Leaving from Baltimore--sights?

[a3593]

Ships that leave from Baltimore travel the whole length of the Chesapeake bay. I'm excited about this scenery. Can anyone who's left from Baltimore tell me if it gets dark before you make it to the end of the bay?

[sgttami]

I've been on Pride 7X from Baltimore and it's always been dark before we even left port in the winter months.

 

Not sure how long it takes to get to the end of the bay but I'm sure that sailing in summer months will give a few hours of daylight to check out scenery.

[alyssamma]

59 minutes ago, a3593 said:

Ships that leave from Baltimore travel the whole length of the Chesapeake bay. I'm excited about this scenery. Can anyone who's left from Baltimore tell me if it gets dark before you make it to the end of the bay?

I'll say that coming back, if the conditions are right, you'll see bridges rising up out of the fog. Spooky and cool... (NOTE: that's my daughter and not me singing in the video 🙂 )

 

 

[jsglow]

All that I can tell you is that we sailed on October 31st, stayed on deck until we passed just under the bridge that limits the size that cruise ships can be (tight fit, even with Pride) and then went inside as the cold and gathering darkness prevailed.  And I'm a huge 'top deck/watch the scenery go by' kind of guy.

[bstel]

19 minutes ago, jsglow said:

All that I can tell you is that we sailed on October 31st, stayed on deck until we passed just under the bridge that limits the size that cruise ships can be (tight fit, even with Pride) and then went inside as the cold and gathering darkness prevailed.  And I'm a huge 'top deck/watch the scenery go by' kind of guy.

ha, we sailed the Pride the first week of October and did the same thing.  stayed on deck past the first bridge and went inside.  It was already dark by then.

[K&RCurt]

Pretty much the same for us in Mid October, by the time we got under the Route 50 Bridge it was too dark and chilly to stay outside.

 

On the way back we stayed out fairly late and I went out on the balcony to see how it was outside.  Saw lots of lights in the distance and a red and green light bobbing along in the nearer distance.  Got to watch the Pilot boat meat the shuip and the Pilot jump on.  Went and put on a sweater and tayed out as we went over the tunnel part of the Chesapeak bay Bridge / Tunnel.  It was a pretty cool sight and it seemed like there wasn't a ton of room between teh ship and the tunnel "Island."  I am sure it was a greater distance than I perceived!  We passed over the tunnel around 12:45 AM.

[cyntil8ing]

Darkness certainly depends on what time of year you're cruising! We cruised in June and had plenty of light, but the Chesapeake Bay is really long and you'll be long asleep before you leave it.

 

Here's a link to a long ago cruise photo review from our first Pride cruise, but it has scenery shots and some info about timing. It's about 30-ish minutes to the Key Bridge and about 2 hours to the Bay Bridge. Don't forget to look for dear old Fort McHenry!

 

 

[nybumpkin]

We've sailed from Baltimore three times, all in July. There was plenty of light until after we sailed under the Route 50 bridge (Bay Bridge, not to be confused with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel), about two hours after you sail. It's dark by the time you get to Norfolk - if you're a night owl, you can see the lights from the bridge-tunnel.

 

As cyntil8ting said, you have great views of Fort McHenry from the ship. You might be able to see NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered commercial ship. You sail under the Key Bridge not long after sailing - it can be fun to up to a higher deck to sail under. Along the way, you can see towns along the bay and lighthouses. The Sandy Point Lighthouse will be starboard as you approach the Route 50 Bridge: https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/southern/SandyPoint/Lighthouse.aspx.

 

Hope this helps!

 

[chocolate melting cake]

9 hours ago, jsglow said:

All that I can tell you is that we sailed on October 31st, stayed on deck until we passed just under the bridge that limits the size that cruise ships can be (tight fit, even with Pride) and then went inside as the cold and gathering darkness prevailed.  And I'm a huge 'top deck/watch the scenery go by' kind of guy.

AGREED!! I can't fit both photos here---so here is the bridge approaching the upper gear of the Pride---in the next post I'll have the Whale Tail as it just made it under!

[chocolate melting cake]

It just made it!

[PelicanBill]

On 4/7/2022 at 12:37 PM, K&RCurt said:

Pretty much the same for us in Mid October, by the time we got under the Route 50 Bridge it was too dark and chilly to stay outside.

 

On the way back we stayed out fairly late and I went out on the balcony to see how it was outside.  Saw lots of lights in the distance and a red and green light bobbing along in the nearer distance.  Got to watch the Pilot boat meat the shuip and the Pilot jump on.  Went and put on a sweater and tayed out as we went over the tunnel part of the Chesapeak bay Bridge / Tunnel.  It was a pretty cool sight and it seemed like there wasn't a ton of room between teh ship and the tunnel "Island."  I am sure it was a greater distance than I perceived!  We passed over the tunnel around 12:45 AM.

This is just the info I've been hoping to get for our October Legend cruise!

[tutzig]

This was sailing in September. The first bridge you go under is the Key Bridge, there was plenty of daylight.

 

The second one is the Bay Bridge, it was sunset time, and got some good shots.