Leaving on Pride from Baltimore

[Barb C]

Haven't been on Carnival in 5 years. Can you let me know how the embarkation process is for Baltimore? We left from there on Royal Caribbean about 3 years ago and it was a breeze.....we are not VIP members so I know we will have to wait to board but do they give you numbers when you arrive and call the numbers accordingly? Thanks for any information!

 

Barb C

[manmtnmike]

Haven't been on Carnival in 5 years. Can you let me know how the embarkation process is for Baltimore? We left from there on Royal Caribbean about 3 years ago and it was a breeze.....we are not VIP members so I know we will have to wait to board but do they give you numbers when you arrive and call the numbers accordingly? Thanks for any information!

 

Barb C

 

Barb,

Just sailed from Baltimore 5/17...Love the port, but their was a problem with customs releasing previous cruise ...

 

We arrived at 12:30 and started boarding at 2:00...then it was quick....This is a 5:30 sailing.

 

Disembarking was very slow....

Have a great time!

Mike

[ryanpatricksmom]

Several of us have posted reviews since she began sailing out of Baltimore. I think embarkation has been covered by a few of us, so you'll probably want to read there, but I'll give you my version.

 

The check-in at Baltimore is a breeze for dropping off your luggage, but the parking line (prepaid) is a disaster. We had VIP boarding so I can't speak to the check-in lines at the terminal, but they seemed to be moving swiftly. The main thing to remember is that the Pride does not return until 10am, and final disembarking isn't until 12:30pm. There's absolutely no point in arriving as early as you would for most cruises. You will be sitting and waiting to board for a looooooong time. They do assign numbers, which they call in order of arrival with the exception of VIP who are always assigned boarding number 1.

[truecruiser]

Several of us have posted reviews since she began sailing out of Baltimore. I think embarkation has been covered by a few of us, so you'll probably want to read there, but I'll give you my version.

 

The check-in at Baltimore is a breeze for dropping off your luggage, but the parking line (prepaid) is a disaster. We had VIP boarding so I can't speak to the check-in lines at the terminal, but they seemed to be moving swiftly. The main thing to remember is that the Pride does not return until 10am, and final disembarking isn't until 12:30pm. There's absolutely no point in arriving as early as you would for most cruises. You will be sitting and waiting to board for a looooooong time. They do assign numbers, which they call in order of arrival with the exception of VIP who are always assigned boarding number 1.

 

wow. is this assigned numbers policy being tested at this port for possible implementation fleet wide?

[cathyoo]

I'm am getting very worried about the whole embarkation thing on the Pride. I'm hoping when they start doing the crappy port stops they will be arriving back to Baltimore earlier.

 

I guess I shouldn't say crappy. I'm just disappointed that on my 2 Pride cruises we will not be going to Half Moon Cay.

 

My daughter is getting married on the Pride next year. It sounds like it might be very hectic if you are not boarding until after 12 and her non sailing guests must be off the ship by 3:30.

 

We already had booked this cruise for Nov this year when she decided to get married in March on the same ship. Now we are wishing we had picked a different cruise for Nov.

 

At least I can scope stuff out for her. She is taking a leap of faith since she has never cruised.

[Barb C]

Thanks for the quick responses and a BIG THANK you for the tip on arriving too early...I'm sending to my husband....

[ryanpatricksmom]

wow. is this assigned numbers policy being tested at this port for possible implementation fleet wide?

 

I usually arrive after boarding has started so I'm not sure, but I thought that this was the standard for all of the fleet. When I've read reviews from pax that arrived prior to boarding, they've mentioned being assigned to a boarding group.

[Cobra1365]

Make sure you're on deck when you sail under the Key Bridge...very impressive!

[vacruizer]

I'm am getting very worried about the whole embarkation thing on the Pride. I'm hoping when they start doing the crappy port stops they will be arriving back to Baltimore earlier.

 

I guess I shouldn't say crappy. I'm just disappointed that on my 2 Pride cruises we will not be going to Half Moon Cay.

 

My daughter is getting married on the Pride next year. It sounds like it might be very hectic if you are not boarding until after 12 and her non sailing guests must be off the ship by 3:30.

