toward the Old Port as the Explorer of the Seas visits Portland on Wednesday. It was the first of 31 cruise ship visits expected in the port this season.

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Members of the Maine Passport Crew handout these info packets to cruise passengers from the cruise ship Explorer of the Seas as it visits Portland today to start the first of 31 cruise ships that will visit the Port of Portland this season.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Explorer of the Seas passengers: 3,114

• Estimated percentage of excursion users: 40

• Cruise ship visits to Portland this year: 31

• Total passengers: approximately 48,500

• Cruise ship visits to Portland last year: 32

• Total passengers last year: 48,768

2008 CRUISE SHIP VISITS TO PORTLAND

Date/Ship/Passengers

JULY 9: Explorer of the Seas, 3,114

JULY 10: Grande Caribe, 100

JULY 12: Grandeur of the Seas, 1,950

JULY 18: Grande Caribe, 100

JULY 26: Grande Caribe, 100

JULY 30: Grande Luxe, N/A

AUG. 4: Grande Caribe, 100

AUG. 6: Explorer of the Seas, 3,114

AUG. 9: Grandeur of the Seas, 1,950

AUG. 10: Maasdam, 1,258

AUG. 12: Grande Caribe, 100

SEPT. 8: Carnival Victory, 2,758

SEPT. 12: MV Aurora, 1,870

SEPT. 15: Carnival Victory, 2,758

SEPT. 20: Grandeur of the Seas, 1,950

SEPT. 21: Jewel of the Seas, 2,112

SEPT. 22: Carnival Victory, 2,758

SEPT. 25: Constellation, 1,900

SEPT. 28: Jewel of the Seas, 2,112

SEPT. 29: Carnival Victory, 2,758

OCT. 1: Queen Mary 2, 2,620

OCT. 3: Saga Ruby, 668

OCT. 4: Grandeur of the Seas, 1,950

OCT. 5: Jewel of the Seas, 2,112

OCT. 7: Constellation, 1,900

OCT. 15: Royal Princess, 710

OCT. 19: Jewel of the Seas, 2,112

OCT. 20: Sea Princess, 1,950 Pearl Seas 210 (tentative)

OCT. 29: MS Balmoral, 800

NOV. 4: Royal Princess, 710 Source: City of Portland

A team of yellow-shirted greeters was ready with promotional booklets and friendly advice as passengers disembarked from the Explorer of the Seas on Wednesday, the opening day of Portland's cruise ship season.

As usual, some passengers headed to buses behind the fence for excursions to Mount Washington, Freeport, Kennebunkport or House Island, for a lobster bake.

But others stepped through the gate of the Portland Ocean Terminal and onto Commercial Street, where they looked over maps with the greeters, who pointed passengers toward shops and told them about a nearby coffee shop that had brought in live music in anticipation of their arrival.

The activity was part of a new effort to capture more cruise-related shopping for downtown Portland.

Jim Meserve is organizing the marketing initiative for merchants. He said there's a need to help passengers see what the city has to offer, and the opportunities aren't always immediately clear at the intersection of Commercial and Franklin Arterial.

The booklet, which includes a map and promotional offers from merchants, is intended to get passengers into the downtown to spend.

"Let's not forget Portland," Meserve explained outside the terminal Wednesday morning. "That's all we're trying to do, put the best face on Portland."

Those in the cruise ship industry say Portland is attractive, in part, because of the shore excursion options. But merchants have complained that the excursions just take people away.

There are a lot of potential customers at stake. At no time will this be more apparent than it was Wednesday, when the Explorer of the Seas, the largest of the ships calling this season, arrived with 3,114 passengers.

The Royal Caribbean International ship is the first of 31 vessels to visit this summer and fall.

At Portland Coffee Roasters on Commercial Street, musician Ben Hammond had an unusual weekday performance because of the ship's arrival. Barista Affandi Afiff said the business was swamped with customers, some of whom complained that the ship's coffee is too weak.

Don Morrison, who owns the shop, said cruise ships represent a huge opportunity.

"This is not normal. Look at the streets," he said, gesturing to the clumps of people outside.

At Edgecomb Potters Gallery on Exchange Street, manager Steven Anderson said cruise ships have not historically meant big business.

"They stay on Commercial Street," Anderson said of cruise ship passengers.

Anderson believes that passengers might be reluctant to carry large items aboard the ship, that they might be cautious in their spending because of the economy and that they might overlook Exchange Street because they are unfamiliar with the city.

He hopes the shop's participation in the marketing effort will lure people.

Meserve said the answer to keeping passengers in Portland is to create more of a buzz around the city. He noted that even when passengers go on excursions, there is still an opportunity to market Portland to them when they return.

There's been steady growth in excursions to Kennebunkport in the past several years, said Karen Duddy, executive director of the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce.

She said passengers are a boon to the town, as they visit galleries, lunch at Arundel Wharf and shop in Dock Square. But she doesn't view the town's relationship with Portland as competitive.

"Are you going to spend all your money in one destination? ... They're going to want to have a little everything and spend everywhere. That's what I would do," Duddy said.

Having a broad array of shore excursions is a key concern for cruise lines, as is having a port that is pleasant and pedestrian-friendly, said Amy Powers, director of CruiseMaine, which represents the state's ports.

"It's extremely important to be able to offer a wide range of activity. What's great about Maine is we have...