Departure out of Balimore

[Skinsfan1311]

We sailed out of Baltimore, a couple of years ago, on a 10-day on Celebrity's Galaxy. It was a late-March sailing. I can't recommend it. The facilities are pathetic and the personnel at the port weren't the best. In all fairness, it could be that they were still learning, and we did sail at a time of year when the weather is very unpredictable. Still...it's not real fun to have to sail for 2 days, before you hit "bathing suit" weather; I also thought that the seas were rough..if you do the math...10-day cruise....2 days travel down the bay, before you hit warm weather...then on the return...2 days travel up the bay...back through the cold weather.....and you've knocked your cruise back to 6-days..not worth it to me, JMHO, of course! ;) To me...it's worth the extra $200.00pp to fly to Miami, or Tampa, so you have a better chance to set sail in decent weather...Now I would probably consider a 7-day to Bermuda, but it would have to be a summer sailing, on a relatively newer ship.

[WendyCn]

Karen, Yes, it is on the Voyager. According to what I've seen & read it is a beautiful ship! And, if I recall correctly one of the bus routes does connect from Baltimore. We'd love seeing you & Richard again.

 

Yes, those flashbacks & the video keep Bryan dreaming of the blue turquoise waters & anticipating the September 4th sail date. We can't wait!! We had a super great first cruise & now we're hooked.:D

 

And for anyone sailing out of Baltimore, the seas were a little rough. I do get seasick, however, as long as I kept taking the Bonine every six hours, I didn't get sick, although I always felt the rocking motion of the ship. I believe they may have improved the port facilities, however, it was a warehouse. About the worst thing was the waiting & I felt like we were herded like cattle. But, since my DH likes the sailing part, we enjoyed the sea days. We took the first day to look around the ship & get the feel of things & planned our days. By the second day it was warm enough to sit by the pool & we had started to make friends & participated in the ship's activities. On the first of return sea day, we again went to the pool & on the day before, we just took it easy & tried to unwind. Since this was our first cruise & we weren't sure about flying, it was the right decision for us. We had a great time!

[madelinerose]

Wendy, I've searched on the RCI site and found no info about the bus routes. Can you help me out?

 

Richard has no idea I've booked the Princess cruise. I'll tell him next summer sometime - lol! He doesn't want to hear about anything that's over a year away.

 

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and best of everything to you and Bryan!

 

Yeah, Richard has no idea

Karen, Yes, it is on the Voyager. According to what I've seen & read it is a beautiful ship! And, if I recall correctly one of the bus routes does connect from Baltimore. We'd love seeing you & Richard again.

 

Yes, those flashbacks & the video keep Bryan dreaming of the blue turquoise waters & anticipating the September 4th sail date. We can't wait!! We had a super great first cruise & now we're hooked.:D !

[WendyCn]

Karen, Bryan typed in Cape Liberty Cruise Port on the internet search engine & found a hit on the bus information for RCCL. Since I am at home I have the printout in front of me. Route 1 DOES stop in Baltimore! It is $65 per person round trip. We booked through RCCL directly as we knew we wanted to take the bus & save the hassle of driving. At first we didn't know RCCL offered the bus & I wasn't sure that I wanted to travel to NJ, but knew Bryan wanted to sail on the Voyager. As soon as we found out about the buses, I called RCCL & booked the cruise.

 

Hope you also have a great Memorial Day weekend. I am catching up on the gardening & we are just kicking back & relaxing.

[madelinerose]

Wendy, Thanks a million! ;)

[gizmo]

Its not just Baltimore. Almost no ships leave from Philadelphia either. The port has good facilities and I found it to be a great alternative to NYC.

There are ships leaving out of Philly every weekend from May through Oct.

NCL

Celebrity

RCI

 

check out this link

http://cruisephilly.org/pages/visitors/destinations.html

[madelinerose]

The ships and itineraries currently from Baltimore or Philly are not what we're looking for, unfortunately. :(

[Terpnut]

Where exactly is South Locust Point? Can someone provide an address or point of reference relative to Inner Harbor or Dundalk Terminal? Thanks.

[Skinsfan1311]

Where exactly is South Locust Point? Can someone provide an address or point of reference relative to Inner Harbor or Dundalk Terminal? Thanks.

I'm pretty sure it's at the Dundalk Terminal, or immediately adjacent.....

[Tony O]

Where exactly is South Locust Point? Can someone provide an address or point of reference relative to Inner Harbor or Dundalk Terminal? Thanks.