 

We already had booked this cruise for Nov this year when she decided to get married in March on the same ship. Now we are wishing we had picked a different cruise for Nov.

 

At least I can scope stuff out for her. She is taking a leap of faith since she has never cruised.

 

The "crappy" port stops don't have anything to do with it - the scheduled arrival is 10am no matter what. This particular schedule has a quick turnaround plus Customs in Baltimore seems to want to do a VERY thorough job which slows things down. Throw in 75% of the ship trying to do self assist debark and it makes for slow going. Due to the distance plus the 9 hour navigation up the Bay - I'd be really surprised if she starts getting to port any earlier.

 

On our sailing last week we left Freeport at 2pm on Thursday and even did 25 knots part of the trip up the coast - we still pulled into B'more right on schedule at 10am. We made it off the ship just after noon with #7 luggage tags on regular debark. But self assist took close to an hour and a half before regular debark even started.

 

The day we boarded we got to the terminal around 12:45, still were in # 20 zone to board, but they were just calling final debarkation around 1pm for the prior week's cruise. We boarded sometime around 2:30 or so.

 

I, too, would be worried about the wedding - boarding didn't start until 2pm on our sailing. I'm guessing those arriving didn't get on until about that time either since regular debark was just getting started good at noon.

[AACJ]

We too are sailing on the Pride, leaving in July. I have a question about parking though. We are used to cruising out of Norfolk, the Baltimore terminal is not much farther than Norfolk, so it was a no brainer vs. flying to Florida. Anyway, is there any "alternative" parking rather than the 15.00 per day that the terminal charges? Norfolk it was 10.00/day, I don't want to sound cheap but.......

 

Great answers on the above posts though regarding the debarkation at 10am. I always have a fear of the ship leaving without me and try to get the terminal early, I suppose if I get there at 12noon, everything will be okay, but we still have to drive through DC traffic, I just don't want to be stuck on a freeway somewhere while the ship leaves without us!! LOL

[vacruizer]

We too are sailing on the Pride, leaving in July. I have a question about parking though. We are used to cruising out of Norfolk, the Baltimore terminal is not much farther than Norfolk, so it was a no brainer vs. flying to Florida. Anyway, is there any "alternative" parking rather than the 15.00 per day that the terminal charges? Norfolk it was 10.00/day, I don't want to sound cheap but.......

 

Great answers on the above posts though regarding the debarkation at 10am. I always have a fear of the ship leaving without me and try to get the terminal early, I suppose if I get there at 12noon, everything will be okay, but we still have to drive through DC traffic, I just don't want to be stuck on a freeway somewhere while the ship leaves without us!! LOL

 

None that I know of - there is really nothing near the terminal. It's in a really industrial port area. I know there are some park and cruise hotels out there that work out for less than what the port charges and you could go up the night before.

 

I was the same way you were - I was so afraid I'd get stuck in traffic and miss the ship! We were visiting family in Norfolk and left there about 8am the morning of - even with taking a wrong exit and getting lost in DC we still got to the terminal around 12:45 or so. But you just never know with traffic up there! If I had it to do again I'd go up the night before and do a park and cruise hotel.

 

Coming home (back to Roanoke) we hit major traffic several times on the beltway and that took us almost 6 hours where it should have been more like 4 1/2 to 5.

 

I love sailing from Norfolk and wish they'd get some more frequent ships there - my parents live only 10 minutes from the terminal so we just leave the car at their house and have them drop us off at the port! So easy and saves lots on hotels and parking!

[LivingMyLifeLikeItsGolden]

So what would you say would be a GOOD time to get to the Port. We are only 30 min away.

[RLM77]

These are a few quotes from Rich's reviw of our 5/23 cruise:

 

Embarkation: We drove from our home in Ohio and arrived at the port at 11:45. The port is located a short distance from an I-95 interchange, the entrance is well marked. Drivers make one circuit of the lot to drop off baggage and then a second circuit to park. Parking is $15.00 per day, payable in advance. Check-in was very smooth with no surprises.

 

The ship does not arrive at Baltimore until 9:30. This pushes embarkation back a few hours; it does not begin until sometime after 1:00-1:30.

