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Cruises to Washington, DC/Alexandria, VA?

bluegirlum

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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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Does anyone know if any major cruise line sails to/stops in Washington, DC (Alexandria, VA)? My BF swears that he has seen a HAL ship docked at the pier on the Potomac in Old Town, but when we searched, we couldn't find anything. It would obviously have to be a smaller ship.

 

Thanks!

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2Cruise4Ever

2Cruise4Ever

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No major cruise line can get anywhere near DC. The only ships are the lunch and dinner cruises (Spirit and Odyssey). The water is way too shallow for a cruise ship (to my knowledge). Is your BF sure it wasn't Baltimore? Several ships have sailed from/to there over the years.

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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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No major cruise line can get anywhere near DC. The only ships are the lunch and dinner cruises (Spirit and Odyssey). The water is way too shallow for a cruise ship (to my knowledge). Is your BF sure it wasn't Baltimore? Several ships have sailed from/to there over the years.

 

That's what I thought (that it was too shallow). Also, we were on the river last night, and I thought that there was no way that a big ship could get through the bridge, even when it is up. He insists that he did see a big ship and a bunch of people getting off of it; he's been on the Odyssey, and we've been on big ships, so he knows the difference. He said it was at least 5 years ago when he lived here, but it could have been Baltimore.

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2Cruise4Ever

2Cruise4Ever

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Well, I've lived in the DC area my entire life (41 years) and have never heard of a cruise ship in DC. But, the Spirit ships are bigger than the Odyssey (and can't get underneath the memorial bridges). So, maybe that's what he saw? The Spirit ships can hold several hundred people.

 

Now, Baltimore, different story. The NCL Majesty and Carnival Pride sail out of Baltimore right now (well, ok, this Spring). And, HAL and Celebrity have cruised out of Baltimore in the past.

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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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Well, I've lived in the DC area my entire life (41 years) and have never heard of a cruise ship in DC. But, the Spirit ships are bigger than the Odyssey (and can't get underneath the memorial bridges). So, maybe that's what he saw? The Spirit ships can hold several hundred people.

 

Now, Baltimore, different story. The NCL Majesty and Carnival Pride sail out of Baltimore right now (well, ok, this Spring). And, HAL and Celebrity have cruised out of Baltimore in the past.

 

Yeah, I'm guessing it was a Spirit ship that he saw. We both have been itching to go on our next cruise, so he probably just had it on the brain :) It's great that you can cruise out of Baltimore.

 

Since I have your attention, do you know anything about this National Harbor complex?

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mikedw

mikedw

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Some of the smaller cruise lines like American Cruise Line sometimes go to Alexandria. The now defunct Delta Queen Costal Cruises did. Some of the Tall Ships stop in DC sometimes. Anything larger then a cruiser or destroyer couldn't make it up that far.

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2Cruise4Ever

2Cruise4Ever

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Yeah, I'm guessing it was a Spirit ship that he saw. We both have been itching to go on our next cruise, so he probably just had it on the brain :) It's great that you can cruise out of Baltimore.

 

Since I have your attention, do you know anything about this National Harbor complex?

 

No, I haven't been there since it was opened. But, I've heard it's an awesome place to visit. Me? I'd go to the Smithsonian museums first. My faves are the Air & Space, the American History, and the Museum of Natural History.

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Terpnut

Terpnut

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That's what I thought (that it was too shallow). Also, we were on the river last night, and I thought that there was no way that a big ship could get through the bridge, even when it is up. He insists that he did see a big ship and a bunch of people getting off of it; he's been on the Odyssey, and we've been on big ships, so he knows the difference. He said it was at least 5 years ago when he lived here, but it could have been Baltimore.
I don't think the Potomac is too shallow but rather there is insufficient clearance at some of the major bridges AND there is really no place to dock because I don't think DC has a port! Edited by Terpnut
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bluegirlum

bluegirlum

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No, I haven't been there since it was opened. But, I've heard it's an awesome place to visit. Me? I'd go to the Smithsonian museums first. My faves are the Air & Space, the American History, and the Museum of Natural History.

 

We are staying at the Gaylord National for a conference, and it's really nice, but so far from everything. We took the water taxi to Old Town, which was fun, but it's not close to a Metro or anything. They are doing a ton of construction, and have some nice restaurants and shops, but it just seems to be placed in the middle of nowhere. I definitely prefer the Mall and the Monuments and just wish we were closer! I could spend a day at Air & Space alone.

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G'ma

G'ma

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Does anyone know if any major cruise line sails to/stops in Washington, DC (Alexandria, VA)? My BF swears that he has seen a HAL ship docked at the pier on the Potomac in Old Town, but when we searched, we couldn't find anything. It would obviously have to be a smaller ship.

 

Thanks!

 

Check this out....

 

http://www.accl-smallships.com/

 

http://www.ewaterways.com/cruise/coastal-cruises/united-states

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read52

read52

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If there was a cruise line going out of DC, I would be on it. Right now Baltimore has 4 cruise lines going out of it. They are RCCL, Norwegian, Carnival, and Celebrity. Two years ago we went on RCCL. This summer we are booked on Norwegian. We are also looking at Carnival for this summer. But even in Baltimore, they have to be the smaller ships because they have to go under the Key Bridge.

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candysmom

candysmom

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my neighbor had a friend recently widowed with 2 teenage daughters who took a cruise to Bermuda from Old Town Alexandria. I just found the brochure. It was a new ship the crown Monarch of a wonderful(IMO) size with 556 passengers registered in Panama . the brochure i got from my Baltimore TA was from Didion World cruises 211 North Union Street. Alexandria. they had sailings 7day to Bermuda and 7 & 14 day cruises to Montreal and listed them from July 1993 thru september 1993. this seemed to be moderate prices not like the current Seabourn and other small ships who are too expensive for me. I dont know what happened to this ship . I like smaller ships and really enjoyed the Princesdam but the the HAL ships (not Vista) are OK too.

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Dideon World Cruises arranged and promoted summer cruises from Alexandria in the 1990's. They seemed to get a different ship each year. I was on the Norwegian Leeward from Alexandria to Bermuda in 1998, which I think is the last year they did that. There were no real problems with the Potomac, but with an 18-foot draft we stirred up a lot of sediment on the river bottom. One complication of cruising from Alexandria was we had to be very careful about an on-time early afternoon departure (I think 1pm) to arrange an opening of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I found this link on their web site; amazing that it's still there after all these years.

http://www.didioncruises.com/4328390_33705.htm

This may or may not still be technically feasable; I'm not sure how diligent we've been lately in keeping the river dredged.

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PattyG12

PattyG12

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About 10 years ago there was a very small german ship that was docked in Old Towne. When I called the travel agent they quoted some crazy price and I told her to forget it. I believe they had 300 rooms. It was big for Alexandria, but small compared to the "mega ships" ...

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  • 8 years later...
teknoge3k

teknoge3k

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Yeah, I'm guessing it was a Spirit ship that he saw. We both have been itching to go on our next cruise, so he probably just had it on the brain :) It's great that you can cruise out of Baltimore.

 

Since I have your attention, do you know anything about this National Harbor complex?

 

I am going to a concert this weekend at MGM National Harbor. If I think about it, I'll come back and leave a review of the complex.

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