 

South locust Point is on the other side of town in relation to Dundalk. It's a couple of minutes drive from Downtown Baltimore ( Inner Harbor).

 

South Locust point is located right next to Interstate 95

 

Here is a link that would provide where the terminal is located http://www.mpa.state.md.us/facil/mapenlarged.pdf

[signman]

The Locust Point Terminal is near to Fort McHenry.

[Terpnut]

Assuming there is adequate on-site parking and other transportation options, the S. Locust Point Terminal looks like a great location!

[madelinerose]

We agree! It's also 5 miles from our house. ;)

 

Assuming there is adequate on-site parking and other transportation options, the S. Locust Point Terminal looks like a great location!

[AnnapolisCruises]

I have lived in the Balt metro area my entire life and the Port of Baltimore has spent about a whole $10.00 on the cruise ship area of the port and that was for rat traps. The city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland can not agree on what flowers to plant along the road side let alone how to improve the port.. It's a dump of a area for passengers.. Good Luck

[Terpnut]

I have lived in the Balt metro area my entire life and the Port of Baltimore has spent about a whole $10.00 on the cruise ship area of the port and that was for rat traps. The city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland can not agree on what flowers to plant along the road side let alone how to improve the port.. It's a dump of a area for passengers.. Good Luck

The almost $3 million they're spending on Locust Point now should definitely buy alot more than flowers and rat traps!

[madelinerose]

Amen! ;)

 

The almost $3 million they're spending on Locust Point now should definitely buy alot more than flowers and rat traps!

 

Terpnut...Your profile say "Annapolis", which is not in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. :confused:

 

The Dundalk Marine terminal where we cruised from on the Miracle in October is certainly not a dump. It's a working port and all the passengers who cruise from there are not expecting a state of the art, fabulous terminal. IMHO, the convenience means more to the average Midatlantic cruiser that the aesthetics.

[2Cruise4Ever]

Amen! ;)

 

 

 

Terpnut...Your profile say "Annapolis", which is not in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. :confused:

 

The Dundalk Marine terminal where we cruised from on the Miracle in October is certainly not a dump. It's a working port and all the passengers who cruise from there are not expecting a state of the art, fabulous terminal. IMHO, the convenience means more to the average Midatlantic cruiser that the aesthetics.

 

Um, you might want to check the map. Annapolis is part of the Baltimore Washington Metropolitan Area. So, technically, yes, it is.

 

The passengers may not be expecting a state of the art terminal. But, the cruise lines are. They were promised that very thing 4 years ago. So, what Terpnut says is true. Although, I'm sure they'll end up spending more than 3 mil for it :)

[madelinerose]

We cruised out of Balimore in October and the weather, the Bay and the Atlantic were fabulous! DH and I could care less about the port facilities....we live in Baltimore, so what's better than driving to the port? The dollar amount involved in flying to FLL or MIA is a non-issue...it's the airport hassles and packed hotels that make cruising from Baltimore, Philadelphia and NY an absolute plus for us! RCI from Cape Liberty even has bus service from Baltimore for only $65pp. IMHO, you can't beat it and I'm very much looking forward to the new Crown Princess out of NY next year. ;)

 

We sailed out of Baltimore, a couple of years ago, on a 10-day on Celebrity's Galaxy. It was a late-March sailing. I can't recommend it. The facilities are pathetic and the personnel at the port weren't the best. In all fairness, it could be that they were still learning, and we did sail at a time of year when the weather is very unpredictable. Still...it's not real fun to have to sail for 2 days, before you hit "bathing suit" weather; I also thought that the seas were rough..if you do the math...10-day cruise....2 days travel down the bay, before you hit warm weather...then on the return...2 days travel up the bay...back through the cold weather.....and you've knocked your cruise back to 6-days..not worth it to me, JMHO, of course! ;) To me...it's worth the extra $200.00pp to fly to Miami, or Tampa, so you have a better chance to set sail in decent weather...Now I would probably consider a 7-day to Bermuda, but it would have to be a summer sailing, on a relatively newer ship.

[madelinerose]

You didn't say "Baltimore Washington", you said "Balt metro".

 

"I have lived in the Balt metro area my entire life..."

 

You're right...the cruise lines are looking for better facilities, I totally agree. Hopefully, if the powers that be in this state ever get their acts together, we'll have decent terminals and The Preakness will remain here. Baltimore's still a small town, but it's come a verrrry long way. The $1M plus condos in Inner Harbor East and the soon to be Ritz Carlton Residences should be reason enough for the politicians to realize that there are lots of tourist and resident dollars to be spent here. ;)

 

Um, you might want to check the map. Annapolis is part of the Baltimore Washington Metropolitan Area. So, technically, yes, it is.

