CaneCorso
Member
As things stand right now I'm thinking a nice view of the cruise ship you were suppose to be on leaving as you sit on top of the bridge....
Cruise Ship Terminal in Solomons?
- Thread starter awpitt
- Start date
As things stand right now I'm thinking a nice view of the cruise ship you were suppose to be on leaving as you sit on top of the bridge....
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
And the border patrol and ICE peoples that comes along with a "port". Fun times.
If it's just for cruise ships, I don't think that will be a big deal. Cruise ships often are round trip deals, which means unless you stowaway, it really won't be cause for alarm.
I am a little impressed by the fact that the area once did have lots of ships on it.
What was I thinking, ships never change crew members while out, nor would passengers ever try to smuggle items into the US. :shrug:
Hessian
Well-Known Member
Ken, it is likely that you have been on a cruise. I was amused when I saw the "Terminal" in Freeport Bahamas. Just a little larger than your typical Wawa. The loop could handle a cue of about 10 taxis. So,...knowing how our federal government loves to overbuild everything,...we would "need" a facility the size of Patuxent HS. (It would take three years to build).
SO, is it possible? Certainly.
Can it be done with the current mindset? NO.
Just throw in the NRC evacuation routes that MUST be obeyed...add a cruise ship that has 3800 passengers & 800 crew?...all lacking Ray Nagin's school buses.
SO, is it possible? Certainly.
Can it be done with the current mindset? NO.
Just throw in the NRC evacuation routes that MUST be obeyed...add a cruise ship that has 3800 passengers & 800 crew?...all lacking Ray Nagin's school buses.
Goldenhawk
Well-Known Member
There's a big difference between a cruise ship port where ships stop en route for an 8-hour vacation day, and a cruise ship TERMINAL where the cruises originate. In the latter case, facilities must exist for refueling and replenishing many tons of supplies, plus perform scheduled maintenance. Most importantly to the passengers, the terminal includes facilities for loading and unloading 10,000 passenger bags per cruise, as well as terminal parking for the passengers. This is HUGELY different than the Bahamas where none of these activities take place. Shucks, you can do it all by tendering passengers off with (basically) tugboats.
MrZ06
I love Texas Road House
thats how Grand Cayman does it. They don't even have a dock for the boats. They just throw anchor out in the water.
Nope, never have and never will. Too many people in too small of a space. Why do you think that I moved to the hills? We are the only ones living on our road. There are about 60 people on the road just below our land but they ain't living, they do get visitors some time, hmmm.
The ports of call don't need the infastructure the departurate and arrival ports require.
Ever been to Port Canaveral? Parking for employees and customers. Room to handle large buses. You are talking loading and off loading 2000 plus people in the matter of hours. The turnaround time for these cruise ship is under 12 hours. They hit port around 7AM, off load passengers and baggage, clean and restock the ship, load passengers and baggage and are casting off around 4PM. They have to haul the trash off the ship, clean, refuel, restock all in that same time. It's a hell of an operation.
When they pull into a port of call, the ship lets people off, but it's only for the day, baggage stays on the ship. It's a break for some of the crew. No resupply.
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
It won't require the kind of full-scale stuff you see at airports. They're pretty good at checking people in and out of the boat at points they visit. And cruise ships don't depart non-stop. Just a few per week.
Hessian
Well-Known Member
Indeed,...went through Port Canaveral on that same trip. I can see that the distinction regarding the infrastructure needs. In that light,...yes, Solomon's (Rt 2/4) would be overwhelmed. Ken...thanks for the clarification regarding your trek into the hills!
awpitt
Main Streeter
Actually, it would. As has been pointed out more than once, the proposal is for this port to be a port of origination. Not a port of call where they just visit. This means that if the cruise itineraries include visits to forgien ports of call, there will need to be U.S. Customs facilities located at the port facility in Solomons for when the ships return and disembark passengers.
Regardless of what happens in foreign ports of call, TSA and ICE have the same requirements coming in on a cruise ship as they do a plane.
Depending on the port, if can be a few ships a day. While an airport like BWI does hundreds of fligtht, the number of passengers per flight are lower than the thousands a ship will hold.
Even if they do one ship a day, it's a lot of people to move at basically one time - and they have to get them out since they need to process the ship before it departs later that day.
It's a very impressive operation when you consider the logisitics of moving people, supplies, repairs, etc. - yes, they have to do minor repairs when the passengers are off the ship.
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
I looked up the various cruise ship departure points - *departure* points - in the U.S.
Unless they're thinking 'river cruise' or fun trips around the Bay on a Tall Ship - this area isn't going to work no matter how deep the Patuxent is.
Because even though several ports no longer have cruise ships actively using their facilities - (I noticed that, for instance, several major ports used to have departures but do not currently, which include Mobile, Norfolk, Philadelphia) and some have only one or two - such as Baltimore (2), Charleston (1) and Jacksonville (1) - it does occur to me that this area really doesn't match the big city ports these other cities are world renowned for. I don't think Baltimore only has two ships because it's too full of other types - I think it just doesn't support that much for cruise lines. There isn't the interest there.
