Cruise Line Offers Special Getaway From Port Of Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Back to Baltimore. One luxury cruise line says it's offering a one-time Caribbean cruise to passengers. it's a three-year return for Crystal Cruises.

Gigi Barnett reports it's one more sign that business at Baltimore's port continues to boom.

Located right off I-95, Baltimore's port is easy for cruise passengers to navigate.

"We love being able to just get on the ship and take off," said passengers Roland and Gloria Castle.

It's also in the East Coast's top five port destinations when it comes to the number of passengers getting aboard.

"It's wonderful. Everybody should go on that ship," said passenger Essie Cade.

Now there's one more option for passengers to set sail: luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises says it's coming back for a one-trip-only Caribbean voyage. The cruise company just spent $20 million renovating its ship "The Symphony."

This is the third year Crystal has signed on to offer getaways for Baltimore passengers.

"Crystal obviously understands this market," said Maryland Port Administration Spokesman Richard Scher. We are located in the third largest consumer markets in the US and one of the wealthiest markets in the US. You put those two factors together and that's a really powerful combination."

And if Crystal is seeing it, other cruise lines are, too. Last year, nearly 200,000 passengers sailed on nearly 90 cruises from the port and many passengers take time on their vacations to enjoy Charm City for a while.

Obviously Baltimore has a lot to offer. You've got DC down the road; you've got Annapolis close by. So that three-headed option is attractive to a lot of passengers," Scher said.

Baltimore has three cruise lines home-ported in Charm City. The port says it's in talks with other cruise companies about coming to the Port of Baltimore.

Crystal Cruise Line's Caribbean voyage sets sail in November.