I was surprised to see a coastal cruise ship docked at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy last month. At first, I thought it might have encountered a problem and made an emergency stop. It turns out it was a planned stop to give passengers a tour of the campus and a chance to visit our newly revitalized downtown. What a great idea! Why havenât we been doing this for years? How could we have overlooked such an easy opportunity to show off the wonderful assets Bourne has to offer? According to Elizabeth Simmons, vice-president of external affairs at the academy, American Cruise Lines suggested the visit, and school administrators liked the idea. The cruise line employs academy graduates and hoped to recruit more with this stop. Unfortunately, most of the cadets were away on their annual sea term. This may be the first time a cruise ship has visited Buzzards Bay, but not the first time someone has suggested tapping the canal traffic for visitors.