 

Disembarkation: We docked at Baltimore at almost exactly 9:30 Saturday morning. Because Marlee is able to walk short distances we were able to utilize "self-assist debarkation" where you carry all your own luggage off the ship. Those confined to wheelchairs need to wait for regular debarkation to begin. Self-assist began shortly before 10 AM; our deck was the third one called. We were off the ship and through customs by 10:30, just an hour after the ship tied up.

 

The security guard at embarkation said that they were searching the ship for seven passengers, whose luggage was unclaimed. This held up the process for about half an hour or so. Since we were embarked with the "special needs " group, I can't help with a suggestion of when to arrive. Certainly, the earlier you get there, the better your parking spot will be, the better thechance you wil get a seat in the terminal and the sooner you will be on the ship.

The link to the review is:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=996799

 

Hope this helps,

Marlee

[K&P Luv2Cruise]

None that I know of - there is really nothing near the terminal. It's in a really industrial port area. I know there are some park and cruise hotels out there that work out for less than what the port charges and you could go up the night before.

 

I was the same way you were - I was so afraid I'd get stuck in traffic and miss the ship! We were visiting family in Norfolk and left there about 8am the morning of - even with taking a wrong exit and getting lost in DC we still got to the terminal around 12:45 or so. But you just never know with traffic up there! If I had it to do again I'd go up the night before and do a park and cruise hotel.

 

Coming home (back to Roanoke) we hit major traffic several times on the beltway and that took us almost 6 hours where it should have been more like 4 1/2 to 5.

 

I love sailing from Norfolk and wish they'd get some more frequent ships there - my parents live only 10 minutes from the terminal so we just leave the car at their house and have them drop us off at the port! So easy and saves lots on hotels and parking!

 

We sailed 05-10 and stayed the night before in Baltimore (since our drive was over 11 hrs !). The hotel was the Fairfield Inn & Suites in White Marsh, and for $149.US we had a clean beautiful room, amenities very close (mall/shopping/restaurants), they kept our van safe, shuttled us to the port, and came for us when we got back. We also did self-disembark, and since we were on Deck 8, we were off the boat and through customs by 10:35, back to the hotel by 11:15 and on the road home by 11:30. :D We got home 12 hours later (after a few shopping stops along the way).

 

All in all, a great vacation.

[blondieJen]

We sailed 05-10 and stayed the night before in Baltimore (since our drive was over 11 hrs !). The hotel was the Fairfield Inn & Suites in White Marsh, and for $149.US we had a clean beautiful room, amenities very close (mall/shopping/restaurants), they kept our van safe, shuttled us to the port, and came for us when we got back. We also did self-disembark, and since we were on Deck 8, we were off the boat and through customs by 10:35, back to the hotel by 11:15 and on the road home by 11:30. :D We got home 12 hours later (after a few shopping stops along the way).

 

All in all, a great vacation.

 

This is my home town, so here is my two cents:

 

You read my mind. I was going to mention the Fairfield Inn and Suites. It really is a great deal. Hotel is right near the mall and lots to do if you want to come up the night before and get free parking and shuttle service. I asked if you could do it without renting a room there, but they said that "their parking lot isn't big enough" and wouldn't let me unless I stayed the night before in the hotel.

 

As for other parking, I would not recommend it. The port is about a 2 minute drive from both Camden Yards and Ravens Stadium, so there are lots of garages. But they cost about double the price of what the port charges, per day. plus the price of the cab ride over to the port. You could always try for street parking and then get a cab, but remember, the port parking lot is locked up at night. And I wouldn't really want my car sitting in downtown baltimore for a week, but thats just me. The $15 is cheaper than NYC and Bayonne, if I remember correctly, so it is worth it.

[blondieJen]

Link to hotel:

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals/bwims-fairfield-inn-and-suites-white-marsh/?offerInfo=364745

[AACJ]

I would be interested in knowing what nights are formal nights and which aren't. I want to schedule (online) an updo for my wife and daughters the day of the first one.

 

If anyone has a menu of what was served each night, that would be fantastic as well.