Plus, most people who go on dinner cruises, whether tourists or locals celebrating a special occasion or corporate event, report having a good time.
"We hadn't seen too many businesses, period, where the customer satisfaction level was that high." Metz added.
Not that Entertainment Cruises won't have challenges to overcome in Baltimore. The Spirit brand failed here before, in 1995, after four years of trying to make a go of sailing the Patapsco in competition with Harbor Cruises. A location outside the heart of the Inner Harbor -- and a thwarted bid for docking and parking space there -- and Harbor Cruises' cheaper prices made it unprofitable, its management said at the time.
Now, in purchasing Harbor Cruises, Entertainment Cruises has secured a mooring on the coveted Light Street promenade, in the thick of tourist crowds, as well as a local monopoly. The business had 130,000 passengers last season and hopes to add 20,000 to that total this year, D'Amato said.
Entertainment Cruises' takeover is a sign of the consolidation beginning to sweep through the day-cruise industry, said Beth Gedney, security director for the Passenger Vessel Association, the industry's trade group. Up to now, the businesses had been largely independently owned.
One reason: Small operators are not as well-equipped to handle increasing costs and regulations.
Interior furnishing on the Bay Lady, Lady Baltimore and Prince Charming, for instance, didn't meet all fire retardancy standards, though Harbor Cruises had agreed to fix the problem, said Coast Guard Lt. Preston Logan, chief of the small-passenger vessel branch in Baltimore. Now Entertainment Cruises is redecorating the ships with fireproof carpets, curtains, wallpaper and other materials.
A July 2005 fire aboard the Lady Baltimore -- later ruled to be arson -- further set Harbor Cruises back. The city Health Department also temporarily shut down the Prince Charming touring boat for serving food without the proper sanitation equipment on-site. Entertainment Cruises is installing new equipment.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Stappler said, he was hit with new regulations enacted by the Department of Homeland Security. The business he entered in 1978 had changed drastically and, as he approached his 80th birthday, Stappler was ready to retire.
"The days of mom-and-pop businesses are over," said Stappler, a lifelong Baltimore resident who founded Overlea Caterers with his wife in 1959. "This company [Entertainment Cruises] is definitely in the boat business, and they know how to make money."
