PORTSMOUTH When Pam Mood, the mayor of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, hopped into a taxi driven by D

PORTSMOUTH When Pam Mood, the mayor of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, hopped into a taxi driven by Doug Cormier on Monday night and asked him to take her to the Kittery, Maine, outlets, she heard about a very special event happening on Tuesday.
PORTSMOUTH When Pam Mood, the mayor of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, hopped into a taxi driven by Doug Cormier on Monday night and asked him to take her to the Kittery, Maine, outlets, she heard about a very special event happening on Tuesday. "I told her, as I had been telling a few customers that day, that the new Nova Star would be docked in Portsmouth on its way to Portland," said Cormier, who owns Market Square Taxi. Mood said she "had a good laugh" in the back of the taxi. "I told him I just christened vacation rentals duck north carolina the Nova Star that afternoon in Boston," vacation rentals duck north carolina she said. And in the spirit of promoting tourism to her Canadian province, Mood invited Cormier and his wife, Lori, and their baby daughter, Olivia Grace, to the by-invitation-only media tour Tuesday morning. While folks were hoping vacation rentals duck north carolina to see the cruise ferry slide into town under Memorial Bridge at 8 a.m., the 528-foot vessel arrived around 6:30 and docked vacation rentals duck north carolina at the Port of New Hampshire state pier at 555 Market St. The ferry is scheduled to begin its service between Portland, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on Thursday. "Everything aboard will be exploring vacation rentals duck north carolina the cultures of the two regions of Maine and Nova Scotia," said Alison Colby-Campbell, a media tour guide for Nova Star. Currents, an upscale dining room, will offer small plates with fare from both sides of the border, including Rappie Pie from the Canadian province. There is also a buffet restaurant called Fathoms, Pipers Pub and Big Nellie's Bar. The bar was named after the late Nelson Perry, who worked with Nova Star owners Mark Amundsen and Steven Durrell vacation rentals duck north carolina at the Shelburne Shipyard.. The new vessel vacation rentals duck north carolina was built by ST Marine Ltd. in Singapore. It arrived in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, April 15 after a monthlong journey from Singapore. The cruise ferry also boasts vacation rentals duck north carolina a theater and conference center, a casino with 70 slot machines, a spa, a gift shop, an art gallery and a children's play area called the Shrimp Quarters. "The vessel has articulation stabilizers," Colby-Campbell said. "So you don't even realize it's moving." There will be round-trip ferry service every 24 hours, seven days a week from May 15 to Nov. 2. Nova Star has partnered with Best Western Atlantic, which has 16 hotels in the Maritime Provinces for those looking for a place to stay. A ceremony featuring local and Canadian dignitaries vacation rentals duck north carolina took place after the tour, with retired broadcast journalist Susan Wornick as mistress of ceremonies. "We began the idea of this cruise ferry three years ago," said Amundsen, an Eliot, Maine, resident who is president and chief executive officer of Quest Navigation and Nova Star Cruises. "It was a very complex project between two countries." He said Nova Scotia awarded a $21 million grant toward the $165 million it took to get the ship into service. There has not been ferry service from Portland vacation rentals duck north carolina to Yarmouth since 2009. "Our goal is to have 100,000 passengers this year. We're hoping to energize the tourism business in Nova Scotia," said Durrell, chief operating officer and a native of Farmington, Maine. Portsmouth Mayor Robert Lister said it was an honor to host the Nova Star. "This city is rich in maritime history," he said. "I'm looking forward to welcoming the people of Nova Scotia and its surrounding area this summer." Patrick Binns, Canadian consulate general in Boston, said, "the high-tech vacation rentals duck north carolina ship is a wonderful instrument to increase trade and tourism between the two regions." Mood said she hoped visitors from Canada would travel down to Portsmouth from Portland. "You have a wonderful city with so many little shops," she said. "When you come to Yarmouth, Mama Mood will be there to welcome you with open arms," she said. For information, visit www.novastarcruises.com. At a Glance Nova Star by the numbers Overall length: 528 feet Cruising speed: 21 knots Passengers: 1,215 Passenger cabins: 162 total cabins Recliner seats: 254 Vehicles: 336 cars Kennel for pets Handicap accessible If you go: Nova Star Cruises is an international ferry service. All passengers will be required to pass through customs and border security when entering vacation rentals duck north carolina Canada or the United States. It is recommended that U.S. citizens carry a passport book. U.S. passport cards can be used for land or sea travel to Canada, but not for air travel. Visit www.travel.state.gov for passport information.