Royal Caribbean says a cruise ship will depart from Baltimore instead of Norfolk, Virginia, on May 25.
The main channel out of the Port of Baltimore will be open by May 25, at least according to Royal Caribbean.
In a statement Wednesday, the cruise line said a cruise scheduled for May 25 will leave Baltimore “as planned.”
“Royal Caribbean International looks forward to returning to the Port of Baltimore once again. Vision of the Seas will set sail on a 5-night itinerary as planned on Saturday, May 25,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said.
A Carnival ship is scheduled to leave Baltimore on May 26 while another Royal Caribbean cruise is scheduled to leave Baltimore on May 30. Carnival has not responded to requests for comment.
Since a cargo ship lost power and struck one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support piers March 26, collapsing the span into the water and killing six construction workers, Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruises scheduled to embark and debark in Baltimore have been rerouted through Norfolk, Virginia.
Baltimore cruise industry hopes Key Bridge channel reopens in time for busy June
A Coast Guard official said Wednesday that response officials in Baltimore believe the cargo ship, the Dali, will be refloated and removed from the middle of the waterway “early next week.” The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to reopen the federal channel by the end of May.
In 2023, Maryland Port Administration spokesperson Richard Scher said, 444,000 passengers boarded cruises in the terminal, the highest total since 2012. Eight cruise ships are scheduled to depart in June. The cruise terminal primarily services ships from Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, and the Norwegian Cruise Line also occasionally uses the terminal. Typically cruises are round trips, though there are some one-way transatlantic offerings.
