Cruise ships have resumed departures from Baltimore, just months after a fatal bridge collapse forced a temporary halt to operations.
The port, which closed in March following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, welcomed Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas on Sunday and the Carnival Pride on Monday. The Vision of the Seas embarked on a 5-night voyage to Bermuda, while the Carnival Pride set sail on a 14-day journey to Greenland and Canada.
“Just a week ago, this terminal was being utilized as an incident command post. In one week, it’s been transformed back to starting out that guest experience,” said Jonathan Daniels, director of the Port of Baltimore, in a video posted to X as passengers prepared to board the Royal Caribbean ship. “[The] Port of Baltimore is back — cruising is back. It’s absolutely great to be able to welcome everybody here.”
The resumption of cruises follows the official reopening of the channel at the Port of Baltimore after the refloat and removal of the cargo ship that had collided with the bridge. The channel now boasts a depth of 50 feet and a horizontal clearance of 400 feet.
The port hosts three major cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line. Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival had to reroute their ships after the bridge collapse on March 26.
Norwegian Cruise Line, which began operating from Baltimore last year, informed Travel + Leisure that it wasn’t scheduled to return until September.
Despite its smaller size compared to other homeports, Baltimore saw 444,000 cruise passengers in 2023, according to government data. The port contributes more than $63 million to Maryland’s economy and supports 400 jobs.