Best time to cruise from Baltimore

Baltimore is a year-round cruise port. Carnival Pride leaves the Cruise Maryland Terminal almost every Sunday of the year, most weeks for the Bahamas. What changes with the seasons is what else sails alongside it, where the ships go, and what you pay.

Which ships sail from Baltimore in each season?

All year. Carnival Pride sails nearly every Sunday. Most of its trips are 7-night round trips to the Bahamas, calling at Nassau, Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays. A few times a year it goes further, on a 12- or 14-night trip to the Southern Caribbean.

Late May to October. Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas spends the 2027 summer in Baltimore, with 5-night trips to Bermuda, 9-night trips to Bermuda and the Bahamas, and 9-night trips to Canada and New England from August. Carnival Pride swaps some of its Bahamas weeks for 7-night Bermuda trips between late June and October.

November to April. From November 2027, Carnival Miracle joins Pride for the winter. The Maryland Port Administration announced a two-year deal in February 2026 for Miracle to sail from Baltimore from November to April, beginning in 2027. On the current schedule it runs 7-night Bahamas trips and 9-night Eastern Caribbean trips, with the odd longer one.

The table at the end of this guide shows the number of departures, the destinations and the fares for every month on the schedule. It is rebuilt every day.

When are cruises from Baltimore cheapest?

In the middle of winter. On 25 October 2026, the typical starting fare for a 7-night cruise from Baltimore, taxes and fees included, was:

Month	Typical 7-night fare	Lowest 7-night fare
December 2026	$696	$696
January 2027	$665	$650
February 2027	$706	$665
March 2027	$966	$846
July 2027	$1,138	$1,098
September 2027	$798	$798
October 2027	$807	$807
December 2027	$1,160	$1,160

January and February 2027 were the cheapest months for a week at sea, and July the most expensive. March was more than a third dearer than February, and September and October were cheaper again once the summer holidays ended. December 2027 was the dearest month on the list, but only two 7-night sailings set that figure. Fares move every day, so treat these as the shape of the year and use the live table for today's prices.

What is the weather like when you leave Baltimore?

Cold in winter, which is the trade-off for those fares. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for BWI Airport put the average January high at 43°F and the low at 25°F. January and February each average 6 to 7.5 inches of snow, so leave extra time if you are driving to the port in winter.

A winter Bahamas trip spends its first two days at sea heading south, so you leave in a coat and step ashore in shorts three days later. By the Bahamas Department of Meteorology's 1991 to 2020 records, Nassau averages a high of 79°F in January.

Summer in Baltimore is hot. July averages a high of 89°F, and it is also the wettest month, with about 4.5 inches of rain.

Weather at the ports, month by month

Average daily highs in degrees Fahrenheit, from each country's own weather service, 1991 to 2020:

Month	Baltimore (BWI)	Nassau	Bermuda
January	43	79	69
March	55	81	69
May	76	86	76
July	89	91	85
September	80	90	84
November	57	83	75

Bermuda is about 10°F cooler than Nassau in winter, and Bermuda cruises from Baltimore run only from late May to October. Nassau is hot all summer and also wet. The Bahamas Department of Meteorology records more than 8 inches of rain in an average June and August, against under 2 inches in January.

Hurricane season

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November. The National Hurricane Center puts its peak on 10 September, with most activity between mid-August and mid-October. That window covers Baltimore's Bermuda trips, the Canada and New England trips and the late-summer Bahamas weeks. If you are booking for late summer or early autumn, check what the line's terms say about itinerary changes.

Which month is best for a cruise from Baltimore?

• For the lowest fares, go between December and February, and pack for the cold at both ends of the trip.
• For Bermuda, go between late May and October, the only months anyone sails there from Baltimore.
• For the most choice of ship and route, go between June and October, when Carnival Pride and Vision of the Seas both sail.
• For Canada and New England in autumn, Vision of the Seas' 9-night trips run from August to October.
• For a longer Caribbean trip, look at the winter months. Carnival's 12- and 14-night Southern Caribbean sailings and Miracle's 9-night Eastern Caribbean trips fall between October and March.