The web site is interesting - but I just can't see thousands of people regularly flocking to Solomon's Island for a jaunt to the Bahamas or the Caribbean (which may currently be over-saturated with cruise ships).
Ah well. I didn't believe it the first time, and after some more looking into it, it looks less likely even with more information.
Unless they're thinking 'river cruise' or fun trips around the Bay on a Tall Ship - this area isn't going to work no matter how deep the Patuxent is.
Because even though several ports no longer have cruise ships actively using their facilities - (I noticed that, for instance, several major ports used to have departures but do not currently, which include Mobile, Norfolk, Philadelphia) and some have only one or two - such as Baltimore (2), Charleston (1) and Jacksonville (1) - it does occur to me that this area really doesn't match the big city ports these other cities are world renowned for. I don't think Baltimore only has two ships because it's too full of other types - I think it just doesn't support that much for cruise lines. There isn't the interest there.
The web site is interesting - but I just can't see thousands of people regularly flocking to Solomon's Island for a jaunt to the Bahamas or the Caribbean (which may currently be over-saturated with cruise ships).
Ah well. I didn't believe it the first time, and after some more looking into it, it looks less likely even with more information.
I'm often in Mobile working on ships in drydock..the unused cruise terminal facilities are huge!..and the city is still embarrassed by the money wasted for nothing. All that parking comes in handy once every year during their Mardi Gras though...
As always, look at the money aspect first for the best answer.
The real reason for this cruise port is because the ships have to go so slow on the Bay as not to cause damage from their wake. It takes about 5 hours to get from Baltimore to the Bay Bridge. No gambling or duty free shopping during this time because they aren't in international waters either. Sail out of Solomons and the cash register starts ringing sooner, cruisers spend more time at the real port of calls vs motoring down the Bay and more efficient operation of the ship (GPH/fuel burn, etc).
It is much more expensive to expand at Baltimore Harbor than build in Solomons? $50M to expand in Baltimore? I don't think it would cost half that to build in Solomons. Each ship generates $45M a year each, too much money for some thing not to be done sooner than later IMHO.
The real reason for this cruise port is because the ships have to go so slow on the Bay as not to cause damage from their wake. It takes about 5 hours to get from Baltimore to the Bay Bridge. No gambling or duty free shopping during this time because they aren't in international waters either. Sail out of Solomons and the cash register starts ringing sooner, cruisers spend more time at the real port of calls vs motoring down the Bay and more efficient operation of the ship (GPH/fuel burn, etc).
It is much more expensive to expand at Baltimore Harbor than build in Solomons? $50M to expand in Baltimore? I don't think it would cost half that to build in Solomons. Each ship generates $45M a year each, too much money for some thing not to be done sooner than later IMHO.
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luthersomd
Member
As has been frequently stated in various places throughout this thread, there is an individual in Solomons who has been pushing this pipe dream along with several other pipe dreams. None have ever materialized and this last one will never be realized either. So don't bother saving up your pennies for an ocean cruise from Solomons, it ain't happening.
Goldenhawk
Well-Known Member
I call BS on this. You're correct that money is probably the leading driver of where a cruise ship port is located. I just don't think it has anything to do with a speed limit.
First of all, there's nothing in the Code of Federal Regulations about this, although there are a few "rules of the sea" that do apply to the Bay.
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=33:2.0.1.6.34
Second, a quick search of live vessel traffic in the bay shows several ships currently steaming at full speed (12+ knots) in the Bay right this minute, with speeds directly comparable to similar ships on the open ocean (including, if you can find them, cruise liners).
https://www.marinetraffic.com/
(Kinda cool that you can actually see specific ship data. And kinda scary too.)
There ARE certain restrictions at the ENTRANCE to the Chesapeake Bay, actually to "save the whales" (no kidding) and to protect the specific areas around ports and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. But these are very limited in size.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike/
http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/165.501
Bavarian
New Member
This port would be a great shore stop. Now that these cruise ships leave from the North, NYC, Baltimore, a stop here in Historic Southern Maryland would be ideal. As for a departure port, who wants to leave their car outside for a couple of months. Busses could take passengers to St. Maries Citty, Sotterley, Colton's Point and return. Maybe enough time for a walking tour of Solomons giving the merchants a lot of sales.
Our next cruise leaves from Ft. Lauderdale, plan on rental car, and first stop Key West. Well we could drive down to Key West, but a stop is a stop. Then stops along the way to Rio for Carneval, back north going up the Amazon to Manaus then back out. 49 Days, short for us now. then drive home.
Our next cruise leaves from Ft. Lauderdale, plan on rental car, and first stop Key West. Well we could drive down to Key West, but a stop is a stop. Then stops along the way to Rio for Carneval, back north going up the Amazon to Manaus then back out. 49 Days, short for us now. then drive home.