fellow RCL'ers another possible Eastcoast CruisePort with NO bridge restrictions.....

[2004corvette]

love sailing from Baltimore......but a NEW port may be on the horizon.....:)

hopefully a Cruiseport 50 miles south of Baltimore in Solomons Island, Maryland can become a reality.

leasing land at the Patuxent Naval Air Station on the Chesapeake Bay....deep water and NO bridges ~ so ANY size cruiseship could call port here.

hopefully RCL is aware of this proposed port.

do not know if this has been posted already here or elsewhere on CC.....i also have posted this to the East Coast U.S. Ports threads.

here is the info........http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/37175

Edited September 1, 2014 by 2004corvette
changing title

[JasonV1]

My only issue with northern ports is that the 7 day itineraries aren't very exciting. Maybe this could change with Maryland, only time will tell.

 

Flying in would be a pain too given the distance to a major airport; much like Galveston or Canaveral. Canaveral is at least a nice port to cruise out of that offers nice routes. Galveston is ok, although the gulf is kind of blah to sail through.

[lovelife]

Now that would be quite a hike from the nearest airport for folks flying in. But I could drive there in less than three hours! :D

[crisndeefromde]

I have to agree. One of the reasons we stopped going out of Bayonne...7 nights of blah...love the ship but come on...one day cape canaveral...one day coco cay if you are lucky and get to tender it...one day nassau...yuck...that is not appealing to us at all....

[Eng23]

Having read the article and the response to it, there seems to be a lot of NIMBY's there that oppose this idea and will fight tooth and nail to ensure it does not happen. Besides there already is a cruise port south of Baltimore with no bridge concerns and actually already has a cruise terminal. Why build another one in Maryland?

[dancinman66]

This is cool

For us it's easier to cruise out of bayone or Baltimore than Fort Lauderdale so like this chance

Hope it comes through

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Tony O]

The same post was posted by you on the East Coast departure board .

[2004corvette]

The same post was posted by you on the East Coast departure board .

and i also posted it here for the many RCL cruisers like myself that cruise from Baltimore and have no idea how to find the East Coast Ports board.....nothing more than a heads up ~ FYI thread

[jgnova]

That's an interesting idea and would accept the larger ships that can't get to Baltimore. For us, in Northern VA, it wouldn't be much further than Baltimore and less traffic hassles. But it's a long ride from BWI (worse than MIA to either Miami or Port Everglades) at over 90 minutes. And there's not a lot to do, like in Baltimore. Norfolk, as mentioned here, also has no bridge problems and is close to an airport as well as saving 6 hours of sailing time down the bay, but I don't think it's ever been that successful.

[molsonschooner]

Having read the article and the response to it, there seems to be a lot of NIMBY's there that oppose this idea and will fight tooth and nail to ensure it does not happen. Besides there already is a cruise port south of Baltimore with no bridge concerns and actually already has a cruise terminal. Why build another one in Maryland?

 

Which port is that?

[Charles4515]

love sailing from Baltimore......but a NEW port may be on the horizon.....:)

 

This will never happen at that location........LOL

[jcl410]

 

...

 

leasing land at the Patuxent Naval Air Station on the Chesapeake Bay....deep water and NO bridges ~ so ANY size cruiseship could call port here.

 

....

 

 

Just so you know, there *IS* a bridge between the bay and the proposed location.

 

The Thomas Johnson Bridge (MD route 4) has a vertical clearance of only 140 feet; which is less than the185 feet of the 2 bridges towards Baltimore.

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Janet524]

NORFOLK, VA....Please come back to Norfolk! No bridges, quick access to the Chesapeake and Atlantic Ocean. And the best part....Only 45 minutes from my door!

[Eng23]

Which port is that?

 

Norfolk, Va.

Deep water harbor, no bridge issues, existing modern cruise terminal, easy airport access, multiple interstate access, and plenty of available lodging near the port.

[2004corvette]

Norfolk, Va.

Deep water harbor, no bridge issues, existing modern cruise terminal, easy airport access, multiple interstate access, and plenty of available lodging near the port.

agree with most.....Solomons is a pipe dream for an investment group that is hoping that Uncle Sam would part with some Federal property for pennies on the dollar.

Norfolk would be a great choice since it is already an established port.