 

The passengers may not be expecting a state of the art terminal. But, the cruise lines are. They were promised that very thing 4 years ago. So, what Terpnut says is true. Although, I'm sure they'll end up spending more than 3 mil for it :)

[Terpnut]

You didn't say "Baltimore Washington", you said "Balt metro".

 

"I have lived in the Balt metro area my entire life..."

 

You're right...the cruise lines are looking for better facilities, I totally agree. Hopefully, if the powers that be in this state ever get their acts together, we'll have decent terminals and The Preakness will remain here. Baltimore's still a small town, but it's come a verrrry long way. The $1M plus condos in Inner Harbor East and the soon to be Ritz Carlton Residences should be reason enough for the politicians to realize that there are lots of tourist and resident dollars to be spent here. ;)

Madeline--whatever point you're trying to make about the guy in Annapolis, you've addressed the wrong person--I think you were trying to address AnnapolisCruises. :rolleyes:

[2Cruise4Ever]

Madeline--whatever point you're trying to make about the guy in Annapolis, you've addressed the wrong person--I think you were trying to address AnnapolisCruises. :rolleyes:

 

Terpnut ~ I give up at this point. She also thought I was the one who said I lived in Baltimore all my life. I actually live in Mt. Airy which is considered part of the Baltimore metro area as well. And, I live farther away from Baltimore than AnnapolisCruises does :confused: If an area is considered to be part of the Baltimore Washington metro area, isn't it also considered a part of each metro area separately??? That's why Annapolis cable customers receive network tv stations from both metro areas. Anyway, I don't want to go tit for tat about what geographical area belongs to what metro area. I just want the cruise lines to come back to Baltimore!

 

BTW, how did the Terps do in basketball this year? My brother went to U of MD. But, I however, had to get a little farther from the parents and went to Frostburg (but still a Terps fan in my heart :D )

[ladycaveat]

Well, I don't live in the Baltimore Metro area (whatever that is) . . . I live in Northern Virginia and I wish the cruise lines would come back to Baltimore. Sailed out of Baltimore in September 2003 and it was so nice being able to drive to the Port (had to fly to Miami last month and will do it again next April). Who cares what the Port looks like? I'll tell you one thing . . . boarding the ship at Miami's Port was terrible . . . and that's a Port dedicated to cruise ships. It was definately no better than Baltimore's . . . in fact, it took more than twice as long to get on the ship and it looked just like Baltimore's Port . . . a giant warehouse. Only difference . . . Miami had twice as many lines as Baltimore to wait in and checking your bags was a lot more confusing than it was in Baltimore. :(

[Terpnut]

Well, I don't live in the Baltimore Metro area (whatever that is) . . . I live in Northern Virginia and I wish the cruise lines would come back to Baltimore. Sailed out of Baltimore in September 2003 and it was so nice being able to drive to the Port (had to fly to Miami last month and will do it again next April). Who cares what the Port looks like? I'll tell you one thing . . . boarding the ship at Miami's Port was terrible . . . and that's a Port dedicated to cruise ships. It was definately no better than Baltimore's . . . in fact, it took more than twice as long to get on the ship and it looked just like Baltimore's Port . . . a giant warehouse. Only difference . . . Miami had twice as many lines as Baltimore to wait in and checking your bags was a lot more confusing than it was in Baltimore. :(

While the lines were long, I remember Miami's cruise port facilities as new, clean, bright and very nice. Did we sail out of the same port?

[Terpnut]

BTW, how did the Terps do in basketball this year? My brother went to U of MD. But, I however, had to get a little farther from the parents and went to Frostburg (but still a Terps fan in my heart :D )

It was a tough year--the first year on over a decade that we didn't make the NCAA tournament. Oh well, there's always next year! Go Terps! :p

[madelinerose]

AnnapolisCruises,Terpnut & 2Cruise4Ever...My apologies. :o Bad day.

 

Looks like I got everyones' replies mixed up and I didn't mean to sound confrontational. I never get into the heated stuff on these boards. So sorry.

 

I want Baltimore to be a major cruise port also. Last year, every Carnival cruise from Baltimore was completely sold out. Remember all of the people who were bumped because Carnival overbooked?

 

The market is here....it's a shame the ships aren't.