Recommendations for a short cruise departing Tampa
May 24, 2018, 3:26 pm
#16
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
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Agree about Baltimore. Really comes down to a time and distance decision. It takes too much time to travel the distance to the more popular destinations. Some lines still run limited cruises out of ports like Baltimore and Norfolk to say Bermuda and “cruises to nowhere” but not many. Might add that the major issue in Tampa the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that limits the height of vessels entering/exiting Tampa Bay. Many of the larger cruise ships simply won’t fit under the bridge’s 180 foot height limit.
May 25, 2018, 7:39 am
#18
Join Date: May 2017
Location: ORD
Posts: 369
Agree about Baltimore. Really comes down to a time and distance decision. It takes too much time to travel the distance to the more popular destinations. Some lines still run limited cruises out of ports like Baltimore and Norfolk to say Bermuda and “cruises to nowhere” but not many. Might add that the major issue in Tampa the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that limits the height of vessels entering/exiting Tampa Bay. Many of the larger cruise ships simply won’t fit under the bridge’s 180 foot height limit.
May 25, 2018, 9:12 am
#19
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
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I don't think it's time and distance, there are two cruises out of Baltimore to the Caribbean in July, and other cruise lines seem to make it down there from Bayonne and NYC just fine. I think it's the fact that passengers from Baltimore are especially budget-minded.
May 25, 2018, 10:38 am
#21
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May 25, 2018, 10:56 am
#22
Join Date: May 2017
Location: ORD
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May 25, 2018, 12:29 pm
#23
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 96
Regarding Baltimore, keep in mind the ships that cruise out of the port.
To Bermuda:
From Baltimore: Grandeur of the Seas; 22 years old.
From New York: Anthem of the Seas; 3 years old.
To Grand Turk:
From Baltimore: Carnival Pride; 16 years old. Also: The Bahamas.
From New York: Carnival Horizon; brand new. Also: PR and DR.
Baltimore (and Galveston) seem to be where the less popular ships end up home-porting, and from where the more cost-effective albeit perhaps less desirable itineraries are assigned.
To Bermuda:
From Baltimore: Grandeur of the Seas; 22 years old.
From New York: Anthem of the Seas; 3 years old.
To Grand Turk:
From Baltimore: Carnival Pride; 16 years old. Also: The Bahamas.
From New York: Carnival Horizon; brand new. Also: PR and DR.
Baltimore (and Galveston) seem to be where the less popular ships end up home-porting, and from where the more cost-effective albeit perhaps less desirable itineraries are assigned.
May 26, 2018, 6:09 am
#24
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: JFK LGA PBI BOI
Posts: 910
Cruise lines are restricted to older ships because the new ones are too big heightwise to get to Baltimore port. An Oasis, Breakaway or Horizon class ship won't fit under the bridges.
After getting there the port infrastructure would need to be modified. NYC had to rebuild the passenger gangway for the Breakaway class. Her first visit Breakway had to lower a few lifeboats before docking and tie them up at the pier. The old gangway only reached her boatdeck not the deck designated for embarkments.
So older shorter ships at Baltimore.
After getting there the port infrastructure would need to be modified. NYC had to rebuild the passenger gangway for the Breakaway class. Her first visit Breakway had to lower a few lifeboats before docking and tie them up at the pier. The old gangway only reached her boatdeck not the deck designated for embarkments.
So older shorter ships at Baltimore.
May 26, 2018, 7:02 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 96
Tampa has that restriction as well, but at one point so did other ports that have since been restructured to support newer, taller ships. There's no need to do that in Baltimore (and Tampa) because the intention is to keep older, shorter ships there. Eventually, those ships will go by the wayside and today's newer, taller ships will become the older ships that need to cruise out of these budget ports, and the ports will have to be restructured to support them or lose the homeport altogether.
May 27, 2018, 8:26 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: south of WAS DC
Posts: 10,131
my understanding is that grandeure of the seas sells out weekly out of balt(2200 guests). the boat was rebuilt(restored?) in 2018. we have been on it 4 times(to nowhere), and have a 12 day scheduled for nov 10. we just got off a viking transatlantic, and i prefer it to RCC, but the cost is 3x on viking, and i think i prefer RCC at the low price.
May 28, 2018, 6:24 am
#27
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 96
Though, when you think about, which ships don't "sell out weekly"? You can find reports of that for just about every ship these days.
May 30, 2018, 9:02 am
#28
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
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Tampa has that restriction as well, but at one point so did other ports that have since been restructured to support newer, taller ships. There's no need to do that in Baltimore (and Tampa) because the intention is to keep older, shorter ships there. Eventually, those ships will go by the wayside and today's newer, taller ships will become the older ships that need to cruise out of these budget ports, and the ports will have to be restructured to support them or lose the homeport altogether.
Jun 1, 2018, 3:50 am
#29
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 96
Might not, actually most probably not, in my lifetime that you see either Baltimore or Tampa make substantial port changes to accommodate larger cruise ships. Expanding docks and piers is one thing but the two big hurdles are the bridges that limit the height of ships that can enter the respective ports.
Portland approves plan to dredge harbor to allow big cruise ships
major dredging projects in the Eastern Caribbean ports and Cozumel
Jun 1, 2018, 4:47 am
#30
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Antonio, TX
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I hate to quote Spock from "The Wrath of Khan", but your analysis "exhibits 2-dimensional thinking".
https://bangordailynews.com/2012/03/...bor-megaberth/
Ports invest eagerly to handle Royal Caribbean's mega-ships: Travel Weekly
https://bangordailynews.com/2012/03/...bor-megaberth/
Ports invest eagerly to handle Royal Caribbean's mega-ships: Travel Weekly