Baltimore Cruises will probably start later than you expect

[bstel]

Saw a bunch of threads asking/speculating when the Baltimore cruises will resume, but thought this should be its own topic, unrelated to a specific cruise.  Based on the snippet from this article, probably much longer than you think.  Cruise traffic was never going to be a priority for the Port of Baltimore.  The Unified Command will not be vacating the cruise terminal as soon as the main channel reopens.  They will probably be there for some time, since they have turned the Cruise terminal into a command center.  My guess would be that the earliest the Unified Command would be shut down would be after the main channel is fully open, which means moving the Dali, as well.

 

Murky Water, Twisted Steel:  Inside the Operation to Clear the Key Bridge Wreckage - USNI News

 

"The furious activity inside the cruise terminal at the Port of Baltimore on Monday was far from normal.  Though the area often sees cruises throughout the week, where throughout the week passengers walk through the doors toward their cruise ship or come back through Customs and Border Protection. Cruises are halted and the terminal’s lobby has been transformed into a command post for the Joint Information Center under the unified command, set up by the Coast Guard, to tackle the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.. The lobby where passengers would typically check in was filled with tables where people in red vests sat. In rooms farther back, one cubicle was set up for the Coast Guard, another for the Navy. Paper signs labeled JIC adorn the temporary walls of the cubicles."

 

 

[Pyxie]

I agree. I'd be surprised if it was open by the end of May as speculated. I'm sailing out of Baltimore in August and assuming it will be open by then, but I'm also not worried if it isn't. I can easily change my flights (Southwest) and I have a refundable hotel. I am wondering if I should book a backup refundable hotel in Norfolk though just in case.

[tha sista]

4 hours ago, Pyxie said:

I agree. I'd be surprised if it was open by the end of May as speculated. I'm sailing out of Baltimore in August and assuming it will be open by then, but I'm also not worried if it isn't. I can easily change my flights (Southwest) and I have a refundable hotel. I am wondering if I should book a backup refundable hotel in Norfolk though just in case.

I don’t have a dog in this fight but I’ve been reading of sold out hotels. I’d be booking a refundable hotel in both cities. 

[ninjacat123]

If DH and I embark out of Norfolk this September, we will drive day of (since it's a 6 hour drive instead of an 8 hour drive) and use the money we will be saving not staying in a hotel the night before on CHEERS (since we can't use CHEERS the first day out of Norfolk).  Hey, at least my cruise wasn't canceled 👍😺

[Homosassa]

18 hours ago, bstel said:

Saw a bunch of threads asking/speculating when the Baltimore cruises will resume, but thought this should be its own topic, unrelated to a specific cruise.  Based on the snippet from this article, probably much longer than you think.  Cruise traffic was never going to be a priority for the Port of Baltimore.  

 

 

 

 

The idea that it is going to be quite a while before cruising resumes from Baltimore is not a big surprise to those of us who know the area well and can understand the implications of the many official statements from those involved in the removal of the bridge wreckage and opening a channel for the more important cargo port.

[chengkp75]

I would say, as I have on another thread, on NCL, about resuming Baltimore cruises, that the timeline to open the channel is a good one, in my opinion, but could be delayed at any time by weather, so that will be end of May.  At that time, most of the salvage operation will be complete, the areas of bridge collapse outside the main channel will be cleared with less urgency, the investigations will have moved to the analysis stage, so the agencies will return to their offices, and the cruise terminal will return to cruise operations.  I don't think anyone who knows about maritime salvage and dredging operations would have considered that cruising would return before the end of May, so my prediction is not any "later than thought".  As someone said on the NCL thread, the channel would need to be dredged for cruise ships, and I pointed out that even the largest cruise ships that can get under the various bridges to get to Baltimore would have a draft of about 24', while the Dali, which caused the problem in the first place draws 49'.  So, even with some debris still on the bottom of the channel, cruise ships could start using the channel long before other ships do.