On Friday before Labor Day weekend I swung by Baltimore where Vicki Freed and our Sales team were preparing to host our top producing North American travel agents (aka the “Royal Family”) on a Bermuda cruise. We are always grateful for the support we receive from travel agents globally and this cruise is a chance to say thank you to many of the very best. Unfortunately, I could not stay for the actual cruise but I was able to say hello before it was time for the guests to attend the muster drill.
On the way to the ship I realized that I’m not as familiar with Baltimore as I should be since it is the next major city south of my hometown of Philadelphia. I have lived and either worked or studied in each of Boston, New York, Philly and Washington DC. There wasn’t time for me to sight see on this visit but the weather was gorgeous, the harbor provided a very pleasant backdrop to Enchantment of the Seas, the Port of Baltimore and Cruise Maryland team was very hospitable and the cruise terminal was easy to access from the highway. So I came away quite impressed with the idea of seeing Baltimore and then taking a cruise on Enchantment of the Seas, especially in light of the Royal Advantage revitalization investments we are making in the ship this December.
Note – I’m approaching the two month mark of rehabbing from my calf muscle injury. While I am considerably less than pleased with being injured and missing Master’s Nationals, some positives are emerging from the experience. One is working out on the Alter G treadmill at Marlins Ballpark. I was able to run a 5K four times before I hit seven weeks post-injury. The machine supports whatever percentage of your weight that you program so you can walk or run using a normal gait or stride despite the injury. I don’t know of any other way I could have possibly been running miles at 6:30 to 8 minutes per mile so soon after my injury. It’s also pretty cool to be one of the only people in the stadium on a regular basis. The second thing is I finally took a swimming lesson for the first time in 40 years or so. I have a lot to learn in my quest to be a competent swimmer. There’s no way I would have taken a lesson but for the injury. Don’t worry – no triathlons in the near future.
Just returned from our first cruise on independence of the seas and would like to mention how much we both enjoyed everything from the amazing service to the entertainment ,staterooms,finedining Dragos our Head Waiter Joff Eaton the Cruise Director all doing a fantastic job . Will be booking again soon
That’s great to hear, Kim. Thanks for your comment and we look forward to having you onboard again soon.
I am looking forward to seeing for myself the Port of Baltimore, when I fly up in April to help bring Enchantment to her new home at Port Canaveral.
We look forward to seeing you there, Helen.
We have sailed out of Baltimore on the Enchantment of the Seas several times and have nothing but great things to say about Capt. Gus and his staff. It is a wonderful port, always checked in without any difficulty and always have great cruises. We are looking forward to many more. The sea is always calling!
Thanks for your comment, Elizabeth. We hope to see you back onboard soon.
Hi Adam, are there any plans for the company to reposition the Oasis class ships to Miami and what are the latest details on Project Sunshine?
For the most up to date information on Project Sunshine, please click here. As of now we have no plans to relocate Oasis of the Seas. Thank you.
Just reviewed your story about Enchantment of the sea out of Baltimore Port. We are looking to our next cruise on April 1st. and our first time out of Baltimore and we are excited to see the improvement of the ship. Nice to hear you are also from Philly. Go Phillies for 2013 !!!
You’ll have to be sure to let us know what you think of her enhancements, Ann. Thank you and go Phillies!
Interested in the April 21,2013 sailing on Mariner of the seas. Galveston to Singapore, just need someone who can take off 41days for the cruise and a couple days for traveling.
We love sailing out of Baltimore because of how easy the pier is to use. We’re sad to see Enchantment leave in April (crew is fantastic) but glad to see Grandeur coming back. We’ve got a b2b scheduled on Grandeur May 3 and 10 in addition to two more on Enchantment before she leaves Baltimore.
Thank you for your comment, Peggy. We can’t wait to have you onboard next May.