Baltimore hotel pre-cruise?

Should we stay at an airport hotel and taxi to the port in the AM or should we stay closer to the port? Know nothing at all about Baltimore. How far is the airport from the cruise port and cost of a taxi, please? Or cost of taxi to a hotel near the port? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Airport is maybe 20 minutes away from the cruise terminal.

Some airport hotels have shuttles, as do some downtown hotels.

Near the airport is Arundel Mills mall with a casino.

Downtown has the Inner Harbor, lots of restaurants, Little Italy, the aquarium, science center, etc.

I'll chime in because I am looking for a Baltimore pre cruise hotel as well. When I filter results on Hotels dot com for example, only one hotel which is the Holiday Inn shows an airport shuttle but for a charge for the area closest to the cruise port terminal.

We were considering staying somewhere in the inner harbour or nearby. Some hotels do advertise a free area shuttle, but I don't know if that includes dropping cruise passengers and all the gear off at the pier.

Would love to hear others advice.

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There is a Best Western near the airport that I have seen recommended several times. If you search this board (enter Baltimore or Baltimore Hotel to narrow your search) you should find several threads with hotel recommendations, or you can page through the threads glancing at the titles.

We are staying at the Best Western on O'Donnell Street which is closer to the port, but we are driving in from the north. I think prices are less near the airport.

Check the threads.

There is at least one hotel downtown that people use. It has free parking and free shuttle if you stay there.

Also, call the airport hotels, many hotels will provide a shuttle to where ever. Normally free, but sometimes a small fee.

This is really a question of what do you want to do. If you've never been to Baltimore, and are arriving early enough to have some time (if you're taking the non-stop on SWA, you'll arrive mid-afternoon on the current schedule), then pay for a cab and spend the day and evening in either the Inner Harbor or Harbor East. You'll have time to see part of Baltimore. Cab fare (per taxi fare finder dot com) is about $33. Fare from an Inner Harbor hotel to the cruise terminal is about $13.

There are any number of nice hotels in the Inner Harbor and Harbor East depending on your preference. It sounds like you're flying, so you don't need to worry about parking. Check your favorite chain's web page or Hotels.com or Google for those two areas. I like the Renaissance and the Hotel Monaco; there are plenty of other locations. Cost is unpredictable without dates; Baltimore is neither cheap nor (usually) overly expensive, but I now live on the East Coast and travel to NYC regularly, so my frame of reference is probably different from yours...

I cannot speak from my own experience (yet), but I have read recommendations for several companies that specifically book Baltimore area hotels for pre-cruise, with shuttle to and from the port. They are stay123.com, Trinity Reservations, and buyreservations.com.

The roll call for your cruise might have some further ideas.

You'll get a variety of responses but the two most popular hotels are Best Western on O'Donnell Street and Best Western Elkridge. Even though you are flying in both offer Park & Cruise packages (slightly higher cost but cheaper than a cab to the port and back)

There are a few difference between the two but O'Donnell street has the upper hand in my opinion. Our upcoming November cruise has at least 8 different families staying there the night before on our FB Group.

O'Donnell - 19 minutes from BWI, 10 mins to Cruise Port, 15 minutes to Inner Harbor, 5 minutes to a shopping area for all your last minute items, lot of restaurants. They have a breakfast in the morning and a shuttle to the port, they have large buses that are terrific! They will also be waiting at the port for you when you return (no calling for a shuttle/cab). Yes you would have to go back to the hotel but this would depend on what time your plane leaves.

Elkridge - 13 minutes to BWI, 20 minutes to Cruise Port/Inner Harbor, No close shopping but they have a good restaurant in their parking lot. More recently updated than O'Donnell.

Really there are many others as well - if you are status somewhere you could benefit with price and location. Just really depends on where you want to be and when you need to be there. I believe both have shuttles to/from the airport as well.

You'll get a variety of responses but the two most popular hotels are Best Western on O'Donnell Street and Best Western Elkridge. Even though you are flying in both offer Park & Cruise packages (slightly higher cost but cheaper than a cab to the port and back)

 

 

There are a few difference between the two but O'Donnell street has the upper hand in my opinion. Our upcoming November cruise has at least 8 different families staying there the night before on our FB Group.

 

 

O'Donnell - 19 minutes from BWI, 10 mins to Cruise Port, 15 minutes to Inner Harbor, 5 minutes to a shopping area for all your last minute items, lot of restaurants. They have a breakfast in the morning and a shuttle to the port, they have large buses that are terrific! They will also be waiting at the port for you when you return (no calling for a shuttle/cab). Yes you would have to go back to the hotel but this would depend on what time your plane leaves.

 

 

Elkridge - 13 minutes to BWI, 20 minutes to Cruise Port/Inner Harbor, No close shopping but they have a good restaurant in their parking lot. More recently updated than O'Donnell.

