Baltimore Hotel

[lisagro]

What is a good hotel to stay in before a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore? Perhaps one with a shuttle to the port? Is there anything interesting to do in the area?

[Tony O]

1 hour ago, lisagro said:

What is a good hotel to stay in before a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore? Perhaps one with a shuttle to the port? Is there anything interesting to do in the area?

Flying or driving ?

[lisagro]

Flying to town the day before the cruise.

[Tony O]

12 hours ago, lisagro said:

Flying to town the day before the cruise.

Many hotels near tbe airport provide shuttle service. Really nothing to see.

If you stay in the Inners Harbor or the Harbor East area there are many areas that are walkable. 

I would consider Harbor East as this is a new and upcoming area of the Inner Harbor. You will be close to Fells Point, Little Italy and The Power Plant Entertainment complex.

You would have to call the hotel directly to see if they provide a shuttle.

But you can always use Uber or Lyft.

 

[turning40withMickey]

3 hours ago, Tony O said:

Many hotels near tbe airport provide shuttle service. Really nothing to see.

If you stay in the Inners Harbor or the Harbor East area there are many areas that are walkable. 

I would consider Harbor East as this is a new and upcoming area of the Inner Harbor. You will be close to Fells Point, Little Italy and The Power Plant Entertainment complex.

You would have to call the hotel directly to see if they provide a shuttle.

But you can always use Uber or Lyft.

 

Hijacking a bit....

 

Driving in- area or hotel recommendations, Tony O?

We're looking for a park and cruise hotel that you would feel safe leaving your car at for 10 days.

[Tony O]

2 hours ago, turning40withMickey said:

Hijacking a bit....

 

Driving in- area or hotel recommendations, Tony O?

We're looking for a park and cruise hotel that you would feel safe leaving your car at for 10 days.

https://trinityreservations.com I have used them before .

Many hotel in the BWI  Airport district offer park and cruise packages.

 

[turning40withMickey]

Thanks! I like that you can see the price.   

[mss22859]

Anyone have any experience with the La Quinta in Glen Burnie? We are booked there for the night before our Pride cruise in Oct. Price includes shuttle to and from the port and full breakfast. Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

[HardyVA]

On June 9, 2019 at 6:24 AM, Tony O said:

Many hotels near tbe airport provide shuttle service. Really nothing to see.

If you stay in the Inners Harbor or the Harbor East area there are many areas that are walkable. 

I would consider Harbor East as this is a new and upcoming area of the Inner Harbor. You will be close to Fells Point, Little Italy and The Power Plant Entertainment complex.

You would have to call the hotel directly to see if they provide a shuttle.

But you can always use Uber or Lyft.

 

   What hotels are in the Harbor East area?  How close to the port?  Can I leave our car at the hotel and use a taxi or Uber?  We will be driving to Baltimore the day before our RC cruise In April 2020

[Tony O]

4 hours ago, HardyVA said:

   What hotels are in the Harbor East area?  How close to the port?  Can I leave our car at the hotel and use a taxi or Uber?  We will be driving to Baltimore the day before our RC cruise In April 2020

Here is a link to the hotels at Harbor  East

https://baltimore.org/harbor-east-hotels

The hotels are about a 15 minute drive (it's  all city /local traffic)

You would have to call hotels directly to see if they have cruise and park packages.

 

You may want to check out this website since they specialize in cruise park packages. I have e used them myself.

https://trinityreservations.com

 

[SRF]

Many of the city hotels charge for parking.  So it would probably be cheaper to park at the port.

 

Port is $15 per day.  Right by the terminal.

[HardyVA]

Tony O and SRF - thank you.  I should probably think about booking a hotel for my April 2020 cruise from Baltimore.  

[ColdCruise]

On 6/11/2019 at 9:50 AM, mss22859 said:

Anyone have any experience with the La Quinta in Glen Burnie? We are booked there for the night before our Pride cruise in Oct. Price includes shuttle to and from the port and full breakfast. Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

 

@mss22859 

if your driving in, Glen Burnie is convenient. It’s basically a bedroom community, with several ok to rundown strip malls and restaurants, but by La Quinta there is really nothing to do other than go out to eat and walk around Walmart or similar, no real shopping center or mall. If you drive north on Ritchie Hwy (MD Rte 2), it gets a bit grittier.

 

I used to live on the other end of Glen Burnie (good suburban bedroom community) but now stay by the airport if I’m looking for a stay and park place with free/low cost parking & shuttle while I’m away. Just more options there.

 

The hotel itself is OK, basic La Quinta. Haven’t stayed there but went to an event a couple years ago. Nothing to do at night for tourists or visitors,,however you’ll be right next to “the Beltway”, ie I-695 around Baltimore. Should be ok to leave your car there, but I’d recommend checking over by BWI for the same price range.

