Carnival Cruise Lines, the world?s largest cruise operator, will start the first year-round cruise service leaving from the Port of Baltimore to Caribbean destinations beginning in September 2009, the company announced Thursday.
The 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride will offer weeklong trips for the Caribbean, departing every Sunday. The new addition will bring the annual number of cruises departing Baltimore from 38 in 2009 to more than 80 in 2010, said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director James White.
In 2007, about 30 cruises departing Baltimore netted approximately $56 million in economicbenefit for the state. As the number of cruises doubles, the money Maryland sees from the cruises should jump well more than $100 million, White said.
“I think we?re going to see a huge economic impact,” he said. “For the economy, this is a big shot in the arm.”
Carnival briefly ran cruises from Baltimore in 2004 and 2005, but discontinued them when the company needed to move the ship to meet demand in other areas. As the company added to its fleet, it was eventually able to return to Baltimore, White said.
“They were very successful while they were here. They filled every cabin that they had,” White said. “The success they had cruising out of there and the wealth in the mid-Atlantic brought them back.”
Last year, Maryland?s median household income of $65,144 was the highest in the nation and 34 percent above the national median.
However, the new business presents challenges. The port has berths for several cruise ships but only one building for passengers to embark on a ship. A new building would cost between $5 million and $6 million, not feasible under the administration?s current budget. The port will attempt to stagger arrivals and departures until a more permanent solution can be found, White said.
The deal announced Thursday had been in the works for more than a year, White said, with port authorities working with cruise lines at industry events and maintaining an active dialogue.
“It?s just a matter of keeping your lines in the water,” he said, “and seeing what bites.”
