Philly Cruise Ship Terminal Shuttered

[Philly Steve]

The multi-state government agency that managed Philadelphia's cruise ship traffic has decided to cancel its lease on the terminal at the former Navy Yard, ending a twelve year association.

At the height of Philadelphia's cruise ship "era," there were about 12 cruises a year, operated by Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line. The terminal was spacious but warehouse like. Some passengers had issues with the walkway to the ship because of its incline. Bargain priced parking was secure and nearby.

I personally cruised four times out of Philadelphia and loved the convenience, the friendly staff and the availability of an international vacation out of my "back yard" without the hassle of air travel.

I will miss the opportunity to introduce our city to friends made during cruises. So many cruisers decided to take in Philadelphia's rich historic sites, spending money on restaurants and hotels.

American Cruise Lines was the lone operator out of Philadelphia. It's not known what impact the decision by the Delaware River Port Authority will have on that small, river-based line.

[Maxine]

Originally Posted by Philly Steve

The multi-state government agency that managed Philadelphia's cruise ship traffic has decided to cancel its lease on the terminal at the former Navy Yard, ending a twelve year association.

At the height of Philadelphia's cruise ship "era," there were about 12 cruises a year, operated by Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line. The terminal was spacious but warehouse like. Some passengers had issues with the walkway to the ship because of its incline. Bargain priced parking was secure and nearby.

I personally cruised four times out of Philadelphia and loved the convenience, the friendly staff and the availability of an international vacation out of my "back yard" without the hassle of air travel.

I will miss the opportunity to introduce our city to friends made during cruises. So many cruisers decided to take in Philadelphia's rich historic sites, spending money on restaurants and hotels.

American Cruise Lines was the lone operator out of Philadelphia. It's not known what impact the decision by the Delaware River Port Authority will have on that small, river-based line.

Wow, that is bad news! Each year I am hoping to find cruises that are once again leaving from Philadelphia. You forgot to mention that for two years Celebrity did those 6 night cruises from Philadelphia. We did two of those and loved it. I think we were on that one with you that left from Philadelphia and ended in Puerto Rico.

I know you have cruised from New York but wonder if you tried Baltimore. We have done two and loved not having the airport hassle.

[sjcruiser]

Wow Steve, you beat me to the news! I couldn't get to a PC quick enough to post! I dont think the port did that much business, and the 6 hour trip to get out to sea was a killer. The situation was made worst when Urban Outfitters decided it wanted the space as a warehouse. Well we still have NYC, Bayonne and Baltimore close by.

[smeyer418]

I am too sorry to hear that. I cruised out of Phily twice. Its an easy 2 hour car trip from NY with inexpensive parking....
The demise of the smaller ships also made it more difficult....

[dolfinmusic]

Makes me sad

[sjcruiser]

I think that with the economic situation, the infighting at the DRPA, and the hundreds of millions spend on projects which had nothing to do with the agency, this money will be used to offset the toll and train hikes they are now debating.

Hopefully!!!!!

[Dave0311]

I'm so sorry to hear this. What will happen to the cruise terminal after the DRPA is done with it? Would another gov't agency take it over and keep it a cruise terminal, or would another company buy it and turn it into something else other than a cruise terminal? In other words, is it leased/zoned to be a "cruise terminal" for 8 more years or was it just leased to DRPA who chose to turn the building into a cruise terminal?

I can't help but think that the DRPA didn't try hard enough to get the cruise lines to Philadelphia. I look forward to cruising out of Baltimore some day, but other than the fact that it's a bit farther south than Philadelphia, what did that port have over Philadelphia? A few years ago both Baltimore and Philadelphia had only a couple dozen cruises annually, and now Baltimore has over 100 per year. As far as I know, both cities are limited by bridge clearances and travel time to get to the ocean. And on the positive side, both ports are located right near I-95, near their respective airport, etc. They seem so similar, so why did the cruise lines choose one over the other?

[njhorseman]

Originally Posted by Dave0311

I'm so sorry to hear this. What will happen to the cruise terminal after the DRPA is done with it? Would another gov't agency take it over and keep it a cruise terminal, or would another company buy it and turn it into something else other than a cruise terminal? In other words, is it leased/zoned to be a "cruise terminal" for 8 more years or was it just leased to DRPA who chose to turn the building into a cruise terminal?

