Cruise ships to return to Baltimore two months after bridge collapse

Cruises will soon set sail from Baltimore again, resuming operations two months after a cargo ship took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

In an X post on Wednesday, the Port of Baltimore revealed that Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas would leave on May 25 for a five-night trip to Bermuda. It will be the first cruise from a major carrier that leaves from Baltimore since the deadly bridge collapse on March 26.

The cruise line confirmed the news, saying in a statement it “looks forward to returning to the Port of Baltimore once again.”

Three major cruise lines sail from Baltimore, though only two had ships based at the port during the spring. No cruise ships were in port when the accident happened. After some scrambling, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line both moved their Baltimore-based operations to Norfolk.

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Carnival said in a statement that it plans to sail the Pride from Norfolk on May 19. That ship is expected to finish the cruise in Baltimore a week later. Because of those plans, the cruise line is encouraging guests to make their way to Baltimore ahead of the trip, and take a free, Carnival-provided bus more than 200 miles to Norfolk.

The ship is scheduled to leave Baltimore for a 14-day Greenland and Canada itinerary on May 26 before resuming seven-day Bahamas or Caribbean cruises.

“We remain in close contact with local, state and federal officials regarding the return of our operations at the Port of Baltimore,” Carnival said. The port said Wednesday it could only confirm Royal Caribbean’s schedule.

Norwegian Cruise Line does not have any Baltimore sailings scheduled until September. American Cruise Lines, a smaller company that operates river and coastal cruises, was able to start operating Chesapeake Bay trips from Baltimore earlier this month.

More than 444,000 people cruised out of Baltimore’s port last year, according to a news release issued by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office.

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