Baltimore’s cruise ship terminal impacted by bridge collapse
BALTIMORE, Md. (DC News Now) – The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is having resounding impacts throughout the region including on Baltimore’s cruise ship terminal.
Freddie Almond and his friends have been planning this vacation for months and now, instead of leaving from Baltimore, they’ll be leaving from Norfolk, Va.
Almond’s friend group had been eagerly counting down the days until their cruise set sail from Baltimore.
“We planned this maybe November,” Almond said, “so we’ve been looking forward to this for a while. It’s an 8-day cruise. We’re going to a couple of places in the Caribbean.”
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But following Tuesday’s bridge collapse, Almond and his friends will now be setting off from a new location.
“I saw a link that they sent me on Carnival’s website,” he said. “It was saying that the Baltimore departures are going to be rerouted to Norfolk, Virginia, which is like four hours from us.”
Almond says there’s been no direct communication from Carnival Cruise Line about details for their upcoming trip.
“As far as I’ve seen,” Almond said. “I haven’t gotten an email or anything saying that the port has been changed or any of the planning has been changed, or anything like that.”
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He says he has concerns about how they will make it down to Norfolk.
“Four hour drive,” he said. “We’re going to have to figure out how to shuttle everyone down there. Maybe get parking now. So, we’ll see what happens.”
But with still over a week until their cruise, Almond is staying patient and hopes to get more information soon.
“Maybe some kind of accommodations,” he said. “It’s a quick turnaround on their part, too, given that this was so sudden. It’s such a just horrible and massive thing to happen.”
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Carnival Cruise Line’s President Christine Duffy spoke on the bridge collapse, saying in part, “Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore.”
Duffy said they would update cruise guests on when they will return to Baltimore.
“In the meantime, we appreciate the quick response from officials in Norfolk,” Duffy said.
Almond says despite all the changes, they are still planning to go on their vacation.
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