Is the Port of Baltimore open for cruise ships?

The port of Baltimore is finally open again for cruise ships! We were on board the Carnival Pride for it’s first sailing out of the Port of Baltimore.

We spent the months leading up to our Canada and Greenland cruise on board the Carnival Pride wondering if we would actually get to embark in Baltimore like we had planned. Or would we get the experience of Norfolk.

We kept waiting and waiting for news of if the Port of Baltimore would be open for cruise ships. Or would it remain closed into the summer?

We had never been to either cruise port, but we really wanted to go to Baltimore and get to see what that city had to offer.

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I also love when there is a lengthy trip to the sea and you get to sail past historic places or even just industrial sites. I find it so fascinating to just sit on the balcony or up on deck and watch the scenery. We have gone down the Mississippi in New Orleans (learn more about that here) and out of Tampa Bay on our way to the Panama Canal (more about that here), but the Chesapeake Bay was new for us. And it is a lot shorter if you start in Norfolk.

Don’t forget to bring your binoculars on a cruise out of Baltimore (or any long bay)!

After a while, we started to worry that the port would be open for our return, but not our departure. Then we got a letter. Technically an email. Does anybody send actual letters anymore?

The good news was there! Ours would be the first Carnival departure from Baltimore. Which meant the cruise before us had the bad luck of departing Norfolk and returning to Baltimore. (My understanding is complementary shuttles were provided…but still. Who wants to learn literally weeks before a cruise that it is starting and ending a five hour drive apart!)

We finally booked our hotel and planned our time in Baltimore.

But what was it like to be the first Carnival cruise to depart from the Port of Baltimore?

t was a little slow. Normally when a ship arrives at it’s embark / debark port, it is docked and ready by 6am. We watched the Carnival Pride come sailing in after 8am. This meant the entire process of debark was moved back by several hours. We had the earliest check-in time. It was noon. There were still people getting off the ship at noon when we were in a very long line of cars waiting to drop our bags.

But once we made it into the terminal, everything went smoothly. It did not feel like anything was off once we had parked the car and were in the many lines to check in.

Is the cruise terminal at the Port of Baltimore fully up and running?

Yes! The cruise terminal has returned to normal. Inside the terminal there was no indication that cruising from that terminal had experienced a temporary pause.

What is the parking situation like at the Port of Baltimore?

The Cruise Port of Baltimore has easy parking right next to the terminal. It is open lots, not covered. But compared to some of the ports in Florida, it’s not super expensive

What is it like to sail past the destroyed bridge?

As of our sailing on June 26th, 2024, there was still wreckage from the bridge. There were pieces of the bridge in the water. Legs of the bridge still standing but supporting nothing. There were barges nearby that were working on removing the wreckage, but nobody was working while we where there.

Francis Scott Key Bridge from a cruise ship

We also had at least two tug boats attached to us while we sailed past the bridge. But that may be normal. We have never sailed from Baltimore before, but we have been to other ports that attached tug boats on a regular basis.

How long does it take to sail from the Port of Baltimore into the ocean?

That is an excellent question. We departed at 5:00. We went slowly leading up to the destroyed bridge and that took around an hour.

After the first bridge, we picked up speed. We went past the second bridge around 7:45.

Then we went into dinner and it was dark by the time we came out of dinner. I think it was light and we were able to see for about ⅓ of the Chesapeake Bay. We woke up in the morning and we were just on the other side of it. I assume it took most of the night to make it all the way out the other side of the bay, but it was disappointing that we could not see anything after the first portion of it.

Final thoughts on the first Carnival Cruise out of the Port of Baltimore

The port of Baltimore seems to be fully up and running for cruise ships. It was an interesting port to sail out of because it is such a long sailing until you reach the ocean.