ANNAPOLIS – Cruise lines moving out of Baltimore said their exodus is driven more by good business sense than inadequate facilities, a position that calls into question a request to improve port conditions.
A coalition of AAA Mid-Atlantic and 12 businesses recently asked Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich to support a new cruise terminal in Baltimore, saying revamping is necessary to persuade cruise lines to return.
However, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Lines cited other reasons for not scheduling cruises from Baltimore in 2005.
Holland America will depart from Norfolk, Va., because it is a better marketing opportunity, spokesman Erik Elvejord said. The company is “unique” there, rather than one of many companies in town, he said.
“Our decision to not sail out of Baltimore is a marketing-based decision,” he said. “It proved to be a better option to sail out of Norfolk.”
Holland America has 19 cruises scheduled to leave from Norfolk in 2005, according to the port’s website. Celebrity Cruises only has nine.
Norwegian Cruise Line is consolidating departures in Philadelphia.
“We decided to offer more cruises from one port rather than offer fewer cruises from two ports,” Media Relations Manager Heather Krasnow wrote in an e-mail. “We have a very good relationship with the port of Baltimore and would consider returning again in the future.”
Carnival booked cruises out of Baltimore in 2004 as part of an experimental program, but does not have a ship available for Baltimore in 2005, spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said.
“All our ships are committed to existing programs,” de la Cruz said. “Certainly some time in the future we will be back (to Baltimore).”
The decision to not return in 2005 was made before the start of the one-year test program, and de la Cruz said Carnival was very pleased with the city.
“The Baltimore program was extraordinarily successful from a sales standpoint.”
Yet, the coalition’s letter to the governor said improving customer services in Baltimore must be a priority “if we want passengers and the cruise lines to return.”
Royal Caribbean International is the only line returning from 2004. It never considered leaving the facility, but it is not completely satisfied, said Jamie Haller, Royal director of deployment and itinerary planning.
“We deal with it because of how valuable the market is (for) our product,” Haller said. “The facility is small and somewhat difficult to operate in.”
Supporters of a new facility agree, and say Baltimore’s port needs improvements to compete with nearby ports like Norfolk, which has increased departures in the last year, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Amanda Knittle said.
Norfolk increased its departures from five in 2003 to 20 in the first half of 2004, compared to Baltimore’s 19 departures in the first half of 2004, according to Bill Ebersold of the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration.
Norfolk has 40 scheduled departures in 2005, according to its port Web site. Baltimore only has 28 departures, according to a news release from AAA Mid-Atlantic.
A new terminal also is important for businesses, which would see benefits in direct sales and more jobs, Knittle said.
A new terminal site has been studied for at least a decade and the coalition says it is time for the governor to make a decision.
“We’d like to see Maryland get beyond the study phase,” Knittle said, “and give cruise lines a reason to return.”
The Maryland Port Administration will try to get cruise lines to return in 2006, regardless of any decision by the governor, spokesman J.B. Hanson said.
The governor’s office is reviewing the new terminal proposal and he will make a decision at an appropriate time, Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell said. He said it is too early to tell whether the statements by the cruise lines will affect his decision.