I can't help but think that the DRPA didn't try hard enough to get the cruise lines to Philadelphia. I look forward to cruising out of Baltimore some day, but other than the fact that it's a bit farther south than Philadelphia, what did that port have over Philadelphia? A few years ago both Baltimore and Philadelphia had only a couple dozen cruises annually, and now Baltimore has over 100 per year. As far as I know, both cities are limited by bridge clearances and travel time to get to the ocean. And on the positive side, both ports are located right near I-95, near their respective airport, etc. They seem so similar, so why did the cruise lines choose one over the other?

If I understood one of the previous posts, this space will be used as a warehouse.

Philadelphia has too much competition from the nearby ports in Bayonne, NJ and New York City, both of which can handle the big ships now preferred by the mass market cruise lines and cruisers themselves, and have year round committments from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Cunard, as well as seasonal cruises from Holland America, Carnival and Princess and others.

I believe the ship size restrictions for Philadelphia are well beyond Baltimore's. The Delaware River channel is rather shallow. I don't think the 80,000 ton Enchantment of the Seas could cruise from Philadelphia, but it does from Baltimore.

[Dave0311]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

If I understood one of the previous posts, this space will be used as a warehouse.

Philadelphia has too much competition from the nearby ports in Bayonne, NJ and New York City, both of which can handle the big ships now preferred by the mass market cruise lines and cruisers themselves, and have year round committments from NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Cunard, as well as seasonal cruises from Holland America, Carnival and Princess and others.

I believe the ship size restrictions for Philadelphia are well beyond Baltimore's. The Delaware River channel is rather shallow. I don't think the 80,000 ton Enchantment of the Seas could cruise from Philadelphia, but it does from Baltimore.

Not sure about other cruise lines, but I know for Carnival the Sprit class is the largest for both ports. Pride currently sails out of Baltimore and Legend at one point left out of Philadelphia back in 02/03.

It would be a shame if they turned it into a warehouse.

[smeyer418]

Originally Posted by Dave0311

Not sure about other cruise lines, but I know for Carnival the Sprit class is the largest for both ports. Pride currently sails out of Baltimore and Legend at one point left out of Philadelphia back in 02/03.

It would be a shame if they turned it into a warehouse.

NY's piers easily handle the 150,000 qm2. its 5 minutes to open water and gambling...


Yes I know everyone hates NY, and that no one goes there anymore...as Yogi Berra said its too crowded....but NY has increased sailings every year for the last 10 and it has at least 2-3 ships leaving year around.

But I still liked the Phily port.

[Jerseyboy1]

Originally Posted by Dave0311

Not sure about other cruise lines, but I know for Carnival the Sprit class is the largest for both ports. Pride currently sails out of Baltimore and Legend at one point left out of Philadelphia back in 02/03.

It would be a shame if they turned it into a warehouse.

Yes Dave, you are right the Legend did sail out of Philly and I do believe right after the 9/11 attacks some ships were diverted to Philly and other ports for a little while so as to avoid any potential threats in NYC.

Philly at one time or another handled ships from Norwegian, Celebrity, Carnival, Radisson and Crown Cruise Lines. Though most of the ships were what we would consider small by today's standards, the 85,920 ton Carnival Legend did port there.

It sucks that Philly isn't going to have any cruises leaving from the port in the future, but this is more a product of bad marketing and close proximity to other ports. It's location right between Baltimore and NYC doesn't help it in any way.

As far as larger ships not being able to fit in the channel, well I agree the mega ships can't, but ships the size of Carnival's Spirit class can.

Here is a photo of Legend docked in Philly.
It is not mine, I found it on a website about cruising Philadelphia a while back. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo.

[bigred08046]

Huh not suprised..DRPA has a board full of cronnies and idiots. Philadelphia just spent MILLIONS on that cruise terminal in hopes of more business after the dredging was completed on the Delaware River. Now we have a shinny and new terminal new parking lot and no where to go!
Huge mistake you guys!!

[serene56]

I think if the option was given to people to sail from here it would work a little bit better.

NCL Crown sailed from here for the longest time.
Enchantment of the sea sailed from here too.

Carnival Legend-- and it sold out very quickly.

I think keeping ships in Phila is a good idea BECAUSE the costs of flights are sky rocketing to where flying somewhere to cruise is more then the cruise itself. Cruising close to home makes better sense

I could never afford to take a Crystal cruise-- give me options that I can afford.

[Dave0311]

Originally Posted by serene56

I think if the option was given to people to sail from here it would work a little bit better.

