After pulling cruise ships from Baltimore, Royal Caribbean will bring back a ship there for the summer season.
In March, the cruise line shared deployment information that revealed it would no longer offer cruises from Baltimore in winter 2026-2027.
It was a surprise to many, because Royal Caribbean has had a ship based there year-round for quite a long time. The apparent departure from Baltimore ruffled a lot of feathers among cruise fans that relied on a ship sailing from the Mid-Atlantic region.
However, Royal Caribbean will bring back a ship to Baltimore for at least a few months per year.
Vision of the Seas returns in 2027
The newly revealed plans show Vision of the Seas will sail from Baltimore once again.
Vision will be based in Baltimore between May - October 2027, meaning there will be no sailings from November 2026 - April 2027. In October 2026, Vision will move to Fort Lauderdale.
The plans are to offer 5- and 9-night cruises to Bermuda or 9-night cruises to Canada & New England.
5-night Bermuda Getaway sailings
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Royal Naval Dockyard (2 days)
- Baltimore, Maryland
9-night Bermuda & Bahamas sailings
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda (2 days)
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Bimini, Bahamas
- Baltimore, Maryland
9-night Bermuda & New England Cruise
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Portland, Maine
- Saint John (Bay of Fundy), New Brunswick (2 days)
- Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Baltimore, Maryland
The new sailings are available to book immediately.
"It'll be back every summer"
It appears Royal Caribbean's game plan has shifted with Baltimore, and it will now be a port that offers summer cruises only.
Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley answered a question about cruises from Baltimore during the most recent President's Cruise and confirmed the new approach.
"I've had a couple of people ask me, why did you take vision out of Baltimore," he explained during a question and answer session.
"It's seasonal. It's coming back. It'll be back every summer."
Why did they make the change to drop winter cruises from Baltimore? Evidently the logistics were difficult.
"It's just logistics and reality. Winter products out of northeastern ports just have more challenges," he said. Likely those challenges have to deal with the weather. Winter storms can disrupt itineraries and make it difficult for a ship to get to or from their homeport.
Moreover, during the winter it's cold for a few days until the ship can reach the tropics. Plus, the distance required to get to the tropics makes for limited itineraries.
There's also a limited set of ships that can actually sail from Baltimore because of the bridges blocking access to the port.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the recently destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge are too low to allow big ships in.
He went on to say the company understands there's demand for a product there, "We are happy to be operating out of Baltimore. Baltimore is super supportive to Royal Caribbean, and we know there's a lot of guests in the area who like sailing [from there]."
Cruise fans happy with the news
The announcement spread quickly on social media that Royal Caribbean was coming back to Baltimore.
"So happy she is coming back to Baltimore!" posted Dodie B. on a Vision of the Seas Facebook fan group.
Angel D. echoed the statement, "I am excited that she is returning."
Of course, some people wanted more options beyond just a summer season.
- "We also like the winter cruising. I want to head south in February, not July."
- "No 12 night Southern Caribbean which was our favorite."
- "We are in our 70's we could be dead by 2027."
- "Yes 2027 only 3 cruise destinations. You better like Bermuda and Bahamas."
