Princess ship sailing out of Baltimore?

[Mittens101]

We just got back from an 8 day sailing on The Vision of the Seas out of Baltimore. We didn’t want to go to the competition but were forced to based on our last sailing on Princess and the distance to the port. There were good things and areas for improvement on our journey, but it made us miss our primary cruise line. 

 

I seem to remember years ago that Princess had a ship based out of Baltimore. I for one would like that to happen again. I don’t think they realize the amount of business they are missing. Granted they would need to use one of their smaller ships, but there are many customers that prefer that and not to be required to fly to sail. 
 

How do other Princess customers feel about this idea? For those that love it, how do we convince Princess that we need a ship out of this port?

[skynight]

I don't see Baltimore in Princess' future. Takes too long to exit into the Atlantic. Can't reach very far south  into the Caribbean tropics and warm weather which is probably one of the the primary reasons people go on cruise ships. Winter in the northeast is Caribbean cruise season. It's cold sailing from and to the home port at this time of year. Princess does not have many small ships., only two. Princess moves their ships in summer to more profitable locations like Europe, Alaska Australia, South America. If Princess ever decided to sail from the northeast in my opinion they would select NYC. 

[Charles4515]

Deployments are a busness decision plus any ship out of Baltimore would have to fit under the bridges. So that is a limitation. 

[MissP22]

Plus it takes about 1/2 a day just to navigate the Chesapeake bay to get to the ocean. We've left from Baltimore once when fog set in & the ship didn't arrive in port until 10 PM. 

I do miss being able to sail to Bermuda which isn't an option from Florida and I'm not about to fly to NY to sail back down to Bermuda. 

Oh well.

[Mittens101]

17 minutes ago, skynight said:

I don't see Baltimore in Princess' future. Takes too long to exit into the Atlantic. Can't reach very far south  into the Caribbean tropics and warm weather which is probably one of the the primary reasons people go on cruise ships. Winter in the northeast is Caribbean cruise season. It's cold sailing from and to the home port at this time of year. Princess does not have many small ships., only two. Princess moves their ships in summer to more profitable locations like Europe, Alaska Australia, South America. If Princess ever decided to sail from the northeast in my opinion they would select NYC. 

My thinking is Royal and carnival sail out of Baltimore and they are making a bundle. Princess could try it out. I’d be doing at least 4 cruises a year if they made that decision and I have a family that would do more as well. 

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, Mittens101 said:

My thinking is Royal and carnival sail out of Baltimore and they are making a bundle. Princess could try it out. I’d be doing at least 4 cruises a year if they made that decision and I have a family that would do more as well. 

We used to sail quite often years ago when the Meridian was still in operation.

It was convenient. 

[Mittens101]

3 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

We used to sail quite often years ago when the Meridian was still in operation.

It was convenient. 

I’ve had it with flying so it would be wonderful to have a line we love within driving distance 

[Jimmys Chippy]

3 minutes ago, Mittens101 said:

My thinking is Royal and carnival sail out of Baltimore and they are making a bundle. Princess could try it out. I’d be doing at least 4 cruises a year if they made that decision and I have a family that would do more as well. 

I’d prefer start my domestic cruises (UK) to sail out of a port closer to my home, however I prefer those that start overseas to sail out of somewhere different from time to time, just so we could have a few days in a new city, spending time in Washington/NY before a cruise really appeals, but realistically Princess is more than happy to keep it’s business in one place.

[burningisis]

The problem with sailing out of Baltimore isnt just the bridge (the bay bridge is no problem, its the Key bridge that's like new york or tampa with its height) there's also the problem of the turning basin which is rather narrow.    An option that I've seen starting to take off is revitalizing Norfolk.  We're seeing a handful of cruises passing through there to some success.  Norfolk eliminates the size issue of Baltimore's bridge and turning basin.  It eliminates the distance issue of navigating the length of the Chesapeake just to get out to sea.   And it could reasomably be a starting point for new england and canada cruises as well as Bermuda, and if Bermuda is an option, the Bahamas become an option

[Mittens101]

2 hours ago, burningisis said:

The problem with sailing out of Baltimore isnt just the bridge (the bay bridge is no problem, its the Key bridge that's like new york or tampa with its height) there's also the problem of the turning basin which is rather narrow.    An option that I've seen starting to take off is revitalizing Norfolk.  We're seeing a handful of cruises passing through there to some success.  Norfolk eliminates the size issue of Baltimore's bridge and turning basin.  It eliminates the distance issue of navigating the length of the Chesapeake just to get out to sea.   And it could reasomably be a starting point for new england and canada cruises as well as Bermuda, and if Bermuda is an option, the Bahamas become an option

I like your thinking 

[Potstech]

5 hours ago, burningisis said:

The problem with sailing out of Baltimore isnt just the bridge (the bay bridge is no problem, its the Key bridge that's like new york or tampa with its height) there's also the problem of the turning basin which is rather narrow.    An option that I've seen starting to take off is revitalizing Norfolk.  We're seeing a handful of cruises passing through there to some success.  Norfolk eliminates the size issue of Baltimore's bridge and turning basin.  It eliminates the distance issue of navigating the length of the Chesapeake just to get out to sea.   And it could reasomably be a starting point for new england and canada cruises as well as Bermuda, and if Bermuda is an option, the Bahamas become an option

Unfortunately the terminal in Norfolk is shut down for the next year while they upgrade to full year cruises.  Carnival will have two ships out of-there when it reopens.  Took a cruise on the Magic earlier this year and thought it was Okay. The 4 of us saved over $2500.00 on not having to buy airline tickets.  Do not see Princess cruising out of either port any time soon.

[SCX22]

Wishful thinking at the moment.  There aren't enough ships in Princess' fleet to make this work.  If they didn't unload 4 ships during the pandemic, it might have been a possibility.  Maybe after 2025 after the Star Princess comes into service.  But even then, Carnival Corp said no MOUs for new builds for any of their brands until after 2028.

[Mittens101]

3 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Wishful thinking at the moment.  There aren't enough ships in Princess' fleet to make this work.  If they didn't unload 4 ships during the pandemic, it might have been a possibility.  Maybe after 2025 after the Star Princess comes into service.  But even then, Carnival Corp said no MOUs for new builds for any of their brands until after 2028.

I’m going to keep wishing and hope something comes into fruition. I really would prefer to continue with Princess but flying is limited for us. 

[Charles4515]

9 minutes ago, Mittens101 said:

I’m going to keep wishing and hope something comes into fruition. I really would prefer to continue with Princess but flying is limited for us. 

When I lived in Maryland I didn’t like to cruise on either of the ships sailing out of Baltimore, one a Royal Caribbean ship and the other a Carnival ship. So I didn’t fly to take Princess or Celebrity I took Amtrak to New York. In my opinion Baltimore is really more suitable for Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean demographically. Princess is not going to happen out of Baltimore. 

[TheDawg79]

Baltimore is just too much in a cruise no man’s land. It’s a bad port for a Caribbean cruise and it’s a bad port for New England cruises. You lose at least a port day or two day compared to FL ports going to the Caribbean. The bridge severely limits ship size and Baltimore is such a cesspool that it’s not going to attract cruisers from going there and not the better ports with better itineraries. Princess is a higher end line from Carnival and Royal and I don’t think the immediate Baltimore area would really support an elevated line. There is a reason why higher end cruise lines don’t go there….not much demand.

[Charles4515]

29 minutes ago, TheDawg79 said:

Baltimore is just too much in a cruise no man’s land. It’s a bad port for a Caribbean cruise and it’s a bad port for New England cruises. You lose at least a port day or two day compared to FL ports going to the Caribbean. The bridge severely limits ship size and Baltimore is such a cesspool that it’s not going to attract cruisers from going there and not the better ports with better itineraries. Princess is a higher end line from Carnival and Royal and I don’t think the immediate Baltimore area would really support an elevated line. There is a reason why higher end cruise lines don’t go there….not much demand.