Eng23 ~ love the "Steerage Class" logo on your signature..... classy & priceless.....:D

[GRANNYOFSIX]

Having read the article and the response to it, there seems to be a lot of NIMBY's there that oppose this idea and will fight tooth and nail to ensure it does not happen. Besides there already is a cruise port south of Baltimore with no bridge concerns and actually already has a cruise terminal. Why build another one in Maryland?

 

 

You took the words right out of my mouth - more than 100% agree - Norfolk's cruise port is amazing and AVAILABLE!;)

[Eng23]

agree with most.....Solomons is a pipe dream for an investment group that is hoping that Uncle Sam would part with some Federal property for pennies on the dollar.

Norfolk would be a great choice since it is already an established port.

Eng23 ~ love the "Steerage Class" logo on your signature..... classy & priceless.....:D

 

 

Feel free to copy the logo and put on your signature.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[JMG]

Problem that I heard about Norfolk is that it is too expensive, thus Balt came into being! Norfolk would be a longer drive for us but at least not necessarily a flight!

 

We did do a cruise out of Balt that was really super....Bermuda; Boston; Newport, RI; and back to Balt. A great itinerary...so sorry that they dropped that one!

[MAHA]

I wonder if there is any land just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on either side of the bay that could be used for a new cruise ship terminal. Still a hike f, but not as far as Solomon's Island. Would love to see larger ships be able to cruise out of Maryland!

 

Mary Anne

[Tony O]

The one equation that was not mention is the multi - millions of dollars it would cost to drege a new shipping channel to lead to and from the present channel so ships could dock pier side. Then let's not forget the environmental issues and permits needed to complete this project

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Edited September 2, 2014 by Tony O

[kevinsgirl88]

I hope one day they will come to Charleston sc :D

 

Sent from my MB886 using Forums mobile app

[VtRhyno]

Having grown up one peninsula south of that I'm almost certain it'll never happen. There is NOTHING in that area. Norfolk might be expensive but I can't imagine a cruise port that's that in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

That said... I'd be plenty happy to use a new port there... just don't think it'll ever happen.

[Tony O]

Problem that I heard about Norfolk is that it is too expensive, thus Balt came into being! Norfolk would be a longer drive for us but at least not necessarily a flight!

 

We did do a cruise out of Balt that was really super....Bermuda; Boston; Newport, RI; and back to Balt. A great itinerary...so sorry that they dropped that one!

 

We did that cruise also and agree great cruise wish Royal would bring it back

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[crookedhalo]

I currently live about 10 miles north of this proposed site...lots of drawbacks:

 

#1 - Reagan is nearest airport and that would be more than an hour away (without traffic). Taxi's having to deadhead back would jack those prices through the roof!:eek:

 

#2 - Solomons is a beautiful area, but in no way has the infrastructure to handle a passenger load of any size - there are only about three hotels in the area (more north in Prince Frederick and across the bridge in Lexington Park) and a few B&Bs. It already gets crazy enough down here during the summers when all the boaters/weekenders show up:(

 

#3 - Unless they come up with some alternate entrance to the proposed port, there would be a massive jam at the gate because the pier area is in the middle of the Naval Welfare Center (i.e. camp grounds and recreational are) here. If you don't have a badge, you have to stop get out of your car, get signed in and get a temporary badge to get on center.

 

#4 - Route 4 is two lanes each way - there are basically three ways out of Calvert county Rt. 4 NB to Washington, Rt. 4 SB across the Thomas Johnson and then up Rt. 5 NB (traffic hell!) or Rt. 4 NB to Rt. 2 EB to Annapolis. There are multiple points on Rt. 4 that is there is an accident you are stuck. I have had it take me 1 hour to go the 7 miles from Prince Frederick to the area I live in. Not a lot of options for access here, so bad weather would really hamper this port.

 

JMHO from the perspective of a resident of the proposed area.

[Bookish Angel]

Norfolk, Va.

Deep water harbor, no bridge issues, existing modern cruise terminal, easy airport access, multiple interstate access, and plenty of available lodging near the port.

 

We cruised out of Norfolk several times and it was hassle-free and so much easier than dealing with the northern Virginia traffic. I like NoVA, but the traffic up there is nerve-wracking.

 

There really needs to be a media campaign to get more cruise ships back to Norfolk. I work in public broadcasting - maybe I can think of something to get the ball rolling.