NCL Crown sailed from here for the longest time.
Enchantment of the sea sailed from here too.

Carnival Legend-- and it sold out very quickly.

I think keeping ships in Phila is a good idea BECAUSE the costs of flights are sky rocketing to where flying somewhere to cruise is more then the cruise itself. Cruising close to home makes better sense

I could never afford to take a Crystal cruise-- give me options that I can afford.

That's why I thought if any cruise line would give Philly an attempt it would be Carnival. They're focused less on Europe, Australia, and other places and more on close-to-home departures in the US. And once the Breeze makes her debut in the US, they'd possibly have an "extra" ship in another port that could test the waters in Philly, even if it was just for one summer. Any Spirit or Fantasy class ship could fit here, that's half the fleet.

And by the way, here's a great picture of the Legend in Philly.

[Jerseyboy1]

Originally Posted by Dave0311

That's why I thought if any cruise line would give Philly an attempt it would be Carnival. They're focused less on Europe, Australia, and other places and more on close-to-home departures in the US. And once the Breeze makes her debut in the US, they'd possibly have an "extra" ship in another port that could test the waters in Philly, even if it was just for one summer. Any Spirit or Fantasy class ship could fit here, that's half the fleet.

And by the way, here's a great picture of the Legend in Philly.

Thanks for the much better picture Dave!

[Philly Steve]

Originally Posted by Maxine

You forgot to mention that for two years Celebrity did those 6 night cruises from Philadelphia.
I know you have cruised from New York but wonder if you tried Baltimore. We have done two and loved not having the airport hassle.

Yep, Celebrity also cruised out of Philly. I can recall watching the old Meridian (RIP) cruising stately down the Delaware River. Our next cruise is out of Baltimore, where it will take longer to make our way to open water than it did from Philadelphia.

Originally Posted by sjcruiser

I think that with the economic situation, the infighting at the DRPA, and the hundreds of millions spend on projects which had nothing to do with the agency, this money will be used to offset the toll and train hikes they are now debating.

We can only hope! For now, it appears they might postpone the higher tolls and fares for a year.

Originally Posted by Dave0311

That's why I thought if any cruise line would give Philly an attempt it would be Carnival.

Some time ago, there was a major buzz in Philadelphia that Carnival might offer local cruises, given that the line shot a national Tv ad here. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

[dolfinmusic]

Yes, thank you for the great pic! The Legend was my very first cruise

[Dave0311]

Originally Posted by Philly Steve

Our next cruise is out of Baltimore, where it will take longer to make our way to open water than it did from Philadelphia.

That's why I don't understand why Baltimore was chosen over Philadelphia back a few years ago when it started taking off. My theory has been that the DRPA didn't do enough to market our port.

Originally Posted by Philly Steve

Some time ago, there was a major buzz in Philadelphia that Carnival might offer local cruises, given that the line shot a national Tv ad here. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

I remember when Carnival did their PR stunt here. It got me pretty excited. I think around the same time they also had a job opening for the Philadelphia area. I thought for sure we'd see Carnival back in Philadelphia. Sadly that never happened. Until the cruise terminal is no longer a cruise terminal (ie a warehouse), I still have hope that Carnival might return in 2013 after the Breeze comes over to the US.

[Philly Steve]

Dave, it really has been a disappointing turn of events regarding Philly's role in the cruise biz.

Now that the DRPA has cut ties with cruising, maybe the City of Philadelphia can somehow run with the ball. It would be a good time to contact Mayor Nutter and let him know there are a lot of enthusiastic cruisers (and voters) who'd love to see Carnival or any other line return to Philadelphia.

[Dave0311]

Originally Posted by Philly Steve

Dave, it really has been a disappointing turn of events regarding Philly's role in the cruise biz.

Now that the DRPA has cut ties with cruising, maybe the City of Philadelphia can somehow run with the ball. It would be a good time to contact Mayor Nutter and let him know there are a lot of enthusiastic cruisers (and voters) who'd love to see Carnival or any other line return to Philadelphia.

I agree. The city of Philadelphia could definitely use the revenue, so they might be more willing to market to the cruise lines. It would be great if Philadelphia could take over the cruise terminal building before a private corporation gets it.

I remember a while ago we discussed contacting Mayor Nutter. There doesn't seem to be any contact information for him. If there is, I can't find it. Maybe contacting the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation would work too? I would definitely be willing to write to anyone who might be appropriate in this matter.