As I mentioned previously on my blog, I was going to do a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas out of Baltimore, Maryland. I did the cruise and thought I'd offer a little feedback/information on it.
The cruise started April 5, 2018 and finished April 14, 2018. It lasted 9 nights and visited the following ports:
Charleston, South Carolina,
Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida
Miami, Florida
Nassau, Bahamas (2 days)
The cruise was supposed to make port at King Bahama, Bahamas but, Royal Caribbean changed the itinerary to 2 days in Nassau citing necessary small repairs on the ship (don't know if this was true or not).
As far as in-processing at the Cruise Ship Terminal, people directing the traffic were mixed. Some were helpful and some definitely weren't. One guy told my driver and me to get off the crosswalk BUT didn't tell us where to drop my bags. Security was tough though not as tough as at any airport. The person who checked me in did a fine job and was very courteous. Once you've checked in, there is a waiting area if they haven't started boarding yet. Pinnacle Crown & Anchor members as well as those staying in suites on the ship have a separate waiting area.
The cruise itself went fine and, I'll be doing the same cruise again on Grandeur of the Seas in January 2019.
Upon the ship's return to Baltimore, disembarking went very smoothly and, I believe they stayed on schedule with getting the various groups off. Customs was a breeze to my surprise and, I didn't have to fill out a customs form stating what I'd bought in the Bahamas (the only foreign country the ship visited). I think I was through Customs in 5 minutes to my delight. When I exited Customs, the baggage handlers were on their mark and all my bags were in their assigned area waiting for me.
Some plusses I want to mention about cruising out of Baltimore providing you don't fly into Baltimore to catch the cruise like me. First, no baggage fees. Second, you don't have to worry about the weight of your bags. Third, no long travel time to catch the cruise (providing you live some where in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area). It took me only 30 minutes to travel from Jessup, Maryland to the terminal.
One potential negative is if you have to drive your own car to the terminal and park it there. I believe they charge $15 a day to park it there while you're off on the cruise. Another potential negative is if you have to use a taxi. Due to a friend dropping the ball on me at the last minute, I had to use a taxi (I didn't have the Uber or Lyft apps). I asked the taxi driver for an estimate and, he was very vague on it. The fare ended up being a steep $67! I wasn't pleased about this and will have either Uber or Lyft's app next time. One last negative is you will have at least 1 day at sea to get any where with as many as 3 (Royal Caribbean has that many coming back from their Caribbean cruise). I know some folks enjoy days at sea but, I don't.
Overall, I was very pleased with how things went at the Baltimore Cruise Ship Terminal. I'm looking forward to my January 2019 cruise on Grandeur of the Seas and feel my next visit there will go even smoother. I'd definitely recommend cruising out of Baltimore for those who live in the area.
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