ROCKLAND — Passengers disembarked from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines vessel, Brilliance of the Seas, on the sleepy, somewhat-grayish morning of Sunday, Sept. 20. This was the first time the cruise ship has anchored in Rockland, and the city and the Penobscot Bay Area Chamber of Commerce made the most of the experience.

The vessel’s ferry boats shuttled wave after wave of passengers to the public landing, at which point tourists made their way up the gangway. As they stepped down to the parking lot, past several local reporter/photographers, chamber members, headed by Chamber Director Tom Peaco, welcomed the passengers.

They boarded tour buses, including the L/A Fighting Spirit hockey bus, destined to various excursions along the Midcoast. This included a bus headed through Camden to Mt. Battie.

Others stayed in Rockland, seeking out the tourist information center among other places.

Many tourists were seen along Rockland’s Main Street, tasting the local fare, visiting the shops, and carrying retail bags back to the harbor.

Before reboarding the ship, many posed for pictures in front of the Lobster Festival lobster float.

The Brilliance of the Sea, which can hold 2,100 passengers and 929 crew, also visits Boston, Portland, Bar Harbor, Halifax, Charlottetown, and Sydney, Nova Scotia during its nine-day Canada/New England Two Nation Vacation Tour, according to the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines news release.