 

 

Really there are many others as well - if you are status somewhere you could benefit with price and location. Just really depends on where you want to be and when you need to be there. I believe both have shuttles to/from the airport as well.

The O'Donnell street hotel is located near to low to medium housing with police cameras mounted on street poles ,truck stop across the street and drug activities close by.

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The O'Donnell street hotel is located near to low to medium housing with police cameras mounted on street poles ,truck stop across the street and drug activities close by.

 

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Somewhat true - You're there for 1 night, never had heard a single issue with crime at the hotel and nearby areas are perfectly fine. Still doesn't rule it out for an option for many people cruising out of Baltimore.

Somewhat true - You're there for 1 night, never had heard a single issue with crime at the hotel and nearby areas are perfectly fine. Still doesn't rule it out for an option for many people cruising out of Baltimore.

Since you are not local to the area your statement is probably correct But from my point of view who has worked near this area for over 30 years even before the hotel was built I always detour around it when possible due to the crime and drugs. It's sad because this area at one time was a hard working blue collar neighborhood who took pride in their community.

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IMO, it is worth the extra cab fare to spend your afternoon and evening at the Inner Harbor area. There are fun things to do at the Inner Harbor, including some museum ships and there are a wide variety of restaurants to choose from.

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Somewhat true - You're there for 1 night, never had heard a single issue with crime at the hotel and nearby areas are perfectly fine. Still doesn't rule it out for an option for many people cruising out of Baltimore.

I respectfully disagree with you, Tony O. The O'Donnell Street Best Western is perfectly fine. After all, it is only a one night stay and I have not heard of a single issue with crime at the hotel or nearby. Although my husband and I would be considered upper middle class by most socio-economic indicators, we were not born with silver spoons in our mouths. Just because people live in a lower socio-economic area, that does not mean they are criminals or prone to criminal activities. As for the drugs, you may be surprised as to how many of those drug deals are from folk who live outside the area in middle class neighborhoods (or better). Those cameras you see on poles are meant to record those not from the neighborhood as well. As for the truck stop across the street, I have found in my many road trips around our country that one can find some of the best food at truck stops for a very reasonable price. However, if folk staying at the Best Western would prefer some place else, that is up to them as there are plenty of options to do so whether they plan to drive their car or take public transportation or a taxi or Uber or Lyft. Please, do not be so judgmental about anything you may observe from afar. And yes, I am very familiar with Baltimore. I lived and worked there for many years and attended undergraduate school at Notre Dame on Charles Street and Morgan on Cold Spring Lane for graduate studies. Sorry to go on and on, but several times on this and other forums here, you have been less than kind when offering your opinion nor have you been fair. Cheers!

I respectfully disagree with you, Tony O. The O'Donnell Street Best Western is perfectly fine. After all, it is only a one night stay and I have not heard of a single issue with crime at the hotel or nearby. Although my husband and I would be considered upper middle class by most socio-economic indicators, we were not born with silver spoons in our mouths. Just because people live in a lower socio-economic area, that does not mean they are criminals or prone to criminal activities. As for the drugs, you may be surprised as to how many of those drug deals are from folk who live outside the area in middle class neighborhoods (or better). Those cameras you see on poles are meant to record those not from the neighborhood as well. As for the truck stop across the street, I have found in my many road trips around our country that one can find some of the best food at truck stops for a very reasonable price. However, if folk staying at the Best Western would prefer some place else, that is up to them as there are plenty of options to do so whether they plan to drive their car or take public transportation or a taxi or Uber or Lyft. Please, do not be so judgmental about anything you may observe from afar. And yes, I am very familiar with Baltimore. I lived and worked there for many years and attended undergraduate school at Notre Dame on Charles Street and Morgan on Cold Spring Lane for graduate studies. Sorry to go on and on, but several times on this and other forums here, you have been less than kind when offering your opinion nor have you been fair. Cheers!

Living and going to school in the wealthy neighbourhood of Notre Dame is quite different than the O'Donnell Height neighborhood.

I have seen the deterioration of this area as I have worked and traveled in this area for over 40 plus years

We each have our own opinion and I respect that. But I will continue to offer what I see on a daily basis not something from distant memiries.

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Living and going to school in the wealthy neighbourhood of Notre Dame is quite different than the O'Donnell Height neighborhood.

I have seen the deterioration of this area as I have worked and traveled in this area for over 40 plus years

We each have our own opinion and I respect that. But I will continue to offer what I see on a daily basis not something from distant memiries.

 

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I will not say more about your comments nor assumptions after this. But for clarification, as I stated, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I grew up in a neighborhood similar to O'Donnell Heights and still visit that east Baltimore neighborhood often as family and friends remain.