The coast of Maine will be a destination for two new cruise vessels set to be launched this spring.

Delta Queen Coastal Voyages is building the Cape May Light and the Cape Cod Light for cruise voyage packages that will take in the Northeast from Philadelphia to Buffalo, N.Y.

Calls at Kennebunk, Portland, Bath, Rockland, Camden and Bar Harbor are on the cruise itineraries, said Lucette Brehm, spokeswoman for Delta Queen.

The 300-foot-long vessels feature 114 staterooms and carry up to 226 passengers, she said.

The ship designs were inspired by the Fall River Line vessels that plied coastal New England waters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The ships are reminiscent of the Eastern Steamship Lines vessels that visited Rockland, Camden, Northport, Belfast, Bucksport and Bangor from the 1880s to the late 1930s.

The seven-night “Journey North Through Maine and Canada” cruise package will take in Portland and its Old Port Exchange. The cruise then will stop in Bath for visits to the Maine Maritime Museum and shipyard.

Camden will be the next port of call. Passengers will be given tours of the town and offered bus rides to the top of Mount Battie.

The ships then will cruise just south to Rockland, where passengers will visit the Farnsworth Art Museum.

Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park will be next on the itinerary.

The cruise line will hire local tour guides to provide transportation and activities for passengers at the stops. Passengers also will be free to wander around the towns on their own.

Leaving Maine, the ships will visit Saint John, New Brunswick, and the Nova Scotia ports of Yarmouth, Lunenburg and Halifax.

The Maine and Canada package will cost $2,885 per person, assuming double occupancy, Brehm said.

The vessels are being built to feature New England Federal-style decor, including columns and natural stone flooring. But the staterooms and suites will have TV and VCRs with satellite service and radio and ship-to-shore telephone.

The Maine-Canada cruises will be offered in June and August.

“This is an expansion to a new area for us,” Brehm said.

In addition to the Maine-Canada cruise package, the company will offer a seven-night New England Coastal Adventure voyage that will begin in Providence, R.I., and end in Portland. The seven-night New England’s Coastal Colors cruise tours southern New England.

Delta Queen Coastal Voyages is owned by American Classic Voyages Co., the largest owner and operator of U.S.-flag, U.S.-crew passenger cruise vessels, according to the company’s Web site. The company also operates the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., United States Lines and American Hawaii Cruises.

The company hopes its expansion plans will increase its cruise capacity from 3,266 berths at the end of 2000 to 7,520 berths by early 2004.

Atlantic Marine Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., is building the Cape May Light and Cape Cod Light. The Cape May Light is expected to be completed in May. The vessels are diesel-powered, with twin “Z” drives and bow thrusters, and can reach speeds of 13 knots per hour.