Edited September 1, 2019 by ColdCruise
Added info

[relaxatsea]

On 6/8/2019 at 4:25 PM, lisagro said:

What is a good hotel to stay in before a Carnival cruise out of Baltimore? Perhaps one with a shuttle to the port? Is there anything interesting to do in the area?

 

We were very happy with the Days Inn Inner Harbor.  It is 1 block from the airport train stop.  It is also across the street from the Convention Center where we took a free bus all around Baltimore.  We also enjoyed walking around the Inner Harbor area, lots to see and do.  On cruise day, we took a taxi to the cruise terminal, maybe about 15 minutes.  There is a great cafe, called Edie's, next to the hotel, where we had breakfast every morning.  Highly recommend.

[mss22859]

On 9/1/2019 at 6:02 PM, ColdCruise said:

 

@mss22859 

if your driving in, Glen Burnie is convenient. It’s basically a bedroom community, with several ok to rundown strip malls and restaurants, but by La Quinta there is really nothing to do other than go out to eat and walk around Walmart or similar, no real shopping center or mall. If you drive north on Ritchie Hwy (MD Rte 2), it gets a bit grittier.

 

I used to live on the other end of Glen Burnie (good suburban bedroom community) but now stay by the airport if I’m looking for a stay and park place with free/low cost parking & shuttle while I’m away. Just more options there.

 

The hotel itself is OK, basic La Quinta. Haven’t stayed there but went to an event a couple years ago. Nothing to do at night for tourists or visitors,,however you’ll be right next to “the Beltway”, ie I-695 around Baltimore. Should be ok to leave your car there, but I’d recommend checking over by BWI for the same price range.

Thank you for the reply. I was starting to think that no one on these boards had ever stayed at this hotel!

[ColdCruise]

Hi @mss22859  

I haven’t STAYED there but lived nearby and attended a training course there a few years ago. Personally if I was driving in and looking forastay&park, I’d look towards the hotels near BWI or Arundel Mills mall - they’re about 10 min apart and right off MD295 (hi way), but I’m not sure if any of them shuttle to the port, in which case Glen Burnie’s a better choice.

[turning40withMickey]

We ended up using Trinity Reservations for our August 8th cruise.   We stayed at the Best Western in Elkridge MD for $136 inclusive (four of us).  We took the 9AM shuttle to the port and left our car at the hotel for 10 days.  Breakfast was typical hotel breakfast, bacon, scrambled eggs, pastries, toastable stuff, make a waffle yourself.  The hotel was very busy, the shuttles were full each trip.   Upon our return, we carried our luggage off ourselves and were off around 8:30 AM, instead of waiting for the hotel shuttle we ubered back to the hotel for about 35 dollars.  The shuttle was not far behind us, but we may not have fit on the first one and my husband was eager to get moving. (I would have waited! LOL)  

It would have been 135 to park at the port for this cruise.  We liked that we werent' exhausted from driving in that morning, and the hotel was clean and comfortable.  It is very convenient to leave the ship and get right into your car, however...  

 

Edited September 8, 2019 by turning40withMickey
spelling

[kingston13]

I booked the Hilton Garden Inn, Harbor East - is that a good choice? TIA

[megr1125]

1 hour ago, kingston13 said:

I booked the Hilton Garden Inn, Harbor East - is that a good choice? TIA

 

Yes, that's a good area.  That hotel actually shares a building with a Homewood Suites.  If you're a Starbucks junkie like me, visit the HUGE Starbucks Reserve store adjacent.  

[kingston13]

2 hours ago, megr1125 said:

 

Yes, that's a good area.  That hotel actually shares a building with a Homewood Suites.  If you're a Starbucks junkie like me, visit the HUGE Starbucks Reserve store adjacent.  

Sounds perfect! Can you walk to the aquarium?

[Tony O]

1 hour ago, kingston13 said:

Sounds perfect! Can you walk to the aquarium?

Yes about  a 10 -15 minute walk. 

[kingston13]

1 hour ago, Tony O said:

Yes about  a 10 -15 minute walk. 

Thanks Tony O!

[Tony O]

11 hours ago, kingston13 said:

Thanks Tony O!

If you walk towards Eastrrn Ave  cross the street and walk towards the Inner  Harbor. You will cross over a couple of pedestrian  bridges which go right past the aquarium.  I would suggest if you know what day you are planning to visit is to buy tickets online as lies can be long at times.

[SRF]

Another trick for the aquarium, if the lines are long, or you get a ticket with a long lag time (the ticket actually has an entrance time, which you cannot enter before), join the aquarium for a year.  You can apply tickets you just purchased, but not used, towards the membership fee.

 

Last time we went, ticket lines were not long, but we ended up with almost a 3 hour delay to enter.  Changed to membership and walked in.