Carnival Cruise Lines Bails Out of Port of Baltimore

Carnival will reposition the "Miracle" permanently to Tampa. The spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines, which is based out of Miami, says that the company will cease operations in Baltimore during 2005. However, it points out that the venture to Baltimore was very successful, and that the city might be considered for future scheduled calls.

Norwegian Cruise Lines will also cease cruise operations to Baltimore next year as well. But, Royal Caribbean says it will increase calls to the port.

The Port of Baltimore expects to handle 240,000 passengers for 2004, which is more than double the 115,813 last year. The port states that its current schedule for 2005 is approximately thirty cruises, but the port says it is working on additional calls.