‘This is an unforeseen situation’: Cruises out of Baltimore may move to alternate cities, expert says
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With vessel traffic suspended at the Port of Baltimore due to Tuesday morning’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, people with cruises booked are wondering what changes might be in store for them in the days ahead.
It is a busy departure point, with more than 400,000 people having cruised out of the port last year.
However, cruise ships will likely need to find other ports to use in the meantime.
“Any time you book a cruise, there’s a part of the contract that most people don’t read that says a cruise line can substitute ports in the event of an act of God or a force majeure,” explained CBS News travel editor, Peter Greenberg.
According to Greenberg, cruise lines that would normally operate out of Baltimore may likely shift to Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Bayonne, New Jersey.
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Carnival Cruise Line has a ship currently at sea that is set to return to Baltimore on Sunday. A spokesman for the company told WTOP they’re “currently evaluating options” for the ship’s scheduled return.
The cruise line announced later on Tuesday that it would temporarily move its Baltimore operations to Norfolk, Virginia.
Royal Caribbean International also has a ship currently out and set to return to Baltimore on April 4. A spokesperson for that company said that its logistics team was “working on alternatives” for ongoing and upcoming sailings.
“The cruise ships will do everything they can (to not) get to a situation where they have to cancel a cruise,” Greenberg said. “So in this situation, they’ll look for alternate ports.”
Cruise passengers who planned exiting their ship in Baltimore will likely need to take a bus or plane back to the city from wherever they do land, Greenberg said.
“This is a very unique situation,” said Scott Carrozza, owner of First Class Travel Incorporated, a travel agency in McLean, Virginia. “I have never seen this before.”
Carrozza told WTOP that he expected cruise ship companies to be flexible.
“There will probably be waivers and changes allowed without any penalties because this is an unforeseen situation,” Carrozza said.
It was not immediately clear how long vessel traffic would be suspended in and out of the Port of Baltimore.