I did two cruises on Celebrity out of Baltimore on smaller ships no longer in their fleet and those worked out itinerary wise because they were 11 day cruises.  Those sailings only lasted a few years and Celebrity left Baltimore. I don’t think the business was that good for them. I seem to recall low fares. Carnival does 7 day cruises out of Baltimore and I did one of them and it was too low quality for me. Royal has been doing 5 and 9 day itineraries. The 5 to Bermuda and then 9 to Bahamas. The 5 to  Bermuda really has a sucky schedule and I would never do it. I never did the 9 side of it either. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Charles4515

[Mittens101]

7 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I did two cruises on Celebrity out of Baltimore on smaller ships no longer in their fleet and those worked out itinerary wise because they were 11 day cruises.  Those sailings only lasted a few years and Celebrity left Baltimore. I don’t think the business was that good for them. I seem to recall low fares. Carnival does 7 day cruises out of Baltimore and I did one of them and it was too low quality for me. Royal has been doing 5 and 9 day itineraries. The 5 to Bermuda and then 9 to Bahamas. The 5 to  Bermuda really has a sucky schedule and I would never do it. I never did the 9 side of it either. 

We refuse to sail carnival out of this port.we have heard many stories and feel it would be a waste of our time and money. We have a celebrity booked for next year but out of Florida. Been contemplating doing a cruise out of Boston. Easier flight than going to New York. 

[Mittens101]

8 hours ago, TheDawg79 said:

Baltimore is just too much in a cruise no man’s land. It’s a bad port for a Caribbean cruise and it’s a bad port for New England cruises. You lose at least a port day or two day compared to FL ports going to the Caribbean. The bridge severely limits ship size and Baltimore is such a cesspool that it’s not going to attract cruisers from going there and not the better ports with better itineraries. Princess is a higher end line from Carnival and Royal and I don’t think the immediate Baltimore area would really support an elevated line. There is a reason why higher end cruise lines don’t go there….not much demand.

Some would be surprised how much money there is here. People aren’t afraid to drive a few hours for a quality product. 

[Coral]

21 hours ago, Mittens101 said:

 

I seem to remember years ago that Princess had a ship based out of Baltimore. I for one would like that to happen again. I don’t think they realize the amount of business they are missing. Granted they would need to use one of their smaller ships, but there are many customers that prefer that and not to be required to fly to sail. 

When did Princess sail out of Baltimore? I have followed them for over 25 years and don't remember this.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Coral

[Mittens101]

7 minutes ago, Coral said:

When did Princess sail out of Baltimore? I have followed them for over 25 years and don't remember this.

Let me do some homework I may be mistaken and it could have been celebrity. I wasn’t into cruising back then. 

[skynight]

As far back as I can remember, from the early 90's, Princess has never sailed from Baltimore. Princess' focus was the west coast, Mexico in the winter and Alaska in the summer. As the line expanded they moved into the Caribbean for a winter season, sailing from Ft. Lauderdale where you are in warm shorts and pool weather from the time you board the ship. The most profitable winter itineraries are the weekly Caribbean sailings. You just can't get past the Bahamas in a week when you sail from Baltimore.

 

[runner15km]

NCL Sun has two 12 day cruises in Dec 2023 from Baltimore. 

[Roberto256]

21 hours ago, Mittens101 said:

My thinking is Royal and carnival sail out of Baltimore and they are making a bundle. Princess could try it out. I’d be doing at least 4 cruises a year if they made that decision and I have a family that would do more as well. 

This is a theme that recures here from time to time...

Why doesn't princess sail from my town?

And, I always wonder the same about my town.

 

Is there any documentation that royal and carnival are making a bundle?

 

What has happened in the past ... some cruise lines get so many ships that they have to look for other homeports.

There are only so many Saturday / Sunday berths in Miami / Ft. Lauderdale / Port Canaveral...

 

[Coral]

51 minutes ago, Mittens101 said:

Let me do some homework I may be mistaken and it could have been celebrity. I wasn’t into cruising back then. 

It probably was Celebrity. I started cruising Princess in the 90's and just don't remember this. I could be wrong. I do remember Celebrity though.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

When did Princess sail out of Baltimore? I have followed them for over 25 years and don't remember this.

We lived in Baltimore 25 years ago & definitely would have been on a Princess ship if they were sailing from Dundalk.